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It’s time again for Daring baker’s challenge. I joined daring baker’s group in Jan 2008. I had to miss the last two challenges because of my India trip. According to rules of the group, we can’t miss more than 2 in a row. So I had to do this challenge if I wanted to stay in the group 
and here I am.
This moth’s challenge is Opéra cake - hosted by Lis, Ivonne, Fran and Shea. Their explanation of the cake is as follows:
Opéra cake’ is a cake that is made up (usually) of five components: a joconde (a cake layer), a syrup (to wet the joconde), a buttercream (to fill some of the layers), a ganache or mousse (to top the final cake layer) and a glaze (to cover the final layer of cake or of ganache/mousse).
Traditionally, a joconde is flavoured with darker flavours such as chocolate or coffee. But in honour of the season (spring in our neck of the woods) and as part of our decision to tie our posts in with the LiveSTRONG theme, we are making Opéra Cakes that are light in both colour and flavour.
This means NO CHOCOLATE, COFFEE OR COCOA. But it does mean vanilla, coconut, lemon, almond or whatever other light flavours you can think of. It means NO DARK COLOURS when decorating your cake. But it does mean lots of white, cream, ivory, yellow, light blue, light pink, light green or whatever other light colours strike your fancy.
When I read the challenge, I was all hooked to it. I love those layered cakes and I wanted to learn baking one on my own. I had no idea how someone could get such uniform thin layers. I thought it was challenging. Soon I realized I didn’t have any of the ingredients/baking pans required. Anyway, I decided to give it a try.
First hurdle was “jelly roll pans”. No clue, what they were. I googled and saw some pictures of it. Then went to every supermarket I know here and started searching for them. Looks like I was having my “brain dead” days. I should have read about them instead of just looking at the pictures. After searching for 2 weekends, I gave another search in google, by then a small bulb in my head had started blinking indicating those pans look a lot similar to baking sheets. So I searched again “what are jelly roll pans” and I got the answer here.
Oh well, I was happy because I had a baking sheet with 1 inch depth. But we needed two and in 12½ x 15½-inch size. I used my newly acquired measuring tape to measure the one I had. It was 11½ x 17½-inch size. I didn’t want to buy one more baking sheet and used the one I already had. So cake layers came out thinner than needed. Anyway…
Then other daring bakers started showing the glimpse of their beautiful creations. I knew for sure that I cannot make half decent one. So instead of waiting till the last moment, I decided to make it on a Saturday. I had many grand plans for my cake. But I ran out of patience pretty soon, so I didn’t do any of the decorations that I had thought of initially.
My white chocolate ganache got messed up, or thats what I thought and threw the whole batch. Then I realized I was out of chocolate, so I had to run to the store. Somehow I could not get the buttercream in right consistency. I used whatever I had. It was way too runny even after refrigerating for some time. So the layers came out too thin. I still haven’t completely understood the difference between Ganache and Glaze. In my case, both of them almost turn out the same.
Finally I decided to decorate the cake with few mango pieces. The cake was very very tasty. Only problem was it was bit too sweet for our taste buds. It was more like an ice cream. But still, I definitely want to make it again sometime (will try to reduce the sugar). I would also love to try this cake with coffee and dark chocolate. I wish I had put few more mango pieces in between layers, because these pieces gave really nice flavor and texture to the cake.
Since the proportion was too big, I halved the quantity except for the buttercream. I used the same quantity as in the recipe for buttercream. Click here for the recipe.
Blanched and peeled almonds
Ground almonds (almond meal)
Egg whites beaten till they are stiff
Cake batter ready to go in oven
Baked cake. After removing it from the sheet, I cut it into 3 equal horizontal pieces
Melted chocolate with cream for ganache
First cake layer
Buttercream spread on top. Keep 4 thin strips of paper towel on all sides of cake. When all the decoration is done, pull out the strips. This helps in getting clean cake base and avoids the mess at the bottom of cake.
Second layer
Third and final layer
Cake, in it’s final avatar (It was very thin, so was hard to click a picture)
Update:
Check out the vegan version (without eggs and dairy products) here.
Looks like lot of work, you did a great job. I love that green color frosting!:))
May 28th, 2008 at 6:46 amhi ,
looks really yummy. is there a way i can mke this cake without eggs, as we donot take eggs. great job! well done.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:02 amShilpa, i must say you have SO MUCH patience to do this and the cake looks delicious! I wish i could have a slice:)
Sree
May 28th, 2008 at 7:45 amI think your cake looks beautiful! I love the pretty blue/ green color to it!
May 28th, 2008 at 7:55 amWow..m hooked on to this one..truly a beauty Shilpa..
May 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am(Pls chk after few hours on my new post! Some more appreciation from me awaits to b honored by u!! :D)
Wow wonderful.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:03 amI like that you showed us the pictures of making the cake. I have never made a layered cake so was really nice to see one made.
Loved the way you have explained step by step. I have a big rectangular cake tin, shall try with that. I have never tried any cake with layers or icing. Liked the way you have cut those mango hearts.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:32 amShilpa, Loved the way u have showen , very nice and the colour is awesome.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:43 amHai ,
first thanks for your beautiful comment about my blog thank you so much wow shilpa what a cake my mouth is full of water ha what to do i can not eat because iam in abudhabi. that is anice idea for layers thanks.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:43 amI love the colour..refreshing…I had probs with my buttercream as well..but got it sorted out..
May 28th, 2008 at 9:06 amNicely done! I love the mint color with mango - tres belle!
xoxox Amy
May 28th, 2008 at 9:22 amYou did a great job on the cake, Shilpa! It looks perfect! Applause!
May 28th, 2008 at 9:37 amIt looks so pretty! The colour and the texture both look great:)
May 28th, 2008 at 9:41 amShilpa, your cake has come out beautifully…love the light colours…I had to give it a miss
May 28th, 2008 at 9:45 amLooks beautiful and delicious….
May 28th, 2008 at 10:02 amWow, Lovely cake Shilpa !! nice color too !!
Can i make this cake eggless ??
May 28th, 2008 at 10:34 ambeautiful..lovely pics and explanation…mouthwatering opera cake shilpa….:)
May 28th, 2008 at 10:37 amYour cake looks great Shilpa…a opera cake wow!!!
May 28th, 2008 at 10:56 amWell worth all of the work! Your cake looks beautiful and I love the green! Great pics
May 28th, 2008 at 11:05 amWow! looks very very yummy
May 28th, 2008 at 11:35 amBut is there a way to substitute the egg whites with something else?
wow, the color reminds me of Pista, The mango hearts are so sweet. This was my first challenge, I was terrified but it came out ok and we loved the cake and did not find it too sweet.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:41 amWow..Shilpa, great great job!! I really like the color you chose .. and the detailed pics are a big help for others to try out!! Keep it up girl!
May 28th, 2008 at 11:51 amIt is just beautiful - your step-by-step photos are gorgeous!
May 28th, 2008 at 11:53 amFirst of all, ur selection of tht shade of green is just too good. It looks so appealing right away with the little mango pieces on top too. I think your did a great job with the cake..Looks lovely..
May 28th, 2008 at 11:54 amI don’t know, I think your opera cake is quite lovely. I also used the larger sheet pan and got thinner layers… but mine are nowhere near as uniform as yours. Great job!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:11 pmOoo … that looks delicious! Especially the mango touch!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:27 pmgood job on the challenge! And the green color frosting makes the cake look so springy!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:34 pmI’m really loving the blue glaze. It looks so modern and spring-like!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:39 pmThis cake was quite a challenge, wasn’t it? Despite everything that happened, yours still looks wonderful!
May 28th, 2008 at 2:05 pmAbsolutely beautiful….despite all of your usual self-criticisms!
I don’t have any friends here who can make cakes like you: keep up the good work with this intricate, edible craft!
May 28th, 2008 at 5:01 pmHey Shilpa,
May 28th, 2008 at 6:59 pmCake looks wonderful.. loved the blue frosting and mango pieces on them. Though you said you lost patience.. it does not reflect in the cake
Hi shilpa,
May 28th, 2008 at 7:26 pmI am ver curious to see your photograph. why not post one if you do not mind? My weight has gone up just reading your recipies.
You certainly rose to the challenge. As long as it tasted good, that’s all that matters in the end. I’m sure it will be better next time.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:47 pmMy glaze is the same colour. I didn’t make the ganache, too scared to.:)
I love the colours of this cake - so pretty and fresh. Great job.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:40 pmWonderful step-by-step photgraphs. I am amazed to see the eg whites whipped so nicely. Mine never turn to this cloud like consistency. Excellent looking cake and would have tasted great too
May 29th, 2008 at 2:27 amWow shilpa…the first picture of cake looks fabulous…the color is so pleasing to eyes! Lovely..keep up the good job
May 29th, 2008 at 3:09 amHey Shilpa,the cake looks yummy!!
May 29th, 2008 at 3:36 amYou did a wonderful job on your cake. Making both a regular and a vegan version is awesome.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
May 29th, 2008 at 7:24 amwow! Loks gr8 and so much effort! Me ready to eat it!! :))
May 29th, 2008 at 10:48 amLooks absolutely YUMMMmmmmmmmmmmy. Where do u live Shilpa. Maybe I cld move and become yr new best friend
lol
May 29th, 2008 at 11:04 amShilpa, you did a fantastic job. My buttercream was rather runny too - love the colors here!
May 29th, 2008 at 1:17 pmWhat a gorgeous color! It looks lovely, and your step by step photos are awesome!
May 29th, 2008 at 2:25 pmLove the cake Shilpa.. esp the green color!.. Yummy! Great job buddy..:)
Siri
May 29th, 2008 at 2:45 pmLove it! It is so summery…makes me think of the beach! My glaze wasn’t as thick as I thought it should be…oh well!
May 29th, 2008 at 3:13 pmThis opera cake just sings Spring!
May 29th, 2008 at 5:29 pmHi shilpa,
To me your cake looks awesome!!!!!wow all u gurls do a grt job on daring bakers challenge….keep it up!!!!
Best regards,
May 29th, 2008 at 9:15 pmVeda
It was a lot of work, but so delicious. The blue in your glaze is very pretty!
May 29th, 2008 at 9:54 pmShari@Whisk: a food blog
Hi shilpa,
May 30th, 2008 at 4:46 amVery interesting & feels yummy… will try it soon & let u know…ohhh i have to wait till mon to try it..weekend is busy…
Great clear shots you have there! Your opera cake is lovely. Love the color though!
May 30th, 2008 at 6:12 amWow…this is wonderful,so tempting,gr8 work!
May 30th, 2008 at 10:34 pmWow-what a lovely cake - and how did you get that lovely light turquiose color?
May 31st, 2008 at 2:44 amShilpa: Chitra, I mixed food colors in the buttercream.
Look at that color! Awesome.
May 31st, 2008 at 4:30 pmoo, nice and bright colours!
June 1st, 2008 at 5:02 amOh, wow! Check out the colours on that cake! Nicely done!!!
June 8th, 2008 at 9:40 amnever seen a cake layer by layer..its absoluely gorgeous!!!
June 9th, 2008 at 10:32 pmi have’nt tried it, but it looks yummy!thanx
August 13th, 2008 at 4:41 amI love what you are doing keep it up. Please make me your friend to teach me on cake and decorating tips and latest recipes I hope am noe asking too much, thanks a lot.
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August 26th, 2008 at 5:34 am