| Type | Cake |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | France |
| Created by | Cyriaque Gavillon |
| Main ingredients | Sponge cake, coffee syrup, ganache, coffee buttercream, chocolate glaze |
Opera cake (French: Gรขteau opรฉra) is a 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 (or Grand Marnier) French buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze. Its name originates from its layers resembling the levels of an opera house.
According to Larousse Gastronomique, "Opรฉra gรขteau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing."[1] Traditionally, the word Opera is also written on top of the chocolate glaze. Edible gold leaf is sometimes added to the presentation.[2]
Origin
editAn advertisement in Le Gaulois in 1899 offers a "gรขteau opรฉra".[3]
The cake was popularized by the French pรขtisserie house Dalloyau, but its origin is unclear. Cyriaque Gavillon claimed to have created the cake there in 1955[4][5][6] and that his wife Andrรฉe Gavillon named it after the Opรฉra Garnier.[5]
Gaston Lenรดtre (1920โ2009) claimed he invented the dessert in 1960.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Larousse Gastronomique [full citation needed]
- ^ Greenspan, Dorie. "Opera Cake". The Splendid Table. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ "Pรขtisserie du Grand-Hรดtel, 1 rue Auber. Spรฉcialitรฉsย : Gรขteau Grand-Hรดtel, Gรขteau Opรฉra, Plum-cakes. Salon reservรฉ au Five-Oclock Tea". Le Gaulois. 18 March 1899. p.ย 3.
- ^ Grand Larousse Gastronomique. Larousse. 2007. [full citation needed]
- ^ a b "L'Opรฉra" (in French). Dalloyau. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
L'Opรฉra. Le fameux gรขteau, composรฉ de trois feuilles de biscuit joconde, garni de crรจme au beurre cafรฉ et de ganache au chocolat, est une invention de Cyriaque Gavillon, le grand-pรจre de Christelle Bernardรฉ, actuelle coprรฉsidente de la maison Dalloyau. L'histoire veut que cet entremets ait รฉtรฉ baptisรฉ en hommage aux entrechats d'une danseuse รฉtoile et de ses petits rats qui venaient ร l'heure du thรฉ s'รฉgailler dans la boutique du faubourg Saint-Honorรฉ. [The Opera cake. The famous cake, consisting of three sheets of joconde biscuit, topped with butter cream coffee and chocolate ganache, is an invention of Cyriaque Gavillon, the grandfather of Christelle Bernardรฉ, current co-chair of Dalloyau. The story goes that the pudding was named in homage to the capers of a star dancer and her young rats who came to tea is the talk of the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honorรฉ boutique.]
- ^ MC de La Roche (4 March 2012). "Dalloyau au Moulin-Rouge, la fรชte des sens โ Des petits rats de l'Opรฉra aux Doriss girls" [Dalloyau at the Moulin Rouge, a festival of the senses โ From little rats of the Opรฉra to the Doriss girls]. Madame Figaro. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ^ Jean-Claude Ribaut (10 January 2009). "Gaston Lenรดtre". Le Monde. p.ย 21.
Gaston Lenรดtre avait revendiquรฉ l'invention du gรขteau ยซย opรฉraย ยป (biscuit et ganache au chocolat parfumรฉ au cafรฉ). Rendons ร Cรฉsar... Le pรจre de l'ยซย opรฉraย ยป est Cyriaque Gavillon de la maison Dalloyau. [Gaston Lenรดtre has laid claim to the invention of the 'opera' cake (biscuit and ganache flavoured with chocolate coffee). Render unto Caesar ... The father of the 'opera' is Cyriaque Gavillon of maison Dalloyau. ]