The original version dates back to the twentieth century, thanks to the will of GASTON LENOTRE, a young talented pastry chef, who came to be a sort of emperor of haute patisserie, giving life to a network of pastry shops, but also restaurants and delicatessens, among the first of the sector. The great merit of LENOTRE was that of having discovered how to make sweets lighter, The OPERA 'cake was born from the intention of creating a dessert that could combine refinement and simplicity, I following the same line, with great humility, I propose my version.
Time of realization: 2 hours + freezing
Degree of difficulty (1 to 5): 3
20 × 20 cm mold
Ingredients
Cocoa sponge cake
200 g of eggs (4 medium eggs)
140 g of sugar
110 g of 0 flour
30 g of potato starch
15 g of cocoa
Dark chocolate custard
125 ml of whole milk
35 g of sugar
5 g flour
5 g of potato starch
20 g egg yolks (1 medium)
100 g of dark chocolate
Dark chocolate diplomat
dark chocolate custard
125 ml of semi-whipped cream
2 g of gelatine sheets
Eggnog cream
100 ml of dry Marsala
25 ml of water
35 g of sugar
5 g flour
5 g of potato starch
20 g egg yolks (1 medium)
Diplomat with zabaglione
eggnog cream
150 g of semi-whipped cream
2 g of gelatine sheets
Mirror glaze
75 g of water
150 g of sugar
150 g of glucose syrup
100 g of condensed milk
150 g of dark chocolate
10 g of gelatine sheets
Procedure for making my work
Cocoa sponge cake
Divide the yolks from the whites, put the latter in the bowl of the planetary mixer and operate the machine, when it starts to increase in volume, add the sugar and continue to whip like a meringue. At this point, add the egg yolks one at a time as soon as they have been absorbed, turn off the machine. Combine the sifted powders with movements from the bottom up without disassembling the dough. Take a pan with low sides and large as the capacity of the conventional oven. Spread a sheet of cartaforno and pour all the mixture, level and bake at 180 g for about 13/15 minutes.
Once cooked, remove it from the oven and cover it with a cloth to retain moisture.
Diplomatic cream with dark chocolate
Bring the milk to almost a boil, add the sugar, flour, starch and egg yolks in a bowl and make a cream. Add the milk and return it to the heat until it has thickened. Pour into another bowl where you have chopped the chocolate and with the help of a whisk, by hand, mix until completely dissolved. Pour it into a flat plate, cover with cling film and place it in the fridge until completely cooled. Semi-mount the cream and add it to the cream, with movements from the bottom up, dissolve the gelatin previously soaked in a small part of Chantilly cream and then add it to the larger dose.
Diplomatic cream with zabaglione
Combine the marsala and water in a saucepan and bring them almost to a boil, in a bowl add the sugar, flour, starch and egg yolks and make a cream. Add the marsala and return to the heat until it has thickened. Pour the cream into a flat plate and place in the fridge until completely cooled. After the time has elapsed, resume the cream and add it to the semi-whipped cream with movements from the bottom up. Dissolve the gelatine previously soaked in cold water, in a small part of the cream and add it to the rest.
Mirror glaze
Bring the water, sugar and glucose syrup to 103/104 ° C. Once the temperature has been reached, move from the heat and add the condensed milk, wait for it to reach 65 ° C and pour into a jug where you have chopped the chocolate and gelatine previously soaked in cold water. Emulsify and place in the fridge covered with contact film. Pour at 32/33 ° C.
Assembly
Turn out the sponge cake and with the help of a hacksaw knife remove the skin that forms on the surface, creating a layer as homogeneous as possible.
Place the steel framework on a baking sheet with parchment paper, cup 2 squares of sponge cake, while the 3rd one you get from the scraps and place in the central part of the cake. Place the first layer of sponge cake on the bottom of the mold (it does not need to be wet because it is very soft), put the dark chocolate chantilly cream in a pastry bag with a smooth no.6 nozzle and make a homogeneous layer.
Place another layer of sponge cake obtained from the scraps, at this point put the zabaglione cream in a pastry bag equipped with a smooth nozzle n ° 6 and make another homogeneous layer of cream. Close with the last layer of sponge cake. Everything should remain a few mm below the edge of the mold, the space needed to pass another thin layer of zabaglione cream. Place in the freezer for at least 12 hours. After the time has elapsed, unmold the cake and place it on a wire rack. Bring the glaze to temperature and pour in enough quantity to cover the surface. Remove the excess with an elbow spatula and do not worry if the glaze will run a little on the edges. Place the cake on a serving tray and place in the fridge for at least half an hour, then, using a long knife with a smooth blade, cut 0,5 cm of edge on each side, trying to be as precise as possible. Remove the excess, clean the tray and decorate with a chocolate chip. Defrosting time from the previous night in the refrigerator.
The recipe was made by Maria Rosaria Sciotti