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Cardamom Coffee Opera Petit Gateaux

A perfect blend of flavors. Spice from the cardamom, bitterness from the coffee, and rich full body from the Terra Rosa powder.

Difficulty
ServingsHalf sheet tray Opera Cake (Servings: approx. 50 portions cut at 3 cm x 7 cm)
Preparation Time: 1.5 hours
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Finishing Time: 20-30 minutes
Products used: Terra RossaTrue GoldQuito OroRich Terracotta
Print Recipe
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Part 1: Jaconde Sponge
Ingredients
  • 259g Whole Eggs
  • 159g Hazelnut Flour
  • 52g Flour
  • 52g deZaan Terra Rosa cocoa powder
  • 149g Confectioner’s Sugar
  • 10g Coffee Powder
  • 207g Egg Whites
  • 56g Sugar (Caster)
  • 56g Butter (Melted)
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Prepare one full sheet tray with baking paper or a silpat.
  2. Sift hazelnut flour, cocoa powder, flour, and confectioner’s sugar into a bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
  3. Whip Egg Whites to stiff peaks. Gradually adding the sugar after egg whites becomes a frothy texture.
  4. At the same time add whole eggs gradually to dry ingredients mixing well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light.
  5. Once egg whites have formed glossy firm peaks, add to egg and flour mixture in 3 stages. Folding gently after each addition.
  6. Fold in melted butter and transfer to prepared sheet tray.
  7. Spread evenly onto entire sheet tray. With your thumb, pass in a straight line on the sides of the sheet tray creating a steady barrier for even rising.
  8. Bake at 200ºC for 10-15 minutes (depending on oven strength).
  9. Check for readiness (firm to touch). Once baked, remove carefully from sheet tray and cool on a rack. Set aside until ready to use.
Part 2: Ganache
Ingredients
  • 80g Cocoa Butter
  • 81g deZaan Terra Rosa cocoa powder
  • 50g Glucose
  • 350ml Cream 35%
  • 2 Green Cardamom Seeds (Crushed)
Method
  1. Prepare a bain-marie.
  2. In a heat-proof bowl, add cocoa butter and melt to 40-42 ºC (make sure not to surpass 45ºC.)
  3. Once Cocoa Butter is at correct temperature, add glucose and cocoa powder and blend until smooth.
  4. Transfer to a larger bowl and set aside until ready to use.
  5. In a saucepan, add cream and cardamom seeds, bring to a soft boil. Set aside for 2 minutes allowing the cardamom to infuse.
  6. After the 2 minutes are up, strain and reheat the cream.
  7. Add cream to cocoa mixture and blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
Part 3: Coffee Buttercream
Ingredients
  • 250g Sugar (Caster)
  • 60ml Water
  • 90g Egg Yolks
  • 300g Butter
  • 20ml Espresso Coffee
  • 10g deZaan True Gold cocoa powder
Method
  1. In a saucepan, add sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Cook until syrup reaches 118ºC.
  2. At the same time, add egg yolks to a mixing bowl with whisk attachment and beat until thick and light.
  3. Once syrup has reached the correct temperature, stream into egg yolk mixture while constantly mixing.
  4. Continue to whip mixture until texture becomes very thick and light.
  5. Add butter gradually, mixing well between each addition.
  6. Add true gold cocoa powder
  7. Stream in Espresso until all ingredients are well combined. Set aside until ready to use (if the buttercream is too soft, reserve in refrigerator).
Sliced Cardamom Coffee Opera Cake
Part 4: Opera Glaze
Ingredients
Method
  1. Prepare a bain-marie.
  2. In a heat-proof bowl. add cocoa liquor chips and melt to 40-42 ºC (make sure not to surpass 45ºC).
  3. Once Cocoa Liqour is at the correct temperature, add oil and blend until smooth
  4. Set aside until ready to use.
Part 5: Bottom Coating
Ingredients
Method
  1. Prepare a bain-marie.
  2. In a heat-proof bowl, add cocoa butter and melt to 40-42 ºC (make sure not to surpass 45ºC).
  3. Once Cocoa Butter is at the correct temperature, add cocoa powder and blend until smooth.
  4. Set aside until ready to use.
  5. If mixture starts to set, transfer back to bain-marie and warm slightly.
Part 6: Espresso Cocoa Syrup
Ingredients
  • 100ml Water
  • 100ml Espresso Coffee
  • 2 Green Cardamom Seeds (crushed)
  • 50g Sugar
  • 30g deZaan Rich Terracotta cocoa powder
Method
  1. In a saucepan, add water, sugar, and cardamom seeds. Bring to a simmer. Allow sugar to dissolve completely.
  2. Add Cocoa powder (make sure to stir constantly to prevent the sticking of the cocoa at the bottom). Bring to a quick boil.
  3. Add Espresso to syrup and stir.
  4. Strain syrup into a heat-proof container.
  5. Let cool and soak (with a pastry brush or spoon) into sponge while assembling.
Part 7: Assembly
Method
  1. Cut sheet joconde sponge into 3 equal parts.
  2. Spread one sponge part with thin even layer of the bottom coating recipe. Place in refrigerator for quick setting. Once set, remove from the refrigerator and flip to have bottom coating side down onto sheet tray.
  3. Soak with Espresso Cocoa Syrup.
  4. Spread an even layer of coffee buttercream on top of the first sponge (about 5 mm thick). Let sit in refrigerator for 5 minutes just to set the buttercream a bit.
  5. Place second sponge on top of the buttercream, pressing down gently and evenly.
  6. Soak with Espresso Cocoa Syrup. Spread an even layer of ganache on the second layer of sponge (about 5 mm thick).
  7. Place third sponge on top of the ganache and press down gently and evenly. Let sit in refrigerator for about 5 minutes to allow ganache to set.
  8. Once set, remove from refrigerator and soak with the espresso cocoa syrup.
  9. Spread an even layer of coffee buttercream on the top of the sponge.
  10. Let set in the refrigerator or freezer until firm (cake must be quite cold so that the glaze will not melt the buttercream).
  11. Prepare a rack and a sheet tray covered with plastic film wrap to catch access glaze.
  12. Once cake is firm and very cold, warm opera glaze to 30-31ºC.
  13. Set cake onto prepared rack and glaze. Using an off-set palette knife, pass over the top of the cake to create a smooth and even layer of glaze.
  14. Remove from the rack and transfer to a sheet tray. Allow to chill in refrigerator until set.
  15. Once set, cut off access sides of cake and decorate with Coffee Buttercream.
Assembly Image Of Cardamom Coffee Opera Cake

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