Opera Cake

We bonded over cake baking. This is a recipe for Opera Cake. And like Opera usually is, it's quite a tedious cake process. Although i didn't break a sweat because i had a bakery's machine to beat my ingredients. A bakery's chef to guide at hand.

I was surprised it tasted great and looked good for a baking novice me.

Serves: 2

Step 1: Almond Sponge

Group 1 – Eggs (500g)
Castor Sugar (300g)

Group 2- Orange Peel, chopped fine (30g)
Pastry Flour (120g)
Ground almond (450g)

Group 3- Melted Butter (90g)

1. Fast speed aerate group 1 ingredients for 5 minutes.
2. Then hand fold in the pastry flour, ground almond and lastly melted butter.
3. When all is in a smooth light yellow colour, pour evenly into baking pan.
4. Bake in the oven (425 F) for 10 minutes, then take it out to cool for another 10 minutes.

Step 2: Coffee Butter Cream

Group 1: Egg White (300g)
Castor Sugar (600g)

Group 2- Butter (1400g)
Cake Margarine (200g)

1. Foam the egg white with fast speed then add castor sugar slowly and beat for 3 minutes
2. Mix the butter and cake margarine and add the two to group 1.
3. Add coffee paste to taste.

Slice your almond sponge into 3 parts. Dose each layer with vanilla liqueur (or syrup water) to keep it moist. Then pile on the coffee butter cream in between each layer. Sprinkle generously crushed almond nuts over one of the layers.

Step 3: Hazelnut Ganache

Melted Dark Chocolate (250g)
Soften Hazelnut Paste (70g)
Liquid Dairy Cream (200ml)

1. Melt all the above together. Keep it at low fire.
2. Chill the sponge cake before finishing the utmost layer with the hazelnut ganache to have a better presentation. Cake is now ready for decoration.