Daring Bakers May 2008: Opera Cake

An opera cake typically consists of multiple layers of cake with coffee syrup and chocolate or coffee buttercream, all topped with dark chocolate like this version from the Splendid Table or this version on flickr. It's not unknown to play around with the flavor combo though, like this tasty looking matcha (green tea) version. This month's Daring Bakers challenge was a twist on the standard Opera Cake, making it more spring-like. We weren't allowed to use any dark colored flavorings, like chocolate or coffee. Since it's strawberry season right now in Tennessee, we decided to go with a lemon-strawberry version of the Opera Cake. Here's a PDF Version of the recipe, with our modifications.

The finished cake turned out quite nicely:

A lot of time and effort (more than the other DB challenges, at least for us) went into this one - we were baking and making various components for something like 4 hours, and that's without counting assembly and decorating time! Fortunately, the end result was very tasty:

If you click on the photo, there are notes in flickr saying what each layer is.

This also gives me a chance to mention my temporary favorite kitchen gadget, the strawberry huller:

I know that it seems silly to have a single-function gadget in the kitchen, but sometimes it's really worth both the purchase price and the even more valuable kitchen drawer space. The strawberry huller can really reduce strawberry waste because you're only pulling off the stem and a tiny bit of the top of the strawberry. Plus, it's quite small and takes up very little space in the drawer (like another one of my favorite single-function gadgets, the cherry pitter).

We had several problems along the way and this was a true challenge to put together. But I suppose that if the recipes were easy, we wouldn't be called the Daring Bakers ;) The worst part was when the buttercream frosting, which had been coming together nicely, turned into a liquid mess. A little time in the fridge, a little more time on the mixer, and it was fortunately saved. Our luck wasn't quite as good with the mousse/ganache. I mixed white chocolate that was still a bit too warm into the whipped cream - oops! No saving that one. Re-doing the mousse/ganache with a dash of added patience had a more successful result.

We also had a bit of an unintentional modification. Because our pans were larger than the suggested pans, our cakes were larger than suggested. We ended up using four layers of cake rather than three, but we still had plenty of buttercream frosting since we went with mousse for the top layer. We were also left with enough cake pieces to make this:

A mini round opera cake. I almost prefer this version to the slices of cake!

FYI, the Daring Bakers have a new website with some discussion forums that are open to non-Daring Bakers. Stop by and take a look, and check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to find even more exciting interpretations of Opera Cake.

This month's DB challenge is dedicated to Barbara of the blog winosandfoodies. Barbara's a former DB member who has been fighting cancer for 4 years. She runs a food blogging event called Taste of Yellow in support of the Lance Armstrong LiveSTRONG campaign (you can see the links to the round ups of the 2007 and 2008 events on the right sidebar of her blog).

Comments

[Chou]

Ooh, I've never heard of a strawberry huller. Your cake is beautiful--I imagine the strawberries went very well.

[Renee Kranking]

Bravo! Your cake looks great.

[Em]

I just bought my first strawberry huller last weekend!!!
Congrats on completing the challenge :)

[sara]

oooh, gorgeous! and the mini one is so cute!

[Rebecca Schmitz]

I just wanted to see what another strawberry-and-lemon fan did with her cake. My lemon buttercream was liquid--well, more like curd--until I refrigerated it and beat it a second time. Yours looks great!

[Andrea]

Lemon and strawberry sounds wonderful! Your cake looks great and I love the little round mini cake!

[Natashya]

I love the dipped berries on the top, and the berry layer in between, a nice tart element to a rich cake. And you can never have enough kitchen gadgets!

[Lesley]

Mmmm yum. Those strawberries on top are to die for! Great idea!!

[Christine]

Great job on your cake! Love the pics!

[Dolores]

Strawberry lemonade, with a French pastry twist... I love it. Great job with May's challenge!

And I wouldn't part with either my strawberry huller or my cherry pitter (which also works for olives)

[Lisa]

Nice job! I don't think I realized that there was such a thing as a strawberry huller OR a cherry pitter. Of course now I must have both.

[Shari]

I like the matching chocolate-dipped strawberry! Very cute!

[Barbara]

So very pretty. What great timing for this cake to be made during strawberry season.

[Claire]

My mom lives in TN and just got a flat of strawberries from a farm around where she lives. I was quite jealous. Your cake looks great...and I'm a bit partial to the round ones, too!

[Rebecca]

Absolutely gorgeous! Can't get enough strawberries this year. Thanks for the tip on the huller, too. I'd always wondered if they were worth it.

[Deborah]

Your strawberry version sounds delicious! Great job!

[Erin]

Okay, where did you get your strawberry huller?? I read about one that OXO makes, but I haven't been able to find it ANYWHERE.
--Erin

[Marie]

Mouth watering. I love strawberries. There's nothing wrong with having the right tool for the job.

Happy (belated) Birthday! Yours is just 4 days before mine.

[Debyi]

Your cake looks great! The strawberries look really good, it must have tasted so refreshing.