Once the cake is out of the way, it’s just about creating a few simple components. The joconde layer is the most involved aspect of this recipe, and is made very much like a swiss-roll cake or bûche de noël cake. I made this opera cake with a classic sponge cake recipe, also known as joconde in French. While I can’t change the fact that opera cake is one of the more complex French recipes, I’ve created a recipe here that is completely feasible and won’t take an entire day to make. Worse, they may take you an entire day to make.

Most opera cake recipes will have you not only scratching your head, but feeling absolutely exhausted upon completing. While the basic components of chocolate, coffee buttercream, and coffee-soaked sponge cake exist in all of them, the way these components are made and layered varies. I’ve seen hundreds of different recipes for gâteau opéra. The origin of opera cake has many theories, much like its appearance and exact layering. I like to think of it as a more sophisticated version of tiramisu, more complicated and impressive in its layers. This opera cake is every coffee and chocolate-lover’s dream.

Baran bakery opera cake