Opéra ***

Name: Opéra ***
Prep time: 3 h
Total time: 6 h
Yield: Serves 20
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 3 tbsp (45 ml) water; ½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream; 9½ oz. (270 g) pâte à glacer brune (brown glazing paste); 2¾ oz. (75 g) dark chocolate, 70% cacao, chopped; 1 lb. (450 g) coffee buttercream, at room temperature; ¼ cup (60 ml) grape-seed oil; 1 cup + 1 tbsp (2 oz./55 g) sugar; 3½ oz. (100 g) pure cacao paste, chopped; Vanilla custard sauce; 1¾ oz. (50 g) dark couverture chocolate, 70% cacao, chopped; 3 Joconde sponge layers; 5½ oz. (155 g) dark chocolate, 55% cacao, chopped; ⅓ cup (20 g) instant coffee powder or ¼ cup (20 g) full-bodied ground coffee (preferably Guatemalan); ¾ cup (5 oz./150 g) sugar; 1 tsp (5 ml) grape-seed oil; Generous ¾ cup (200 ml) water; 1 tbsp (20 g) butter, diced; Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preparation info

Serves
20

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
6 hr

Appears in

French Pastries and Desserts by Lenôtre

By Chefs at Lenôtre

Published 2021

About

Ingredients

3 Joconde sponge layers

Europe
France
Dessert
Mediterranean
Vegetarian

Method

Cut the sponge layers to fit neatly inside the pastry frame. Set aside.
To prepare the chocolate coating, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water (bain-marie) to 104°F (40°C). Stir in the grape-seed oil until smooth.
Using an offset spatula or pastry brush, coat the crust side of the sponge layers with the melted chocola