Opéra

Opéra is a French cake in which thin almond sponge is soaked with coffee and layered with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache. It is assembled so that the 3 flavors can be enjoyed in a single bite. It is shaped as a low rectangle; in cross-section, the layers line up like thin horizontal lines, and the top is covered with chocolate.

To create beautiful layers, the separately prepared sponge, the buttercream made with whipped eggs, and the emulsified ganache must each be spread to an even thickness.

A slice of Opéra with layers of thin sponge and cream. Photo: Wowo2008, 2017-10-05, location unknown. Original image / CC BY-SA 4.0. Downscaled version from the distributing source. The Exif data records the use of Windows Live Photo Gallery, but the nature of any editing is unknown. No additional editing by us.

Thin almond sponge and 2 kinds of cream

Joconde is a sponge made from almond flour, eggs, sugar and a small amount of flour, with egg-white foam added. It is spread flat, baked briefly, cooled, and then soaked with coffee syrup. This spreads aroma and moisture throughout the sponge.

One way to make coffee buttercream is to add hot sugar syrup to eggs, whip the mixture, and then add butter and coffee. Another method is to make a meringue by adding hot sugar syrup to egg whites and combine it with softened butter.

Ganache, on the other hand, is made by emulsifying warmed cream with chocolate and adjusting it with butter or other ingredients to a spreadable consistency. They are not simply creams of different colors: one is made by whipping eggs, and the other by emulsifying chocolate.

Stacking 3 sheets of sponge and cream in even layers

In the classic method, buttercream and ganache are layered separately between 3 sheets of sponge, and a thin layer of cream is also spread on top. In one method, a thin layer of chocolate is spread on the underside of the bottom sponge so that it absorbs less moisture. The middle sponge is soaked with syrup from both sides, and cream is spread evenly over it.

The assembled cake is chilled in the refrigerator, and glaçage is poured over the top while it is not frozen. Once the surface has set, the edges are trimmed with a warmed knife. The thickness of each layer affects not only the appearance but also the balance of flavors in each bite.

A cake of the same name in 1899 and the 1955 creation recounted by Dalloyau

The name “Opéra” was used even before the cake made of thin stacked layers as we know it today appeared. According to a historical commentary by a manufacturer of pastry ingredients, a “gâteau Opéra” appeared as a signature cake in an 1899 newspaper advertisement for the Grand Hôtel in Paris.

However, the formula of that cake is unknown. It is not known whether it consisted, as today’s does, of thin layers of sponge and cream flavored with coffee and cacao.

Dalloyau states that in 1955, Cyriaque Gavillon created a cake in which the flavor of the whole could be experienced in a single bite. As for the origin of the name, Dalloyau relates that his wife, Andrée, named it in dedication to the dancers of the Paris Opéra who came to visit.

Dalloyau in Hong Kong describes the current Opéra as 8 layers of coffee joconde, cream and dark ganache. Dalloyau Japon’s product guide describes it as 7 layers consisting of joconde, coffee buttercream, ganache and a glaze. Even for a cake of the same name, there are examples that give different numbers of layers.

The 9-layer Clichy and differing accounts of Opéra’s origin

One account of the Clichy’s history says that Marcel Bugat, who inherited its recipe (recette: the proportions of ingredients and the method), had a relative taste it, after which a very similar Opéra appeared at Dalloyau. It is unclear whether Opéra was made with reference to the taste of the Clichy or whether each was created independently. Dalloyau and the Clichy shop pass down different histories.

A 1981 report on the shop describes the Clichy as a signature cake of 9 layers of egg-rich almond sponge, whipped coffee buttercream and bittersweet chocolate. Not only layer counts such as 7 or 8 layers, but also the combination of thin sponge and 2 kinds of cream is a feature shared by Opéra and the Clichy.

“Millot”: sponge and ganache enclosed in mousse

Valrhona’s Opéra Millot replaces the almond joconde with a coffee Viennese sponge and uses whipped ganache and chocolate mousse. The mousse is made by combining warmed milk and cream with chocolate to form an emulsion, then mixing in sugar and whipped egg whites.

For the coffee ganache, warm milk and honey are combined with chocolate, and cold cream is added as well. It is chilled for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, before being whipped. The mousse and the whipped ganache take in air at different points.

Syrup-soaked sponge and ganache are layered in a small circle and frozen, placed in the center of a larger ring, surrounded with mousse and frozen again, then thawed slowly in the refrigerator. Even when the structure of stacked thin layers is changed to one in which a core of sponge and ganache is enclosed in mousse, the aim of enjoying the flavors of coffee and cacao in a single bite remains the same.

Glossary