YUM 🙂
I baked this Gateau de l’Opera on Sunday afternoon. I had flicked through the recipe book to cakes thinking Sunday was a good day to attempt one as I had more time. A simple three layered sponge popped out at me from the photo, a little bit involved but should be right! Maybe I should have read the fine print!!….
First I made the sponge, which entailed whisking 6 egg whites
to make a meringue which was added to the cake mixture consisting of ground almonds, icing sugar 
and another 6 eggs! Well, this was looking like a serious bake. The mixture was light and fluffy and divided nicely among the tins. With those baked and cooling, I thought this cake might not be so hard after all. 
Next I made a brandy coffee syrup
which took a couple of goes as the first one ended up like fudge, nice to eat but not to spread. This I brushed over the cooled sponges, they soaked it up like honey. 
I turned the page and was surprised to see the recipe continued on to another full double spread. 
I was pleased I hadn’t checked how long the recipe was before I started, or I doubt I would have, started!
So then I made the ganache, Luckily I had enough chocolate in the house. The consistency was a bit watery so I put it in the fridge to set. I had always wanted to know how to make ganache and it was so easy, nearly boiling cream poured on chopped chocolate with butter. Got to be good for you, right?
Then I made the coffee cream, which entailed making a sugar syrup to a high temperature 
and pouring it over beating egg yolks (More eggs!!) 
Then adding a huge amount of butter.
Wow, amazing texture and flavour.
Recently I had restocked up on kitchen spatulas as mine had all broken and had bought a thermometer just in case! Fun, I get to use it!
I layered on the thick coffee butter cream.
It had been almost 2 hours now and I was only just assembling the cake! 🙂
I left the ganache to set in the fridge while I went to church. In the carpeted church, the altar boys had bare feet. Such a strange sight and one that is so culturally relevant to New Zealand as a sign of respect, – 
taking off your shoes before you go inside. When I lived in South America, I had small babies at the time who often wore no shoes, which always surprised people. For us going bare foot is a sign of respect or freedom, for other cultures, it’s a sign of poverty or being poorly dressed. Rather have the bare feet myself!
So I got home having bought MORE chocolate.
Chocolate glaze
The ganache was perfectly set and I couldn’t believe it, the recipe had a second double page spread!! A full six page recipe!! Well I guess it is a French Gateau, next time I’ll read the fine print first. I layered the ganache on the second layer of sponge,then put the glaze on top. 
After writing Opera in melted chocolate and 3 hours of baking, I felt like I had been on Master-chef.
We ate this one no trouble at all, it was divine. Of course we shared it around, a bit.
