Project O

Hello again! :)

How is everyone doing? I sincerely hope all is well with you. I myself have been happy and well.

Reason number 1: my dear W has just visited me, and spending a few days together with him has recharged me. Although now I have to deal with the post-visit gloomy days, I’m hopeful for the days to come because I believe our Lord has beautiful plans for us. I have to admit that long-distance relationship is not easy to maintain. High level of commitment and trust are extremely required. We’ve got our share of arguments and silly fights, but they strengthen us and help us to understand each other better. I’ll miss you sorely, dear...

Reason number 2: the special project I mentioned in my previous post turned out well. WHEEE !!! ^^v. I called it Project O. Earlier this month I found an Opera Cake recipe. It looks interesting and doesn’t look hard to make. I feel challenged to make one, mainly because the picture that comes with the recipe is pretty! The layers of almond joconde (almond sponge cake), coffee buttercream, and chocholate ganache are beautifully arranged, and when sliced, they look divine! So yesterday I’ve succeeded in making one. It doesn’t look as nice as the original recipe, but I’m quite happy with how it turned out. I was a bit scared because I substituted the almond meal with blended sliced almond. I read a few posts on some forums saying that substituting almond meal with blended sliced almond is not a good idea because the consistency won’t work and such. But yesterday, my almond joconde was nice, only that it’s a bit coarse. Maybe next time I have to blend the sliced almond even more finely. The cake turned out pretty too although I was sceptical when I was assembling it, cos the outer appearance is not appealing at all. Well, I guess you can’t always judge a book by its cover, can you? I was proven wrong when i sliced that cake. The inside was quite pretty, and i was content, feeling that my whole day of labour was justified. Hehee.. Taste-wise, personally I think the recipe is a bit too sweet. Need a bit more bitterness from the coffee. And the joconde needs to be soaked with more coffee syrup and liquor. There will always be a second time, but for my first try, I’m satisfied!

Here's bakingbee's first ever opera cake.
The frontal facing one is the ugly outer appearance.
The other bit is the one that's got inner beauty, said CJP.

PS. Opera cake definition according to my faithful friend, Wikipedia. ;)

Opera Cake is a type of French cake. It is made with layers of almond sponge cake (known as Joconde in French) soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffee buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze. According to Larousse Gastronomique "Opéra gateau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing."