Service - CAS Project 5/19/21 (Learning Outcome 1)
There’s nothing quite like cutting into a beautiful cake only to be delighted by the elegant and perfected layers inside. That is the experience I attempted to replicate with my Opera Cake today. Also known as a Gâteau Opèra, this sponge cake alternates layers of joconde, French buttercream, and dark chocolate ganache. Then to top it all off it is covered in a chocolate glaze to give it a beautiful smooth finish.
The first element that needed to be completed was baking the sponge cake. After whipping the egg whites, and combining them with the flour and other ingredients I had a single layer that went in the oven. The cake is quick to bake because the layer is relatively thin, but it’s probably for the best so that with so many layers people don’t go into a food coma after eating too much. While the cake cooled I prepared the coffee French buttercream and the chocolate ganache and let them also come to room temperature. Both of these needed to be spread very evenly on the cake, so having them the right temperature was important to avoid any potential disasters.
Next I cut the cake into my six layers using some very precise math to make sure they would be as even as possible. The fun part came when I got to stack them and create smooth layers of filling in between each. I also brushed each layer with a coffee simple syrup to give them the flavor and keep them moist.
It was at this point I realized I may have made a mistake.
There’s a pretty decent amount of coffee flavoring in this cake. Some is brushed on every layer, and there is also espresso in the buttercream. Maybe coffee and chocolate are a match made in heaven...to a coffee lover, but as someone who doesn’t like coffee, that could cause a problem.
Even with this realization in mind, I was in too deep to make a switch, and the cake was looking very pretty, and since it's a traditional French pastry, it seemed important that I try it. So I plowed forward, and after a couple of hours in the fridge to set the layers, I did the most satisfying part of the process: trimming the edges. Once the edges were evened out you could see the definition between the cake and ganache and buttercream. And may I just say, I was extremely pleased with the result! I had been worried my layers were too thin, but they looked like just the right width to give it the classic Opera Cake dimension. Although it was beautiful, the surprise would have to stay on the inside, because the edges also got covered with buttercream.
After another quick hour of refrigeration it was time for the final step: the glaze. For this glaze instead of using cream, I used oil, which made it thinner to spread over the cake and more reflective. I mixed the chocolate and oil in a double boiler to be sure the chocolate wouldn’t burn, took a quick 5 to let it cool, then it was ready for showtime.
As I delicately poured the glaze over the cake, it did exactly what it was supposed to! Almost. The glaze covered the top beautifully and left a thin shiny layer, the sides had a little bit of a harder time. Instead of covering them like a waterfall, the glaze covered them in a thin trickle and left lots of exposed cake, luckily this was a fixable problem and by scooping and drizzling I was able to get the sides covered. Although the outside wasn’t the smoothest work of glazing in the world, the outside isn’t really the pinnacle of this cake.
When I cut the cake open, that was the real masterpiece. Spongy cake, smooth cream, rich ganache, all the layers were there! I was so proud of the way it looked, but now it was time to taste.
Unfortunately (for me) my predictions were correct. The coffee was a little too much for me to handle, and I didn’t really like the cake. According to my parents though, it was delicious! I know they could just be saying that, but I think they were telling the truth (because they both finished their pieces) and I was glad someone would get to enjoy the fruit of my labor.
This Opera Cake was definitely one of the more hands on pastries I’ve attempted during this course with so many layers and flavors, but it was definitely worth the work because of the precise and defined end result.
Because there was too much cake for just my parents to finish, I decided to bring it to the High school to see if the faculty and staff would accept it. Turns out they were happy to, and I was glad I could take it somewhere where it would all be enjoyed and not go to waste.
This day had lots of experiences and many of them fell into learning outcome 1. Throughout this process I was able to create a cake that was intricate and intimidating, but get over a fear of making something that wouldn't end up looking good and as it turns out it was beautiful. In the future I know I can push myself more to take on challenges and not be afraid of failure. This will help me to grow as a person and develop new skills as well as continue to improve the ones I already have.
The first element that needed to be completed was baking the sponge cake. After whipping the egg whites, and combining them with the flour and other ingredients I had a single layer that went in the oven. The cake is quick to bake because the layer is relatively thin, but it’s probably for the best so that with so many layers people don’t go into a food coma after eating too much. While the cake cooled I prepared the coffee French buttercream and the chocolate ganache and let them also come to room temperature. Both of these needed to be spread very evenly on the cake, so having them the right temperature was important to avoid any potential disasters.
Next I cut the cake into my six layers using some very precise math to make sure they would be as even as possible. The fun part came when I got to stack them and create smooth layers of filling in between each. I also brushed each layer with a coffee simple syrup to give them the flavor and keep them moist.
It was at this point I realized I may have made a mistake.
There’s a pretty decent amount of coffee flavoring in this cake. Some is brushed on every layer, and there is also espresso in the buttercream. Maybe coffee and chocolate are a match made in heaven...to a coffee lover, but as someone who doesn’t like coffee, that could cause a problem.
Even with this realization in mind, I was in too deep to make a switch, and the cake was looking very pretty, and since it's a traditional French pastry, it seemed important that I try it. So I plowed forward, and after a couple of hours in the fridge to set the layers, I did the most satisfying part of the process: trimming the edges. Once the edges were evened out you could see the definition between the cake and ganache and buttercream. And may I just say, I was extremely pleased with the result! I had been worried my layers were too thin, but they looked like just the right width to give it the classic Opera Cake dimension. Although it was beautiful, the surprise would have to stay on the inside, because the edges also got covered with buttercream.
After another quick hour of refrigeration it was time for the final step: the glaze. For this glaze instead of using cream, I used oil, which made it thinner to spread over the cake and more reflective. I mixed the chocolate and oil in a double boiler to be sure the chocolate wouldn’t burn, took a quick 5 to let it cool, then it was ready for showtime.
As I delicately poured the glaze over the cake, it did exactly what it was supposed to! Almost. The glaze covered the top beautifully and left a thin shiny layer, the sides had a little bit of a harder time. Instead of covering them like a waterfall, the glaze covered them in a thin trickle and left lots of exposed cake, luckily this was a fixable problem and by scooping and drizzling I was able to get the sides covered. Although the outside wasn’t the smoothest work of glazing in the world, the outside isn’t really the pinnacle of this cake.
When I cut the cake open, that was the real masterpiece. Spongy cake, smooth cream, rich ganache, all the layers were there! I was so proud of the way it looked, but now it was time to taste.
Unfortunately (for me) my predictions were correct. The coffee was a little too much for me to handle, and I didn’t really like the cake. According to my parents though, it was delicious! I know they could just be saying that, but I think they were telling the truth (because they both finished their pieces) and I was glad someone would get to enjoy the fruit of my labor.
This Opera Cake was definitely one of the more hands on pastries I’ve attempted during this course with so many layers and flavors, but it was definitely worth the work because of the precise and defined end result.
Because there was too much cake for just my parents to finish, I decided to bring it to the High school to see if the faculty and staff would accept it. Turns out they were happy to, and I was glad I could take it somewhere where it would all be enjoyed and not go to waste.
This day had lots of experiences and many of them fell into learning outcome 1. Throughout this process I was able to create a cake that was intricate and intimidating, but get over a fear of making something that wouldn't end up looking good and as it turns out it was beautiful. In the future I know I can push myself more to take on challenges and not be afraid of failure. This will help me to grow as a person and develop new skills as well as continue to improve the ones I already have.
Comments
Post a Comment