Wild Yeast

Notes from my kitchen, in which I bake bread and raise a few other matters

L’Opéra

•

The Daring Bakers Light Opera Cake Company

presents

L’Opéra, A Cake in Five Acts

__________

Composed by Louis Clichy

Original Libretto by Dorie Greenspan, Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty

Libretto Adaptation by Ivonne and Lis

Conducted and Directed by Susan

__________

This evening’s performance is dedicated to cancer survivor and honorary Daring Baker Barbara, creator of LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow, in recognition of her inspiring strength and love of life. The performance is also dedicated to Susan’s dad, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2002, and among whose favorite things were opera and cake.

__________

Principal Singers

Sweets ……………….. White Chocolate
Sugar
Fats ……………….. Butter
Cream
Body ……………….. Almond Meal
Leavening ……………….. Eggs
Flavorings ……………….. Orange Extract
Lemon Zest
Vanilla Bean
Tuaca

__________

Synopsis

Act I: The Joconde. An almond sponge cake is baked in jelly roll pans and cut into three square layers.

Act II: The Syrup. A simple syrup of water, sugar, and Tuaca (an Italian vanilla and citrus liqueur) is brushed onto the joconde.

Act III: The Buttercream. Seeds from one vanilla bean, two teaspoons of orange extract, and one teaspoon of lemon zest flavor a very buttery buttercream that is sandwiched between the three syrup-soaked joconde layers.

Intermission: 30 minutes, during which the house is cooled to 38 degrees.

Act IV: The Ganache. White chocolate mousse spiked with Tuaca tops the final joconde layer.

Intermission: 3 hours at 38 degrees.

Act V: The Glaze. For the grand finale, warm white chocolate glaze is poured over the ganache. In the postlude, additional cooled glaze is piped decoratively on top to complete the cake.

__________

The Critics Are Talking…

“Delicious!” — S.

“I’m having another piece” — M.

“The white chocolate topping is too thick” — T.

“Really good” — L.

“Although a bit too much sweet-on-sweet for my taste, I enjoyed learning how to create each component and seeing them come together in an elegant cake. If I were going to make this again, I would: use less orange extract (it bordered on overpowering), use the traditional dark chocolate instead of white, and incorporate some fresh fruit between the layers. Thanks to Lis and Ivonne and their co-hosts Fran and Shea for this spectacular challenge! Check out the other Daring Bakers for their interpretations of this classic work.” — Susan

CommentsLeave a comment

  11. Cute post! 😉 I also felt that the cake had too much sweetness, but it definitely satisfies those cravings… Lovely job and gorgeous photos!

  20. gorgeous, and your post is too adorable for words! but i think i like the sweet-on-sweet combo — although the sugar rush after two slices was a tiny bit uncomfortable! 🙂

  27. Susan, I love your cake and it is lovely but I love the programme feel of your post even more. As both a classical musician (in my ever so small spare time) and an opera lover, I wanted to sit down and devour the programme!

  34. Your entry is just beautiful. Creating our cakes already needs much creativity, it’s nice to see you extending that to your blog entry as well. Bravo!

  37. Wow, wow, wow! I can say it million times! This is by far the cutest entry of Opera Cake I’ve seen so far! I love your presentation! And your principal singers are getting a standing ovation from me right now! How cute!!!!!! Can’t stop reading it from top to bottom:)

  40. You have outdone yourself! I think the cake is absolutely fabulous and your Opera is splendid beyond words.
    Bravo! Bravo! with many standing ovations.

  41. I loved your post! And the cake, well, its just stunning! I’m quite jealous 🙂 Mine turned out looking like a marshmallow sandwich! 🙂 Next time, right? Very, very well done, Susan!

  42. I really enjoyed your post! So original! Your cake is also stunning! I hope to improve on my ability to decorate cakes as time goes on.

  45. Susan, this was marvelous. Really. Your creativity is amazing. And the cake is perfect — the swirls on the top so cute. Did I use up my quota of adjectives? I can keep going…

  52. Fun post..an opera program is perfect. It is a super sweet and rich cake. Yours looks divine with all the white and the swirls on top. Maybe less orange next time, but it LOOKS great.

  53. WOW – your cake is GORGEOUS!! It was my first Daring Bakers challenge — seeing yours is an inspiration! I love the swirls. The citrus sounds luscious – I love the idea of combining it with dark chocolate too. Lovely!

  55. Definitely smart to skip the syrup. It’s amazing, I admire you for many other reasons than your incredible cake! Great job!

  57. I love your whole presentation here! Such a beautiful cake & a worthy dedication to your dad – he would be proud.

    xoxox Amy

  60. So much fun! Beautiful cake, but I love the thought and creativity that went into the post. Well done, or should I say, “Brava, Bravissima!”

  67. I adore your post- very clever!!
    Your cake is divine – I love the white on white very elegant decoration! Just beautiful- Brava!!! Encore!!!

  70. Were you lucky enough to get abercrombie and fitch kids the opportunity to smell Abercrombie Woods before it was discontinued? If not then you definitely still have an opportunity to buy a bottle of this well-liked mens cologne, however you’ll have to purchase it from a private seller. Abercrombie and Fitch discontinued the most effective Abercrombie abercrombie coupons cologne ever made and now several people are searching excessive and low online to find a bottle from personal sellers. The bottles are limited abercrombie and fitch store model but there are still locations that you may buy them from.

    There are several online websites that have Abercrombie Woods cheap abercrombie clothes online cologne on the market in their on-line cologne store. This is a excellent spot to begin your search. The proprietor’s abercrombie and fitch hoodies of these shops had been good enough to purchase as many bottles of Woods cologne as they might when they have been discontinued cheap abercrombie in order that they could present them to the individuals who still remember what this highly effective scent smells like.

    One other place that you could be need to look is websites that people can sell gadgets to cheap abercrombie and fitch different people. Non-public sellers are a great source in the case of discovering Abercrombie cologne. These are people who have gathered bottles of Abercrombie Woods in hopes of selling them for a revenue to individuals who want to buy them. Amazon is among the largest abercrombie and fitch sale uk marketplaces that you’ll find this cologne for sale. It is possible for you to to get an genuine bottle of Woods abercrombie moose males cologne for a terrific deal by buying it from a private seller.

    Abercrombie Woods cologne has been rumored to go for abercrombie and fitch replicas upwards of $500 per bottle. Since you can no longer buy this cologne on the Abercrombie and Fitch store it has grow to be considerably of a collector’s item. Those that personal a bottle don’t wear it frequently as a result of the odor is so great they wish to make it last for as long as they presumably can. If yow will discover a bottle for abercrombie fitch male models sale then it would be best to make sure that you hang on to it and make it last. You never know if it is possible for you to to get one other bottle abercrombie and fitch outlet and if you do then you could have to pay a number of occasions extra in a few years than what the present worth is.

    Abercrombie cologne is the best smelling mens cologne on the market. Abercrombie and Ftich has been making great scents for a long time, and every man absolutely loves the smell that these products offer. If you are having a hard time trying to figure out what you want to get for the man in your life this Christmas this would make an excellent gift that every man will love unwrapping.

    It is hard a lot of times to find the best men’s cologne. A abercrombie and fitch job lot of men do not like the smells that a lot of cologne products have and therefore do not wear them more than once or twice. Some scents can be very overpowering and people will shy away from anyone who is wearing a smell that is very strong. Some smells may not be abercrombie and fitch models strong enough and nobody will ever notice some of them. There are a few things you can do to make sure that you get the right type cheap holilister of Abercrombie cologne for your man.

    If you do not mind letting him in on the big secret of what you are getting him for Christmas then you can just ask him if he has a favorite Abercrombie scent. If he just comes right out and tells you then you will know exactly the one he prefers. If you do not want to let him in on the secret abercrombie and fitch photography gift you are planning to get him then you may have to do a little bit of investigative work to figure out the right one to buy. If you have to become an undercover spy then there are some quick places that you will be able to start. You could start with asking his family and friends which type of cologne he likes to wear and see if you get any clues there. If you do not get the answers that you are looking for then you may have to do a little more work. You may have to do things like snoop around abercrombie fitch outlet in his bedroom or bathroom to see if he has any cologne bottles laying around. If he does then you can take not of abercrombie fitch which ones he has and you will be able to get an idea of which Abercrombie cologne scents that he might like.

    If you really want to get your man something special this abercrombie and fitch catalog Christmas then get him a gift that he will love and can use everyday of the year. He is not the only one who will get a benefit from this gift though. You will get the pleasure of being able to smell this great smelling mens cologne on him every time he wears it.

  72. It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy.

    I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you some
    interesting things or suggestions. Perhaps you can write next articles
    referring to this article. I desire to read even more
    things about it!

  73. needless to say appreciate your website but the truth is need to take the transliteration in quite a few of your content. Many usually are filled with punctuational problems so i think it is incredibly annoying to see reality however Let me certainly return all over again.

  74. Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
    The words in your content seem to be running off the screen
    in Internet explorer. I’m not sure if this
    is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I figured
    I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope
    you get the problem resolved soon. Cheers

Trackbacks

Send this to a friend