To moisten each layer of sponge, I made a caramel apple syrup. Cool with the chocolate face down on a layer of greaseproof paper. One of the best ones being covering the bottom sponge white another layer of chocolate, so it wouldn’t stick to the plate and would be easier to slice. I borrowed some great tips from Joe Pastry for this bake as a whole. – Buttercream – french or otherwise! My attempts at French buttercream weren’t great, but it’s a great way to use the leftover egg yolks, and is the perfect complement to the almond sponge. I found cooling on top of another sheet of baking paper helped move them around during assembly. – Remove from the oven and carefully peel off the paper. – Bake at 220 degrees for 5 – 7 minutes, until lightly golden on top and springy to the touch – Spread the mixture into 2 tins – approx. – Fold the egg whites gently into the almond mixture, before folding in the melted butter, a couple of spoonfuls at a time – In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, ground almonds and sieved icing sugar for about 5 minutes, until roughly double the size
– Beat the egg whites to a soft peak stage, and add the sugar to form a stiff peak meringue mixture
However on reading through, my baking tins were not 18 x 13 inches as they’d used – so I scaled it down to 2/3 to fit with my 14 x 11 inch tins, which are your standard kitchen baking trays.Ĥ egg whites (you can use the yolks in a french buttercream, see below) My recipe was based on this one over on BBC Food. The Opera cake recipe is pretty much the same all over the web – for the basic Joconde (almond) sponge at least. The choices from the semi-final program were a Charlotte Royale ‘brain cake’ from the technical challenge, or a rather more appealing layered Opera cake. Bring the remaining cream (80ml) to the boiling point and incorporate into ganache.Īllow to cool until a smooth, spreadable consistency is obtained and spread over top of cake.This week my parents came over for dinner, providing a perfect opportunity to try out another dessert from The Great British Bake Off, as part of The Great Bloggers Bake Off. Melt the rest of the ganache over a pan of very hot water. Place the last section on top, soak with remaining syrup and spread with the rest of the butter cream, taking care to smooth the surface. Place the next section of sponge on top, then soak with coffee syrup and spread with half of the ganache. Soak the first section with one-third of the coffee syrup, then spread over it half of the butter cream. Each should be 10 x 20 cm (4 x 8 inches). Using a sharp knife, divide the sponge into three equal sections and carefully peel off parchment paper from sections.
Beat until mixture is cold.ĭissolve instant coffee in 1 teaspoon of boiling water, cool and add to butter.Īdd one half of the egg-white mixture and beat well, then gently fold in the remainder until well combined. Continue beating while incorporating the hot syrup. Place sugar and water in a heavy skillet and make a sugar syrup (stir until sugar is completely dissolved then boil, without stirring, until syrup reaches soft-ball stage, between 116 and 118 degrees C (214 - 244 degrees F).īeat the egg whites until soft peaks are obtained. Place sugar and water in a pan and stir until dissolved. Let cool until a spreadable consistency is obtained. Wait 30 seconds, then add the butter and mix until smooth. Place finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside.īring milk and 30 ml cream to a boil. Loosen the edges with a knife and carefully turn out onto a wire rack covered with a sheet of parchment paper. Spread batter evenly into a 8 x 12 inches (20 x 30cm) shallow baking pan lined with parchment paper.īake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden and springy when touched. Gently fold in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter.įold in the rest of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter. Add in sugar and whisk until stiff peak is obtained. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually whisk in sifted ingredients and ground almond. Whisk whole eggs until ribbon stage (thick and slightly pale).
Sift together icing sugar and plain flour.