Days 9 and 10: Opera

Last week we learned how to make an Opera cake.  This is a famous French dessert that usually has "Opera" written in chocolate on top of it.  As part of our final exam we will be required to write Opera in chocolate.  While this sounds like it might not be too difficult the exact technique and fine lines of the chocolate make it something that takes quite a bit of practice.  In fact our chef recommended we purchase a jar of Nutella and add some oil to it to thin it out a bit and practice writing Opera at home.  I have purchased the Nutella, but have yet to start the practicing.  As you'll see from my cake I am a LONG way from being a chocolate writing expert!

The Opera cake is a very time intensive cake as it has many, many layers.  While the cake part is a standard spongy cake the assembly takes quite a bit of time.  The Opera is layer upon layer of cake, syrup, ganache, and coffee buttercream icing.  Each layer is quite thin and when you've finished the cake you pour a chocolate glaze over top and then after it has set you cut the edges off so that your guests can actually see the layers you've created.

My Opera Cake

The layers of my cake

In any case, my cake was quite well put together, well imbibed, and very beautiful until I started decorating it.  I have a lot of work to do with the chocolate writing, I'll keep you all updated as to  my progress!

The Chef's Opera Cake

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!