As of today's post, I guess I am officially a DARING BAKER, having taken on this month's challenge of the Opera Cake. And a challenge it was! As I've said before, I consider myself a rustic baker and an Opera Cake would not fall into the category of rustic baked goods. There are many steps in making this cake -- jocande layers, sugar syrup, buttercream, mousse and glaze, but most of these components can be made several days ahead of assembly. We were instructed to keep this Opera Cake "light in color", using white chocolate instead of the traditional darker chocolate. But everything else was basically up to us.
My version was decorated with sugared violets from Laduree and Fachon in Paris. Is there anything I would do differently if I were to make this cake again? Yes... absolutely. I would not color the buttercream that was spread between the jocande layers. I feel the end result was too busy. Because of the size, I had several seatings of friends over a couple of days to eat l' Opera Cake. The first serving had been setting at room temperature the recommended amount of time, but this is Minnesota. It was still a little too cold and I wasn't at all thrilled with it. The second time, however, the cake was at room temp much longer and I thought it was very, very good. It was extremely rich, but that's o.k. You don't eat an Opera Cake every day.
17 Comments
5/27/2008 11:51:05 pm
You did a gorgeous job and the sugared violets are a perfect touch. Welcome to the DBs!
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5/28/2008 12:22:03 am
Beautiful! and I can attest to how wonderful it tasted. Thanks Eileen for having me for coffee and Opera cake!
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Your cake is beautiful. I actually think the colored buttercream is pretty. I went with a lavender flavor, so I was going for about the same color with mine. You did a better job though -- my buttercream kept turning a little grayish-purple, though once it was assembled it turned out ok. Yours is a beautiful color though!
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5/28/2008 02:42:51 am
AH, you are my favorite. i love violet, and just made violet macarons (though yet to post them.)
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5/28/2008 04:30:21 am
wow! quite something to write home about. looks great!
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5/28/2008 12:29:41 pm
How lovely! You did a wonderful job on the lettering! I agree about the richness of the cake - very rich so a little goes a long way!
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5/29/2008 02:14:02 am
Wow, great idea with the violets. I bet you were really excited to have perfect use for the liqueor. I'm one of those people who has the perfect ingredient, saving it for the perfect time, and then forgetting about it when that time comes! I can't wait to see your posts on Northern Gardening. I've tried my hand at veges in Maine and Michigan, both very challenging but really rewarding!
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RS
5/29/2008 03:33:09 am
Cool cake,Eileen-your artistry shows in all you do--love ya! R
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Congratulations,
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