Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Daring Bakers Go To The Opera!

It is a fresh start to the Daring Bakers this month, as we've gotten our own website! If you go www.thedaringbakers.com, you'll find our new forum, where non-Daring Bakers and Daring Bakers alike can discuss their favorite topic: food. However, to view the Daring Bakers forum for the challenge of the month, you must first become a Daring Baker, and the details are explained on the website. So, if you've been lurking and want to join, then hop to it my friend!

This month's challenge had me quite intimidated. First of all, our lovely co-founders of the Daring Bakers, Ivonne of the blog Cream Puffs in Venice, and Lis of the blog La Mia Cucina, were hosting this month's challenge, so I knew it was going to be a doozy. Second, when they announced the challenge and that it would be a French pastry, I got really nervous, because I know how painstakingly intricate French pastry making is. And thirdly, the recipe itself blew me away: FIVE pages of recipe, and that's at 10 pt font, too. I knew I had my work cut out for me, indeed.

I won't post the recipe here, as it is quite long and I don't want your eyes to turn square just reading it here! If you hop on over to either Ivonne or Lis's blogs (in the blogroll) you'll be able to find it there.

The only trouble I had with this recipe was that I burnt one of my cakes. Lucky for me, I was able to improvise by halving the rest of the recipe, since I made the cakes first. I just made a mini-Opera cake instead!

I feared that the cake would turn out tasting like cardboard or too sweet or not have enough flavor, but it was none of those things. I chose to make my syrup with Grand Marnier liquer, and added some lemon and lime juice to my buttercream in order to give it some punch and pizzazz. I'd have to say that my favorite part, though, was the white chocolate glaze, it was so yummy. I'm a big fan of white chocolate, and for some reason, it always reminds me of Easter, since my mom used to always get me white chocolate Easter bunnies every year. I took this lovely cake to dinner with my mother in-law and some of her friends and extended family, and it went over really well. And it never fails that when I serve a Daring Bakers challenge to my family, they always end up asking for the recipe, and this was no exception!

The recipe is a wee bit time consuming, so it's probably easier to take it easy and go one step at a time, but it's really worth it for the oohs and aahs you'll get. Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

If im in the situation of the owner of this blog. I dont know how to post this kind of topic. he has a nice idea.

Bumblebutton said...

Here's one more for you--Ooooo, ahhhhhh! It looks terrific, and sounds delicious!

giz said...

Thanks for visiting our blog and for your very generous vote of confidence. This was a quantum leap for us - the bakers that we're so not. Look forward to seeing more on your blog.

Dolores said...

I'm glad the opera came together so well for you... it's gorgeous; great job!

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

Well sure you can have a bite! We are neighbors after all! Well, almost -- you're in Federal Way and I'm in Mill Creek. :-)

You did a really good job on your cake. I love your pink polka dots and writing. Bravo!

Lisa T. said...

I love the decoration on your cake - it looks fabulous!

Sheltie Girl said...

Beautiful job on your cake!

Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go

Unknown said...

Of course, I wasn't careful in reading the instructions and didn't see the hour long chills "required!" Somehow, it didn't change my end product. Your is great! I love the decoration.

Barbara said...

Great job! Your cake looks lovely.

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

Grand Marnier, lemon and lime sound delicious! Love the pink polka dots!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

Lunch Buckets said...

Everythings made cute with pink polka dots! Unless they're like measles or something :)

Megan said...

Halfing the recipe was a smart idea. Still plenty for a crowd. Your cake is beautiful. Love the pink.

jenniferhoiyin said...

I love the pink!

Anonymous said...

Mmmm, Grand Marnier and white chocolate. Yesssssss.

Anna said...

Love the writing; you must have such a steady hand! My mum asked for the recipe too - definitely a hit ^__^

Deborah said...

Gorgeous job!!

Anonymous said...

Great job on your cake, the citrus flavors sound so refreshing and would counter the sweetness of the cake. Your writing is beautiful.