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Four Layer Opera Cake



After a day of a fully rested body.. i woke up today feeling better.. lately i get tired pretty easily and now I am back taking my energy boost pills which i had abandoned 6 months ago..

I guess its the age thingy but hb kept on saying that its just me who doesnt know how to rest.. oh well.. i still think its the age thing tho.. anyway guess what happened earlier today? u remember how it is with Sonia and electrical gadgets?? well her "best friend" decided to die on her earlier today..




At least twice a week i will take Sonia to the indoor playground at our place.. thats where our gym is and opposite the gym area theres a fairly big fish pond full of hungry fish.. and when i say fish.. i dont mean tiny tiny fish.. these fishes are huge.. eh lemme correct myself.. these fishes are humongous!!

So ok.. today she decided that she wanted to take along her iTouch which i only realised when we got to the pool area.. i reminded her to hold on to it tightly and that if shes not careful she might end up with an iTouch filled with water.. long story short.. we then went down to the fish pond area to feed the hungry fish.. by then i was holding on to my iphone and her iTouch in my hand.. while feeding the fish.. she got really excited and out of the blue accidentally knocked my hand and guess what happened next?? yep yep.. my iphone dropped next to my leg.. her itouch flew into the fish pond.. i got really panicky.. had i quickly dug my hand into the pool.. the hungry fish would definitely nibble on my hand which is a big no no.. yikes! i then quickly ran to the other side of the pond.. threw in fish food and as soon as i saw the fishes swim towards the food.. i dug my hand in the pond and took it out.. of cos the next thing i did was to quickly try to "revive" it and of cos that didnt work.. i then looked at Sonia with an angry face and guess what she said to me?? "Mama why did u drop my iTouch.. spoil already!"... grrrr.. kids!! they say the darnest thangs!




Anyway back to what i baked today.. i had actually wanted to bake African Gateau but had a change of mind when i saw pics of Opera Cake fm my previous post.. i knew at that instant that i had to bake it again and this time around i wanna do the original version of it.. jaconda with mocha buttercream and ganache.. i had used recipes fm different sites, change a few steps, added a few more ingredients, changed it to four layers instead of six and this is what i came up with..

Ingredients
200g finely ground almond
100g caster sugar
6 eggs
50g butter, melted
60g all purpose flour
115g egg whites
55g confectioner sugar - i used caster sugar

Methods
-Preheat oven to 200C.. Prepare two pans (20 x 20 cm), greased and lined with baking paper.
-In a large bowl combine ground almond, caster sugar and 3 eggs, beat at high speed for 10 minutes, scraping often.
-Add remaining eggs one at a time, continue to beat for another 10 minutes.
Stir in 4 tbsp of almond mixture into melted butter and mix till well combined, set aside.
-Add sifted flour to the remaining almond mixture, mix well... put aside
In another bowl, beat egg whites til foamy, add sugar gradually and continue to beat until soft peaks formed.
-Take 1/3 of egg white and pour into almond mixture and mix it gently.. pour back almond mixture into the remaining 2/3 egg white mixture and continue to fold in gently.. dont overmix or u might deflate ur egg white..
-Divide and spread into prepared pans, bake both pans at once for 20 mins in 175C. Cool completely, remove from pans, discard paper and slice it into total 4 layers.

After making Joconde, here are the key components you cant't skip at all:

Coffee Syrup:
100ml hot brewed espresso - u can of cos use 15g of instant coffee with 100ml hot water
100g sugar

Mocha buttercream
100g egg whites
200g sugar
300g unsalted butter - cubed and chilled and let it out once u start to whip ur egg white/sugar
1/2 tbsp mocha paste
1tsp coffee oil - u can use coffee essence/flavor if u cant find coffee oil

Chocolate Ganache
200g dark chocolate compound
200g milk chocolate compound - i used a mixture of 70%, 64% and 55%)
75g unsalted butter
250 ml fresh cream - i used double cream

Method
Coffee Syrup:
Mix all ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Set aside.

Mocha buttercream:
1. Using double boiler.. heat egg white and sugar till sugar dissolved - use ur thermometer ok.. heat till 65C..
2. Pour egg white mixture into ur mixing bowl and whisk using high speed till mixture turns glossy.. add in cubed butter one at a time and continue to beat till its slightly fluffy.. (buttercream texture)
3. Add in coffee oil, mocha paste and 50ml of coffee syrup into buttercream.. stir till well combined.. set aside

Chocolate Ganache:
1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces.
2. Heat cream until warm. Remove from heat and pour it over chocolate.. let it sit for 5 mins and stir
3. Add in butter and continue to stir well again.
4. Put it aside till it thickens.

Assembling
There are various way to assemble Opera, you can find many on internet. Heres my version..

- Place one sheet of joconde upside down (top of the cake on bottomside).
- Brush thoroughly with coffee syrup until moist.
- Spread one part of coffee cream evenly over the cake.
- Cover with another sheet of joconde, always upside down.
- Brush thoroughly with coffee syrup until moist
- Cover with thick ganache and cover with another sheet of joconde.
- Repeat above steps until all joconde, coffee cream and ganache are stacked completely. Chill for 10 minutes.
- Double boil remaining ganache over low heat just until simmer, pour evenly on the top. Chill for another 30mins.
- Trim the sides thinly to remove excess cream & ganache to reveal the layers of art and delicacy.

Serve it as a luxurious semifreddo dessert on your special occasion.




Tastewise?? need i say more?? hehe

59 comments:

DG said...

I want it .... So delicious and I want it now!

Anonymous said...

nyummy.. i want some!!! post it to SABAH plis..
really adore your work. . neat and tidy! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi sis Rima...I'm Yanti your silence reader...ohh my gods your Opera cake are so tempting...I wantttt :)really wanna try your recipe one day...just now I just imagine that opera inside my peti ais :)

SurayaCoghlan said...

Rima, mummy jugak yg disalahkan..harharhar. Sungguh tak dapat ku bayang kan bagaimanakah kau berlari-larian di tepian kolam itew..hikhikhik.

Yat Maria said...

Babe

tsktsk...sebijik cam swiss bakery!!cannot tahan anymore, harus try & make jugak kan..bila vit masuk, ai wat k, sebab tu kira special occasion..hehe..hari2 kat opis, orang tanya i bila leh dpt surat tu, macam la ai ni sedara mara hr..manala ai taw bila dpt kan..

btw, yr blog dah ok ka? ai baru leh comment..nak comment at CCCC tak taw asal keep on sangkuting..

Anonymous said...

haha, mommy dearest. agree with yat, swiss bakery it is. marvellicious sin, this.

Mas said...

waaaahhh..cantik nya kek tu...berlapis2.....
tergoda mas tengok..

Ida,Japan said...

emmmm.....sedapnyer k'Rim, mmg halus keseniaan tergambar di situ,dan di mana2 kek yg k'rim buat..ida kagum

K.Nor said...

wahhhh....... speechless ...

Yan said...

Salam Rima, dah berminggu nak post comment tapi tak leh. apesal ntah. this is one of the cake that i will not bake but teringin gile nak makan. he he... but i've baked ur recent marmer cake and everyone love it. baked ur elvis presley fav pound cake and everyone loves it too especially after taken out of the oven. Next? ur strawberry chilled cheesecake kut since i have another 1kg of creamcheese kat fridge tu.

CS said...

Rima
A FLOC it is ... Nasib baik you tak buat Four Layer Opera Pancake = FLOP, ngeheheeh...

You n Yat boleh buat FLOC, biar I sorang jer buat FLOP :-)

Winnie Chua said...

Morning Rima,

Waking up this morning to this fantabulous cake makes my day ... tho i don't get to taste it. Great piece of work ... :)

Mrs & Miss Vanilla said...

WOW!!!!!!! Need I say more.....
Memang WOW...

Rima said...

DG
LOL ok come and get it lah hehe

Rima said...

Ty Anonymous.. i wud if i know ur name and adrs lol

Rima said...

Yanti
Ty for leaving footprints here.. welcome welcome and do bake it so that ur imagination will become reality hehe

Rima said...

Sue
Imagine a sri lankan maid berlari lari dgn tochang satu.. cam gitew lah ku when i am in my hood.. silap haribulan orang ingat i am SOnia's maid.. muahahhaha

Yat Maria said...

gate crash Cik Som..

kihkihkih very funny arr tu FLOP..ahakss

Rima said...

Babe
Oh ye ker?? entah lah .. tak tahu apasal dgn blogger ni tau.. buat orang marah aje! kadang ok.. kadang ko.. am still playing around with wordpress.. macam malas pun ade nak change to wordpress

Tak de lah macam kat swiss bakery lol.. i am pretty sure after ur TCCC sure u boleh buat opera cake :o)

Rima said...

Noir
No lah.. where got same... itew swiss bakery not homemade one kahkahkah

Rima said...

Mas
Its supposed to be six layers.. i changed it to four layers of cake.. two layers of mocha buttercream and 2 layers of ganache.. err dah berapa layer tu?? ahakss

Rima said...

Ida
Ty and not always pun halus.. kadang kala bila mood tak dak.. kesenian ku jadi terkasar jugak hahaha

Rima said...

KNor
hehe ty ty.. if u hv the time try and bake it ok :o)

Rima said...

Yan!!
woahhh dah lama tak nampak! ade baik kah?? i am sorry to hear that.. i dont really know whats up with blogger.. macam frust mak aji dibuat nye! anyway glad both cake turned out well and mendapat sambutan hangat :o)

Happy baking!

Rima said...

Cik SOm
Muahahah .. U see thats why i beri u gelaran queen of abbrev.. ade2 aje..buat orang tersengeh macam kerang busuk hahah

Rima said...

Awwww ty Winnie! u are better off cos by looking at it.. u will not expand ur waistline hehehe

Rima said...

Mrs Amp
Ty ty.. Need i say more?? tu ade resep nya.. jgn tunggu lama lama :o)

KG said...

adoyai....yg ori tak pun tak terbuat, inikan pulak...apakah....miss you babe...been bz lately....whn you are in kl nxt give me a tinkle k :p

Rima said...

Babe
u gate crash ehhhhh hahaha.. cik som memang funny.. no need a cake to make my day lol..

eh babe.. tu envelope kan.. pada firasat ku.. cukup bulan agaknye u guys will get it cos cos i am waiting for my hb punya profit sharing too hehehe

Rima said...

Yani
i miss u too lah.. i know u hv been busy with ur valentines order.. congrats and lepas ni boleh sapu lotion byk byk kat tangan.. nak pakai weiii hehehhe

I will be in KL next wed till weekend.. hope to see u for a cuppa ok.. maybe meet u in that french cafe next to concorde?? :op

Art lover, cinnamonworldofcolours said...

Hi Rima, had enjoyed this few days lookin thru your blogs. Guess what? I made yr donuts. T.Q, my family loves it. And will try some of yr cakes in no time!!

fara dean said...

Salam kak...
woww!! kagumm betul tgk..mesti super delicious rasanya!!

Rima said...

Art lover
I hope u will not hv any probs leaving comments or looking thru some of the recipes.. lately blogger ni macam tak keharuan lah

U try donut yg mana satu?? dah lama tak buat donut kentang.. tu my family's fav..

Rima said...

Fara
Theres only two ways that u can end ur craving.. either u bake it or u buy it over the counter hehe.. but kan lagi shiok if u bake it cos u know what goes into it.. sudah tentu nye.. ingredients yg terbaik :o)

Belly Good Cooking said...

Very beautiful cake. :)

Art lover, cinnamonworldofcolours said...

HI, I made from yr blog sometime in 2009, the simplest one I guess. And, yet to be upload in my blog.

Rima said...

Belly good looking
Thank you.. cud be better tho.. first time piping wordings on my cake :o)

Rima said...

Art lover
Ohhh ok .. if u hv the time try yg donut kentang.. lembut and gebu and dough very easy to handle..

Anonymous said...

First time try, tak leh komen apa-apa. Kotak ini pun tak wujud U. Ishhhhhhhhhh. Grrrrrrrr dgn blogger.com ni.

Cuba lagi, Wow! berlapis-lapis, cokelat, kopi, oh! now I am speechless.

2/3 hari sudah Ai telah memperkenalkan blog U ni pada kwn-kwn lama Ai. Kali pertama dorang tengok blog U, semuanya ternganga. Sib baik lalat tak sempat beranak dlm mulut dorang tu. Pastu, siap posted on my fb ac kata tq, tq (mode gedik) kerana kenalkan blog ni. Kah..kah.kah

Melatie

Rima said...

Melati
LMAO.. part gedik tu lah yg tak leh angs.. i can only imagine hehe.. i dont know lah what to say to blogger dot com ni.. can only do the sigh thingy for now.. nothing i can do unless i wanna pindah rumah which i malas bangat buat masa kini..

Anonymous said...

MasyaAllah...*Clap Clap Clap*

Not surprised at all if this tastes way better than any Swiss Bakes. Dont underestimate homemade cakes n such. Many times hv eaten more superior tasting homemade cakes. Yg kat bakeries n coffee joints tu selalunya nampak lawa jer.
LAKSA

Rizd said...

Babe...I nak I nak kek tu..ya ampun..telan air liur mcm terasa- rasa kek in my mouth!!!!!.. Nak try buat but hor see so many many ingredients...malas.com lah pulak....

Kids says the darndest things....I can't disagree with u!!!!! The 'i' technology kids nowadays ( iphone, iPod, iPad n anything sewaktu dengannya) are making mummies goes nutzzzzzz :)

Yan said...

I okeh... thx for asking. hari2 dtg umah u kut2 dpt merasa sikit. tapi dpt ilmu halimunan lak. nak tinggal jejak pun tak leh... isk isk..

hana said...

rimmmmm..... aiyakkkk pingsan gue dbuatnyer! psst nk tnya ar... ko setting apa eh amik gambo yg cung melecung tuh?? aku nih ponat duk tonggang tonggek tp nape tak cung cam ko nyer erkkk?? lens samo cam ko ckp aritu...ajor ar... huhuhu

Anie said...

Rima,

Tadi pagi punyalah semangat I type dkt comment box u ni, penat jari2 I at last tak boleh post~~part ni ada exaggerating sikit huhuhu...

Btw, I baru jer pasang balik mata I sbb tadi dua2 terpop out kluar tgk kek ni yg cantik, jelita...wooowww wweeee :D

K.zai said...

cantik nya kek..hingga x terkata..
Rima, blog you ni select laguage ada problem ke..bila klik jd error je...

Kongkang Malaya said...

K.Rima,
Ahaks! Sonia is soooooo cute! Have to admit, she was just stating the obvious, eh? Hehehehe!

I'm so tempted to try this cake but it's way to complicated to my level. Huhu! I did make your Red Velvet the other day (haven't put it up in my blog yet tho) and despite mine didn't turn out red like yours (I ran out of red cooring, can you believe that?), the cake was SO SO SO yummy! Thanks again for sharing the recipe!

Kongkang Malaya said...

K.Rima,
Ahaks! Sonia is soooooo cute! Have to admit, she was just stating the obvious, eh? Hehehehe!

I'm so tempted to try this cake but it's way to complicated to my level. Huhu! I did make your Red Velvet the other day (haven't put it up in my blog yet tho) and despite mine didn't turn out red like yours (I ran out of red cooring, can you believe that?), the cake was SO SO SO yummy! Thanks again for sharing the recipe!

SJB aka SUELYN J-B. said...

Wow, tebal nya.

Jun said...

oo no..ooooo noooo...byknye layer...i just had 2 pcs of choc cakes wif ganache. i shud say hi rima n then run as fast as i could...dat cake is soooo tempting...i wont dare to bake it...hahahhaa. had enuff this week..gathering after gathering...brownies, carrot cake wif creamcheese topping, choc cake, steam choc muffin..oo no, no wonder i feel so tired...opps! must b d age factor..not d foods eh? (we r about d same age i think la rima...+-...hahahhaha)

Miss Cool said...

tergoda tengok kek tu :) must be vvvv yummy

Cool Chic Style Fashion said...

Meravigliosa ♥

Anonymous said...

Bravo Rima!!!I'm drooling over your Opera!!!Great piece of work!!!!

Zwina, France.

Rima said...

Thank you Zwina.. do gv this recipe a try yah.. its delish!

Yannz said...

Wonderful cake..wanna try someday..congrats..

Rima said...

Yannz
Ty and u shud.. its not as complicated as it looked

Ribbon and Circus said...

K. Rima,

I finally did it!! I made this cake last week and phew! it was worth it!!! ;D

Mary's Pastry Lab said...

this looks really yum!!! thick filling! :) well done.

Rima said...

Ty Mary.. i hv three opera cake recipes here .. i liked all of them...

About Me

My photo
Hi.. I am a SAHM to 2 kiddoes..19yr old boy n 2 year old girl.. met my Austrian hubby here in Singapore and hv been living here all my life... my love for baking started when i was 6mths preggie to my daughter, Sonia... my addiction to baking has not stop eversince.. I hope to learn as much as i can abt baking and decorating and then share it with u along the way..