Although it feels like it's been a while since I've written a post, the baking has been on like there's no tomorrow! Since the afternoon tea function (which I am still using to post entries about!), we had baby girl's first birthday party where I baked up a storm (more on that later) and this weekend feels like the first weekend I've had in a very long time to just catch my breath!
So this is a Gateau Opera with layers of joconde soaked in a coffee syrup, coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache. I've made this many times before and it's always a winner so I just had to include this on the afternoon tea menu! Despite knowing how to make this, I have to say, I was not very pleased with how I assembled the cake. I make one piece of joconde and then cut it in half cross sectionally which calls for a very steady hand. Unfortunately, with so many other desserts to make, I was getting myself all flustered in the kitchen and my hands were far from steady, particularly as I was trying to rush through the mountain of baking, so each cross section piece came out very uneven! It also didn't help that I was assembling one large cake and then cutting it into individual slices - I'm sure if I had used small individual moulds to assemble the cake, I think I I could have gotten each piece close to perfect. Oh well, next time!
I topped each slice with candied cocoa nibs which gave a nice textural difference to the cake. I must credit C for the suggestion and well, he did make the candied cocoa nibs for me too!
This has to be one of my favourite cakes - coffee and chocolate is always a winning combination! Despite taking 3 to 4 hours to make, I would recommend people give this a try if you like coffee and chocolate!
