Chocolate ganache
Next, prepare the chocolate ganache by bringing the sweet cream to a simmer but not to a boil. Pour the warm sweet cream over the chocolate that you previously broke into smaller pieces. Let it stand for 1 minute and then mix to get a silky smooth cream. Be careful, if you leave it to cool in the fridge, it can harden very quickly. So it’s best to take it out every 5 minutes and mix it well. If by chance it sets too much so that you can’t easily spread it on the cake, you can solve it by gently heating it.
Next, prepare the crispy chocolate part by mixing the melted chocolate with finely broken wafers. Spread this mixture on the crust that you have placed on the baking paper so that it is a uniform thin layer as far as possible all the way to the edges. Cover with cling film and place flat in the fridge to harden. Use a flat cutting board or a flat plate on which to fill the cake.
During this time, prepare the butter cream. Put sugar, water and coffee in a saucepan and bring to a boil. It should reach a temperature of 115C, but if you don’t have a thermometer, it’s about 10 minutes of cooking on medium heat. You should get a thick syrup that bubbles on its own while it’s on the stove.
While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg yolks well with a mixer, then pour the finished syrup in a thin stream into the egg yolks, whisking all the time with the mixer. Beat for the next 5-10 minutes, until the cream cools down. Then, part by part, add the slightly softened butter, whisking all the time. The butter must not be cold due to the temperature of the cream, so that lumps do not form.
Stacking the cake
Take that crust out of the fridge and then place it with the chocolate side down on the plate or tray in which you will form the cake. So chocolate goes DOWN. Then, evenly spread a few spoonfuls of cooled coffee syrup. Let the cover absorb nicely, and if you have applied too much and it won’t absorb, pick up the excess with a paper towel.
Then, spread half of the butter cream on the crust. Cover with another cover and repeat adding the syrup. Spread the cooled chocolate ganache on top and cover with the third crust. Repeat the syrup and cover with the rest of the butter cream. Try to apply it as evenly as possible. Put the cake in the fridge until you make the chocolate glaze.
Melt the chocolate together with the butter over low heat. Spread it evenly over the cooled cake, but work quickly so that the buttercream doesn’t melt. Put the cake in the fridge and wait for the chocolate to set completely. I let it stand overnight.
A pure slice of cake
In the morning, I trimmed the edges of the cake again to get a neat cut and right angles. I do this by washing the thin knife under a stream of hot water for each cut and drying it with a cloth. I make a cut, then wash the knife again. It’s the only way to get clean edges and pristine frosting. When you have finished with the edges, measure the length of the cake and divide it into 6-8 equal parts. I divided it into 6, but I think the pieces were too big considering what kind of cake this is.
If you have chocolate left over, use it to write “Opera” on each piece and decorate as desired. I used some gold leaves that I found in Dis. The manufacturer is Stamenković or something like that. I’m not enthusiastic about anything, but in the absence of edible gold, this served🙂
To summarize, the opera cake is definitely in the TOP5 cakes I’ve ever tried or made. What about the fantastic taste and texture, what about all the preparation techniques that are needed to make it perfect. I really like it when you can learn so much from one recipe.
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