Ian's Opera Cake

Join the brilliant Ian Cumming (GBBO, series 6) live from Cambridge who will teach you the skills to make his delicious Opera Cake, the ultimate treat. Opera cake is a classic of French patisserie with many layers combining to form a beautiful, balanced combination of flavours and textures. During this class you will learn how to make an almond sponge, coffee syrup, chocolate ganache, chocolate glaze and the most decadent and delicious of icings - French buttercream. Importantly you’ll also learn how to bring all these elements together into a fabulous cake!

We’ll start off the class with an introductory welcome and some background from Ian's time on TV, before we ask you to put on your aprons & bake along as you watch Ian demonstrate all the skills required to make this lovely treat.

Our class will take around 2 hours as we bake our masterpieces, before you can tuck into the fruits of your labour all whilst hearing fantastic memories and stories and tips throughout from Ian.

Tickets are priced at £35 for individuals and £50 for groups of two or more that will join from the same household. Places are non-refundable and cannot be cancelled or altered after purchase. All guests will be emailed a link to the class following their booking.

Equipment Required:

Small saucepan, 

Sieve, scales, 

Thermometer (ideally digital), 

2 x 9x13 baking trays (If you are lucky enough to have 3 x 8 inch square then this is even better!), 

Electric whisk (ideally a stand mixer) If you have a hand whisk too this would be ideal. 

Spatulas, 

Mixing bowls, 

Baking parchment, 

Offset or cranked spatula, 

Pastry brush, 

Large knife, 

Chopping board, 

Wire cooling rack.

Ingredients Required:

For the Coffee Syrup: 

120ml water, 

75g sugar, 

3tsp instant coffee 

For the Sponge:

5 large eggs,* 

140g ground almonds (almond flour), 

140g icing sugar, 

30g plain flour, 

30g melted unsalted butter, 

5 large egg whites* (save yolks for coffee buttercream), 

30g caster sugar, 

good pinch of salt

For the Chocolate Base:

70 dark chocolate Chocolate Ganache

150g double (heavy) cream, 

150g dark chocolate, 

30g unsalted butter 

For the Coffee Buttercream: 

5 egg yolks, 

150g caster sugar, 

3tbsp water, 

2tsp instant coffee, 

250g unsalted butter (at room temperature) 

For the Chocolate Glaze: 

200g dark chocolate, 

2 tbsp veg (canola) oil 

*Large egg in UK = Extra large in US.

If you have any questions regarding this class please email us at info@bakewithalegend.com.