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Similar Entremet, Ganache, St Honoré cake, Black Forest gateau, Sachertorte | ||
Opera cake (French: gâteau opéra) 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) buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze.
Contents
According to Larousse Gastronomique, "Opéra gâteau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing."
Opera cake
Origin
The cake was popularized by the French pâtisserie house Dalloyau, but its origin is unclear. One creator-claimant, at la maison Dalloyau in 1955 is Cyriaque Gavillon, grandfather to Christelle Bernardé, current co-president, and named by his wife Andrée Gavillon after the Opéra Garnier.
Gaston Lenôtre also claims the honour of inventing the dessert in 1960, though an advertisement in Le Gaulois in 1899 offers a "gâteau opéra".
