Opera Cake

An early X'mas Cake for my husband's collegues.

Combo:
Joconde (Almond Cake)
Coffee Syrup
Coffee Buttercream
Joconde
Coffee Syrup
Chocolate Ganache
Joconde
Coffee Syrup
Coffee Buttercream

Served with Coffee Cream Anglaise (Coffee Custard)

Recipe from A La Cuisine who adapted her recipe from this book


I've used half of the amount to make an 8" round cake, and then trimmed it into the above shape.

With half the amount of Joconde batter I could make another 1-2 layers to be honest, but I ended up making thicker slices instead. Will make sure I'll keep the layers thin next time.

Also I should have soaked more syrup into each layer, the cake layer should be at least half soaked with syrup but mine are still really white.

This cake's total height should not be over 3cm.

Make sure you choose a good quality dark chocolate and coffee for this cake, any aftertaste such as sourness from these ingredients will come through.

I've deducted some sugar here and there as we prefer a less sweet cake. You can do so as well if you like.

The cake is quite heavy to eat on its own, but the custard has served its purpose in lightening the cake.