Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Daring Bakers May Challenge: White Chocolate Lavender "Opera" Cake!!!


When I saw this month's Daring Bakers Challenge, I was very excited! An opera cake! How thrilling! How delicious! How hard!

Chosen by the lovely ladies, Fran, Shea, Lis, and Ivonne, and dedicated to Barbara, these opera cakes had to be light in color and flavor instead of the typical chocolate and coffee. They decided this in order to support Barbara's Taste of Yellow event which advocates the LiveSTRONG foundation. I enjoyed the extra challenge, choosing a white chocolate and lavender opera cake. I did not have a jellyroll pan so I used regular pans. The challenge was fun! Definitely, one of my more labor and time intensive cakes. I was a little frustrated and impatient by the end. I did not let my glaze cool enough before pouring it on top, causing some of the mousse to go sliding off the top of the cake. But I covered my mistake with more glaze once it had cooled some more. The cake tasted great and even better the next day. The lavender was not too overpowering. I was very afraid it would taste like soap!

White Chocolate Lavender "Opera" Cake

Check out the recipe here.

White Chocolate Lavender Mousse

7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup heavy cream infused with 2 tablespoon lavender (adapted from here)
3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)

1. Bring a cup of heavy cream and 2 tablespoon lavender to a slight boil over low heat.
2. Remove from heat and allow to seep for 30 minutes.
3. Strain out the lavender and place in the fridge to cool
4. Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
5.Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
6.In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
7.Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
8.If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.
9.If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

P.S. Check out the rest of the Daring Bakers creations.

22 comments:

Neen said...

You impress me girl. The cake looks GORGEOUS and truly decadent. Got any more photos? And where on earth did you come across the lavender for the mousse? I'm super intimidated by the Daring Baker Challenges, and by extension am in awe of you for completing them.

Mary said...

Your cake looks great! I love the flavor of lavender.

LyB said...

Ginny, you rock! I've never attempted an Opéra, let alone a white chocolate and lavender one. It looks so decadent and luscious, really beautiful!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

White chocolate-lavender??? What a MAGNIFICENT flavor combination for this month's DBC dessert!! Your opera cake is BEYOND gorgeous, Ginny!

Thistlemoon said...

Sounds really yummy Ginny! I love that you flavored it with lavender!

Elle said...

Your photo makes me want to dive right in! It looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

White chocolate and lavender, great combo! I love the idea. Now can you send me a piece pleaaase! :-)

Anonymous said...

Love your choice of using lavender! Your cake must have been very good!

Gattina Cheung said...

oh you made me laugh when you said soap :D Love your combination, so clever!

Christine said...

Your cake looks delish! Love the lavender flavor!

Jacque said...

Mmmmm, looks delish! I've got to try lavender one of these days.

test it comm said...

Nice looking opera cake!

Jen said...

Lavender seems to be coming up more and more in baked goods but I have definitley been afraid of it tasting like a cleaning product to! I'm glad to hear it came out so well.

Ivy said...

Your cake looks stunning but never heard of lavender being added into cakes. It sounds great.

Deborah said...

Lavender seems to have been a popular flavor for this challenge. Your cake looks and sounds lovely!

Manggy said...

Daring indeed! Well done Ginny! :)

Barbara said...

Great job on your cake. Mine tasted better the next day too.

Anonymous said...

I've got to try flavoring something with lavender. Sounds delicious!

Ginny said...

neen- thank you! ok, the other pictures did not turn out so well...photography is not my strong suit. lavender for the mousse? Kinda just woke up one morning with lavender and white chocolate on the brain... :)

Mary- thank you!

LyB- thanks! It is worth trying once...so much worked involved but a fun experience!

veggiegirl- thank you!!! I tried!

jenn- thank you!

elle- please do! :)

zen chef- of course! haha!! I wish we really could...I'd make you send me food too! :)

linda- thank you! It was quite good!

gattina- I did have a fear it would be too much and no one would want to eat it! But, thankfully, it worked!

christine- thanks!

jacque- you should!

kevin- thank you! as was yours!

jen- Lavender is good in small doses is what I have been experiences and it does take some getting used to.

ivy- give it a try! Thank you!

deborah- thank you!

manggy- I tried! :)

barbara- I think when the soaking syrup had a chance to settle, it just tasted better!

rebecca- thank you! you really should!

creampuff said...

Love love love the lavender! Nice job!

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

I'm always on the lookout for uses for culinary lavender, and I think it would be perfect in this cake!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

Anonymous said...

Your Opera cake looks great! Lavender seems to be a popular flavor, I'll have to try it sometime. I've never really worked with it before.