There are so many competing stories about the origin of Opera cake, I doubt anyone will ever know the truth about it. I have a pet theory about such things, things like the Kennedy assassination, the Princess Diana conspiracy or the reason Brad Pitt left Angelina Jolie. They become so heavily investigated and so widely […]
READ ONA reader emailed in last evening to suggest that I change my recipes to reflect the fact that instant coffee and espresso powder aren’t really equivalents. Espresso is more concentrated than coffee, so more instant coffee is needed to make up for the difference in strength. There’s a certain logic in this. An espresso drink […]
READ ONThe main difference between joconde and other sponge cakes is that it has whole eggs beaten into it, and not just whites. Observe: 6 room-temperature egg whites 1 ounce granulated sugar 8 ounces sliced blanched almonds, ground to powder in a food processor 8 ounces powdered sugar, sifted 6 large eggs 2.5 ounces all-purpose (AP) […]
READ ONThis will require 6 ounces of a good Euro-style bittersweet chocolate (like Callebaut or Ghiradelli) and one ounce of clarified butter. Tempering chocolate isn’t terribly difficult, but it does require precise control of temperature. You’ll need a digital thermometer, they’re less than $20 at most kitchen supply stores. If you don’t want to go to […]
READ ONAll of the buttercream recipes I have up on the site can accommodate flavorings of various kinds. Since Opera cake is a French invention, it only seems appropriate to start with a French-style buttercream. To make a coffee-flavored buttercream, prepare a mixture of two tablespoons of instant coffee or instant espresso powder dissolved in two […]
READ ONA standard ganache is a 50-50 combination of bittersweet chocolate and heavy cream (or crème fraîche) by weight. This one is slightly firmer, calling for 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and 8 ounces of cream. You may feel free to swap out an ounce of rum or Grand Marnier for an equal amount of cream…if […]
READ ONThis is just standard cake syrup but with a little zing. Remember that cake syrup is made by combining water and sugar 2-1 by volume and then heating it until the sugar dissolves. To make coffee cake syrup combine 1 cup of water with half a cup of sugar and add about three tablespoons of […]
READ ONIt’s been pointed out that for a guy who calls himself Joe Pastry, I really don’t do that much pastry. Like real French pastry shop pastry. That’s fair criticism, since it happens to be true. So this week I thought I’d bust out my frilliest recipe book and make a little Opera cake. What’s that […]
READ ONPastry chef Camille weighs in on pastry cones from Paris: I make a cornet (pastry cone) pretty much the same way (sans tape, bien sur) but i never fuss around with getting a perfect triangle to begin with. I take a regular, rectangular piece of parchment, full-sheet sized, and fold and cut until I have […]
READ ONGot some very useful email in over the weekend about those Mexican sweets. First this from reader Chuck: Those things in the glass case are geletinas or gelitines. Mixed flavors with nuts, ect. Then Mike (an American living in Mexico) chimed in with this: I’ll take an educated guess and say that the photo of […]
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