After postponing for a couple of weekends, I finally declared last Sunday as Daring Baking day, and set out to complete my first Daring Bakers challenge. I must admit, after seeing how long and complex this recipe seemed to be, I was a bit scared of it. As such, I called for help!

I didn’t really need my mom to bake this labour intensive recipe, but it was much more fun to do it together.

We had to adapt the quantities in the recipe, as I only had one pan, and the original seemed to be a really big cake anyway. So in the end we did an Apple Blackberry Raspberry Half Opera. After the cake was finished and photographed, I invited some friends over and it was deemed a success.

In fact, the cake and the butter cream came out really well, and I will probably use these recipes again. But the ganache… that’s when things started to go a bit wrong. The cream refused to firm up, and even after a good while in the refrigerator, the ganache was very runny. Delicious, but runny.

And when we went for the white chocolate glaze, something went terribly wrong, and I decided not to use it after all. So we went for a simple raspberry glaze, that tasted great and complimented the ganache perfectly. However, it got a bit too thick, so the real challenge and to spread it nicely over the runny mousse.

So here it is, my recipe for the

Apple, Blackberry and Raspberry Half Opera Cake

The Joconde (the cake layer)

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
1 cups icing sugar, sifted
3 large eggs
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C). Line a 31cm x 39cm baking pan with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

In a large bowl beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. In another bowl, beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs until light and voluminous. Add the flour and mix until the flour is just combined.

Gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Pour the batter in the lined pan, and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface.

Bake for aprox. 10 mins or until lightly browned and just springy to the touch.

Run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pan over, and unmold. Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cake. Let it cool to room temperature.

…

The apple syrup

½ cup pure apple juice
4 tbsp. granulated sugar

Stir the juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

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The apple blackberry buttercream

1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
250g butter, at room temperature
1 cup frozen blackberries
1/2 cup pure apple juice

Place the blackberries and the apple juice in a food processor and purée them. Strain the mix to remove the seeds.

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 107◦C. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in a bowl, until they are pale and foamy. When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment.

Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass. With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

Then, add eight tablespoons of the blackberry and apple mixture and beat for an additional minute or so. (You can keep the rest of the apple and blackberry mix for garnishing)

Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s firm enough to spread

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Raspberry white chocolate ganache

100g white chocolate
200ml. heavy cream
1/2 cup of fresh or thawed raspberries

Melt the white chocolate with 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan. Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the raspberries and stir until they break apart.

Whip the remaining cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse. Refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.

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The Raspberry glaze

1/2 cup of fresh or thawed raspberries, roughly crushed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan; blend thoroughly. Gradually stir in the water.
Add the crushed raspberries to sugar mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Continue to boil about 2 minutes or until mixture is clear, and then cool.

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Assembling the Opéra Cake

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Cut and trim the cake so that you have three pieces of the same size. Place one rectangle of cake on the serving dish and moisten it gently with the apple syrup. Spread half of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with another piece of cake, and again, moisten it with the apple syrup. Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Prepare the ganache and then spread it on the top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache the opportunity to firm up.

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled, garnished with fresh raspberries and blackberries, drizzled with apple and blackberry juice.