Reduce heat and simmer syrup, without stirring for 5 minutes. Bring sugar and remaining 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir together espresso powder and 1 tablespoon water until powder is dissolved. Bake sponge cake until the top is very pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack while preparing the coffee syrup, buttercream and chocolate glaze. Batter will be about 1/4 inch thick in the pan. Using an offset spatula, gently spread the batter in the pan until it is even, being careful not to deflate. Fold one third of the beaten whites into almond mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites. Add granulated sugar, then increase speed to high and beat until whites just hold stiff peaks. Add cream of tartar and salt and beat until whites hold soft peaks. Beat egg whites in a bowl with cleaned beaters at medium speed until foamy. Reduce speed to low, then add almond flour and confectioners sugar and mix until just combined. Beat whole eggs in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until eggs have tripled in volume and form a ribbon when beaters are lifted, 5 to 10 minutes. Generously butter the parchment paper and then dust the pan with cake flour, knocking out excess.
Butter a 15×10-inch rimmed baking pan, then line bottom of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on short sides. So err on the side of using too much buttercream and chocolate in the middle layers than on top. The top most layers of buttercream and chocolate glaze should be on the thin side.
So, here’s a quick reference list of the layers (in the order you build the cake): Fortunately, I realized my mistake soon enough and was able to correct it. It’s all necessary but it can be easy to lose your place when you’re reading and assembling at the same time. I blame the large amount of text in the recipe instructions. Keep track of the layers – I somehow skipped the middle chocolate layer when I assembled the cake the second time. So brush on some syrup, let it soak in and then brush on some more.Ĥ. Initially, it will look like there is too much coffee syrup for the cake but you’ll be surprised how much liquid the cake can absorb. Be patient brushing on the coffee syrup – You want to allow enough time to let the coffee syrup soak into the cake layers. They should be even lighter than what you see in the photo above.ģ. The top and edges of the cake should barely be golden. Don’t over bake the sponge cake – I didn’t pay enough attention the first time I baked the cake and let it get too brown which did nothing to help the already too dense texture. If you have a smaller stand mixer, you should be fine to use it as long as the eggs are being thoroughly beaten.Ģ. I had much better luck when I used my handheld mixer. It seemed like only the top of the eggs was getting whipped which didn’t allow enough volume to develop and my cake ended up dense rather than light and airy. Use the right size mixer for the job – Trying to beat 2 eggs in my large upright mixer was pretty ineffective. This isn’t a particularly difficult cake to make (it can actually all be done in a few hours) but here are a few tips that I think you’ll find useful.ġ. But don’t worry, I’m going to share everything I learned with you. Let’s just say I learned a lot from the experience since I ended up having to make the cake twice. However, I really wanted to post this recipe in time for Valentine’s Day and decided I would make the cake myself. Since my husband had always been the one making this cake, I hadn’t ever made an opera cake before last week.
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