We had Four Illustrious Hosts for the Merry Month of May.  Our two now famous Daring Baker Founders: Ivonne at CreamPuffsInVenice and Lis at LaMiaCucina and Daring Bakers Fran at Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea at Whiskful.  Thank you ladies, it was a challenge.

Our hosts have ask us to dedicate this month’s Opera Cake to Barbara of WinosandFoodies and I am oh so happy to do so.  Barbara knows facing a challenge and is the creative force behind last month’s A Taste of Yellow which is supported by Lance Armstrong’s LiveSTRONG foundation.

Traditionally an Opera Cake is chocolate.  The Merry Month of May is traditional to celebrate Spring and we were guided to create our Opera Cake in Lighter Spring flavors and colors.  That’s usually the cause for great celebration among Daring Bakers.  Give a Daring Baker that inch of freedom and they’ll take a mile.  I’m sure many upon many Daring Baker blogs you’ll go to today will have gone that mile and then some.  I on the other hand was struck with “Oh I wish this was chocolate”  except for the time I was panicked and thinking “This is like an essay exam.  You’re really supposed to know your stuff for that.”  I’m an ace at multiple choice, essay exams are something else altogether.

The morning I’d agreed to bake with Ilva & Karen, the almond meal I’d so carefully bought and put away was not to be found.  I found only about half what the recipe called for of almond meal and then some hazelnut meal (which was also allowed).  Together the almond and hazelnut meal were only about 20 grams short.  That worked but also resulted in a rather brown flecked cake.  The cake layers were made of joconde - what’s that you ask?  Me too. 

As given on Baking911.com

JOCONDE: an almond sponge cake. This biscuit is named for the Mona Lisa (La Joconda in French). In addition to containing almonds, it differs from other sponge cakes by having whole eggs (rather than just yolks) beaten with sugar and ground almonds before the meringue is folded in. Joconde is baked in thin layers on baking sheets. Joconde is used to make linings for the outsides of charlottes, a traditional French raspberry mousse cake, and other Bavarian mousse cakes.

The recipe was long but it gave the details on all the parts and the assembly very well.

The syrup I made with two fresh peaches and a tablespoon of white rum.  The peaches had great flavor but as a syrup it just didn’t have the same intensity, flavor rated low.

The vanilla buttercream: seems I’m safe to make buttercream, no problems.  Vanilla beans (Thank You Lynn) make for an incredible flavor.  Flavor rated very high.

White Chocolate Ganache/Mousse: I use super good white chocolate.  Flavor rated very high.

The glaze: Recipe said to make it when you’re ready to finish the chilled cake.  OK, I chilled the cake.  Did that rush clean the house before company comes and did I finish the cake then . . . ugh . . . amm . . . no I did not.  I went and soaked me weary bones in a warm tubby and totally forgot the glaze until the next morning and all the cake was eaten or given away by then.

So . . . no glaze on my cake.  Did I make an Opera Cake?  Maybe I just got started.  It was cake.  We ate it. 

I wish you a very Happy Spring - if that’s what you’re into now.  We’ve already launched into sweltering summer in Dallas. 

But hey anytime you can have cake in the tree tops, it’s a happy good day. 

Cheers to all from the top of my world.