Opéra Cake

Birthdays are a special day in my household for more reasons than one. For the baker in me, it is a day to put my hands on a long awaited cake that has been on my list for a long time and that finally gets to see the light of the day. With my husband Vishal's birthday falling on 27th last month, I needed to try a rather special cake. And so it had to be the coveted Opera cake, the French classic cake which I have been scared to try because of the sheer number of elements it has. 
The Opera has an equally amazing history too. Story goes that in 1955 French pastry chef Cyriaque Gavillon, working at the legendary Dalloyau shop in Paris, invented the Opera while wanting to create a cake with complex layers in terms of texture and taste. His wife, Andrée,  told him that it reminded her of the famous Paris Opera house, which eventually was the name given to the cake. 

Another story goes that the cake was invented in the Paris Opera to help people stay awake through the final acts of the lengthy shows being heavy coffee laden. 

An Opera cake consists of thin layers of almond sponge called Jaconde which is moistened with a coffee syrup and is then sandwiched with layers of coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache. The cake is then topped with a chocolate glaze. Traditionally the cake is adorned with a edible gold leaf and has the word 'Opera' piped on it.

This cake was even more special and was the right choice for Vishal's birthday as both me and Vishal are ardent fans of music. We love to spend our time singing songs while Vishal strums his Guitar. Music is the key to our hearts and holds us close together. 

The cake turned out a winner as everyone who got to taste it loved it. Being very critical about my own cakes, I found the sponges a bit over soaked but that was not an issue with anyone else.

My over excited daughter was much more eager about her Papa's birthday and made a very sweet card for him. 

Recipe adapted from : Joe Pastry

Ingredients and Procedure: 

Jaconde (Sponge cake) : 

• 3 egg whites
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp clarified butter, melted

Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius.

Grease and line a jelly roll pan 28X21 cm with baking paper and then grease it again.

Take egg whites in a bowl and whip till soft peaks. Add granulated sugar and beat again till stiff peaks. Keep aside.

Take whole eggs and almond meal in a bowl and beat till light and foamy for about 3 minutes.

Add flour and mix.

Incorporate the egg whites in 3 additions carefully with gentle mixing. 

Fold in the melted clarified butter.

Pour batter in the prepared pan and spread with a spatula.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Cool and flip it over baking sheet. Carefully peel the baking sheet and keep aside.

Can be refrigerated for a day. 

Coffee Buttercream : 

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 200 gms butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
• 1 tsp hot water

Dissolve coffee powder in hot water and keep aside.

Take egg yolks in a bowl and whip for 5 minutes.

Prepare sugar syrup by combining sugar and water in a saucepan and allowing the sugar to melt. When the mixture starts bubbling, remove from flame and pour the syrup in a steady stream over the egg yolks while beating continuously. 

Add the butter and vanilla extract and whip together. 

Add the coffee mixture and mix. 

Refrigerate for further use.

Can be made a day in advance.

Chocolate Ganache : 

• 1 cup chopped dark chocolate
• 1 cup cream (I used Amul )

Heat cream in a pan. Take care not to scald it.

Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Mix well and keep aside.

Can be refrigerated.

Coffee flavoured cake syrup : 

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder

Dissolve sugar in hot water and add coffee powder.

Cool and keep aside.

Chocolate glaze : I made a ganache instead of the traditional tempered chocolate topping

• 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup cream

Heat cream and add chocolate. Stir and mix well.

Keep aside.

Chocolate writing : 

Melt a little chocolate and add few drops of vegetable oil to it. Mix well and put in a piping bag and use. 

Assembly : 

Cut the Jacondes in half(to get 2 rectangles).

So you have 4 layers Jaconde sponge.

Take a layer and apply coffee syrup. 

Apply layer of ganache.

Apply coffee buttercream layer.

Put another sponge and apply coffee syrup.

Repeat with ganache and coffee buttercream with all layers till the top.

Pour the chocolate ganache on top. 

Let it firm up in the fridge.

Trim edges from all sides to show the neat layers.

Happy Opera Relishing

Amrita

Gout De France - Good France at Cafe Swiss, Swissotel

Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista presented Gout De France - Good France at Cafe Swiss on 18th March 2015, presenting the best of French Gastronomic delicacies curated by Executive Chef Pranay Kumar Singh.

The buffet spread with the likes of Smoked Salmon and Avocado Verrine, the irresistible French Onion Soup, the legendary Lobster and  Seafood Thermidor, Asparagus and Ham Ballotin, Chicken Fricasse, Wild Camambert with wild mushroom, Vegetable Tian, Ratatouille were more than enough to drag people out of their current ongoing Cricket World Cup fever and crash on to the Good France celebration.

The traditional French Onion Soup was incredible with beef stock and flavours of sorted onions.

The Gigot D'Agneau  was another exceptional dish with lamb which was marinated a day before and slow cooked in fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme at a low temperature for an extended period of time, giving the dish the softness and robust flavours.

Seafood Thermidor as always remains my all time favourite. Seafood baked in white sauce and cheese combination leaves me mesmerized every time.

The dessert section was equally exotic with French delicacies like Opera pastry, Mini Eclairs with chocolate hazelnut filling, Classic Charlotte Cake in mango flavour, Creme brulee, Cherry Clafoutis, Apple Tarte Tatin etc.

Since pictures speak more than a thousand word, we captured a gist of the evening that is posted below. Of course for a culinary sedation one has to make a bee line at Cafe Swiss.

We at Kolkata Food Bloggers thank the Swissotel and their team for their kind invitation at the Good France celebration.

Starters and Salads

Vegetarian spread

Non Vegetarian spread

The Dessert section part 1

and part 2 

The specially plated Creme Brulee for us

'French Weekend' at the Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista

Kolkata Food Bloggers Team with Swissotel GM, Marco Saxer, Mademoiselle Louise Arnes, Enakshi Kundu, Asst Manager Marketing & Communications, Ms Debiroopa and Pastry Chef Sanjay 

Swissotel Kolkata, redressing its pure passion for perfection presented  'French Weekend', a French specialty menu as a run up to the French National Day (celebrated on 14th of July) with Mademoiselle Louise Arnes  who brought with her traditional recipes from Lyon, the Gastronomic capital of France.

As a part of Kolkata Food Bloggers team, we were treated to a dining experience which lived up to the signature Swissotel pamper.

The drive (both figuratively & literally) to the Swissotel Kolkata comes more from the hunger of exceptionally good food that pronounces its own authentic characteristics individually. Its perplexing to choose the better amongst the bests and it is this personification of perfection that Swissotel looks to execute each time which turns a casual checkout approach into a regular check-in habit.

Notwithstanding the Swissotel's contemporary swiss styled and locally inspired flair that attracts business and leisure travellers alike who enjoy high end hotels with fresh innovation, Swissotel also bears a noticeable hospitality which reflects genuinity in nature, making the dining experience more enjoyable.  

Welcomed with sparkling wine under the envelope of the Football World Cup fever, the flow of starters soon changed hands with endless array of classic and contemporary French specialty menu.

Amongst the starters the Smoked Salmon and Avocado Verrine served with Caviar was mesmerizing. Each element of the dish clearly pronounced an individualistic but synergized robust effect on the palate. 

Also served were dishes like Gougeres (cheese puff), Asparagus and Ham Ballotins, Mini Chicken Croquet Monsieur etc. Accares (Fish dumpling) was again an amazing dish with flavours of crab meat and a melt in the mouth texture. 

The starters

The main course consisted of both the vegetarian and the non vegetarian dishes that were equally impressive. 

The vegetarian dishes had the likes of Warm Camembert with Wild Mushroom Fricassee, Dauphinois Potato (Potato Cooked with Cream), Ratatouille, Onion Leek Tart etc. 

It was hard to pick the best vegetarian dish but the Wild Mushroom Fricassee won our hearts and taste buds along with the other French classic Ratatouille.   

The vegetarian spread

The Non-Vegetarian spread saw a blissful spread of the French classic Lobster Thermidor, Poulet au Vinaigre (Lyon speciality of vinegar braised chicken), Boeuf Bourguignon (Tenderlions cooked with red wine), Gigot d'agnaan (Roast leg of lamb served with roast potato, Pork Tenderloin with bacon and apple riesling sauce.

Our unanimous pick was Lobster Thermidor which truly represented one of the all time great French dishes that has won the hearts of millions around the globe.   

The Pork Tenderloin with Apple riesling sauce was again a standout dish with tenderloins cooked to perfection.

The Non-vegetarian spread

The Dessert spread had an amazing array of traditional French dishes such as Croquembouche, Paris Breast, French Apple Tart, Pear Tarte Tatin, Mille Feuille, Cherry Clafoutis, Creme Brulee etc.
The intricacies of the Croquembouche left us spell bound with its presentation and taste.
The Paris Breast with a lovely hazlenut spread was another treat to the sweet tooth.

The Dessert spread

Exactly as Mr Marco Saxer, General Manager of the Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista said, that the French cuisine is known for its exquisite taste and presentation and was proud to present traditional French recipes brought to them from Lyon, France,known as the gastronomical capital of France, and that he was sure that the people of the city would enjoy the dishes, the French dining experience was truly a treat never to be missed.

Along with the Kolkata Food Bloggers Team we wish to immensely thank Swissotel for inviting us over for the fabulous French Weekend.

The French menu festival started from 11th July and continued through to 13th July at Cafe Swiss for buffet dinner from 1900 Hrs to 2300 Hrs and was priced at INR 1600 plus taxes per person. 

Happy French National Day

Vishal & Amrita

French Culinary experience with Chef Marc Thuet at Taj Bengal

Chef Marc Thuet with his wife Biana Zorich

I had a glimpse of the man in action, his arm and forearm full of various tattoos and black shades on his blonde hair, at the International Vine and Food festival held at Taj Bengal and immediately recognized him as the famous gourmet chef Marc Thuet who has flown in from Toronto to treat the people of Kolkata to an unforgettable French culinary experience. Kolkata Food Bloggers had the fortuity to be invited by Taj Bengal to sample the Chef's creations. 

Chef Marc Thuet, born in Alsace, France,  is a fourth generation chef and started his stint with food at the young age of 12. Along with his beautiful and charismatic wife Biana Zorich who is also his business partner,  they are called Toronto's Culinary Power couple. With a growing chain of gourmet bakeries called Petite Thuets serving the likes of Ritz Carlton and running an empire of critically acclaimed food with a clientele of the likes of Musician Prince and Actor Sylvester Stallone, Marc Thuet believes in steadfast styling and use of organic produce. He has also appeared in reality television series called 'Conviction Kitchen' where he trains ex-conmans to run a restaurant and  has completed two seasons.

We started our culinary journey with Chef Marc with a 'Cold Cucumber soup with Goat cheese and sun dried tomato'. Chef tells us that once he reached Kolkata he had to make changes to his menu to suit the climate and food preferences. This cold cucumber soup is just perfect for our humid weather and is blended with curd and mint and served with chunks of salty Goat cheese and slices of sun dried tomatoes. It comes with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

We were served Baguette which is a sourdough bread with a bowl of olive oil and were told by Biana that the bread is supposed to be dipped in the oil and eaten. The yeast for Baguette is cultured by them and was brought all the way from Canada. The bread was crisp from outside and soft like cotton from inside. A treat for our taste buds to devour an authentic Baguette.

  

For main course we had 'Cured Quebec Duck magret, sweet water prawns, black cumin caramel and mango'. The duck magret is a special variety fed to plump and its breast is then cured for 3-4 days with sea salt and a special rub made with 14 ground spices. The meat is then hung for a week. The cured duck was brought all the way from Canada by the chef. 

The duck was served with prawns in a creamy sauce with pickled ginger and fresh slices of mango. The chef informs us that he loves to pair seafood with fresh mango. 

For my prawn allergic friends, Biana was very sweet to ask for a plate of cured duck which came with Parmesan shavings and fresh rocket leaves.

Our next dish for main course was Gremolata crusted lamb rack, basil and goat cheese mashed potatoes

The meat was cooked medium and came with a lovely reduction which the chef tell us is reduced three times and has fragrant herbs like rosemary and thyme. The goat cheese and mashed potatoes were an excellent pair with the lamb rack along with baby carrot, mushroom, asparagus and sun dried tomato. 

Next came 'Wild Mushroom risotto with Parmesan shavings'. The rice was al-dente and had generous bits of Shitake mushrooms which gave it the smoky flavour and chopped truffles. The creamy risotto was a dish that was loved by all and was over in no time.

My favourite course, desserts, was served with two very stunning dishes. 

'Saffron tartlet with golden peach and alphonso compote, maple syrup and walnut crumble' had an amazingly crisp and buttery tart shell. I love fresh fruit desserts and this was such a winner with peaches and alphonso chunks in it. 

'Chocolate caramel mousse verrine with sea salt crumble' was the most amazing and delicious mousse I have had for a long time. Biana tells us that they have used chocolates available locally and we were blown away with the richness, smoothness and silkiness texture of the mousse. The sea salt crumble on top added a wonderful salty touch to the bittersweet chocolate mousse.

The French culinary experience 'Le Thuet' at The Hub, Taj Bengal, Kolkata is on till the 18th April, 2014 and is open for both Lunch and Dinner priced at INR 2500 +taxes for two.

Amrita

Disclaimer : The opinions shared here are my own and have not been influenced monetarily or otherwise.

For more reviews, read here : 

Manjari