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29 August 2017, 10:14 | Updated: 29 August 2017, 10:27
The classic opera cake is layers (and layers) of sponge, ganache, Italian meringue and despair. Oh no, NOT THAT LAST ONE. It’s notoriously difficult – and was even one of the technical challenges on the Great British Bake Off 2014. So obviously we challenged one of the team to make it ahead of the launch of the brand new series
Bake Off is back! So, to mark the occasion, we challenged a member of the Classic FM team to tackle the most famous musical cake ever made…
So it’s only appropriate that the cake named after it – the extremely French opéra cake, is one of the most complicated, overblown and complex desserts ever to grace a cake stand.
Here it is in all it's cordon-bleu glory:
It’s so tricky in fact it has featured as a technical challenge on the Great British Bake Off. Which was particularly mean of the judges.
Lizzie is one of the content editors at ClassicFM.com. She dabbles in baking.
She is, however, unclear on the exact meaning of a ganache and does not own a sugar thermometer.
It’s fair to say she has no idea what’s to come. Over to Lizzie…
So today I will be baking an Opera Cake because I blinked first in a @ClassicFM editorial meeting.
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
Ok first thing first for my #operacakeodyssey What music goes with an epic, rich, multi-layered dessert? pic.twitter.com/eAnhTrhwIC
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
Right. Now. What’s a sugar thermometer? Ah, probably not crucial. Right guys?
To the soundtrack of Das Rheingold, I have managed to separate three eggs with hardly *any* egg shell in the bowl.
So far I have successfully separated 4 eggs. Step one is IN THE BAG.
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
Egg whisking is taking so long. SIDENOTE: you can follow Classic FM on snapchat – we're at classicfm (surprisingly)…
Step one: find out what ganache is.
I am a ganache queen. YAS. Sidenote:
lesson: you should cube butter before it softens *licks fingers* #operacakeodyssey pic.twitter.com/bxWkk7Nm3p
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
One of the key components of opera cake is coffee-flavoured Italian meringue buttercream. It is with the realisation that all those words describe just one component of this cake that I begin to think I am out of my depth.
I only learned what Italian meringue was about 10 minutes ago but those 10 minutes have been a rollercoaster of terror, nausea and anxiety.
Basically, in musical terms, it is the Well-Tempered Clavier of the patisserie world: it needs to look effortless, be filled with air BUT it's actually one of the most difficult things on the planet. OK THEN.
This: pic.twitter.com/QE5I2tYk9l
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
This, it turns out, is where it's crucial to have a sugar thermometer. OH WELL.
But it is so satisfying…
So far it's been fairly smooth sailing… with the odd hiccough.
WHOOPS just forgot a hob was still warm and put a packet of butter on it… pic.twitter.com/NZd0RSj1cd
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
DISASTER
WOE I think my Italian meringue might have split… pic.twitter.com/pkzTVCgPNd
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
Enthusiasm is waning now, five hours into this enterprise.
Here's how I was hoping to look at this point: pic.twitter.com/0LdgqzZhRQ
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
How I actually look mid-Italian meringue #operacake pic.twitter.com/NgGrC5SWgS
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
Time for some Rossini to push me through the home straight. LET'S GET MY ICING GROOVE ON.
Now playing: pic.twitter.com/npoBeVYCpT
— Elizabeth Davis (@lizidavis) August 21, 2016
HERE IT IS!
Hours taken: 8
Layers created: 8
Opera cakes made: 1(ish)
Actual operas listened to: 4
Spirit levels used: 1
Dreams of being star baker shattered: 1
Lessons learned: don't even
If you *do* know what an Italian meringue is and *do* own a sugar thermometer, you can try baking an opera cake yourself – here's the recipe I used on The Telegraph, but there are plenty more available online.