Opera Torte

a side view of a many-layered opera torte

This sophisticated French cake is thin layers of almond sponge cake brushed with espresso simple syrup and layered with rich chocolate ganache and espresso buttercream. For all its elegance and beauty, the Opera cake is surprisingly simple to make (we won’t tell if you don’t!), once you master its individual elements. It’s all about the almond and coffee flavors!

In this hands-on class, we’ll teach you how to make all of the components to this exquisite cake and several valuable baking techniques along the way: almond sponge cake, espresso simple syrup, chocolate ganache, and espresso buttercream. These are wonderful base pastry recipes that can be used in many other applications as well, so they'll be great to add to your repertoire!

You'll leave the BAKE! class with our recipes, the knowledge and techniques to recreate them at home, and the Opera Torte you made in class. 

In-Person: We'll end class with a tasting of what we made and you'll go home with some great coupons.

Virtual: You'll need a stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachments to make the Opera Torte. Also, our almond sponge cake recipe cannot be made without almond paste, an essential ingredient that provides the main structure of the cake. A simple sponge cake, however, can be substituted if you would like to make one ahead of time. We'll be baking the almond sponge cake in a 12- by 18-inch baking sheet and the cake layers will be about 1/4-inch thick.

Would you like a slice of history with your cake? Here’s what we learned about the Opera cake from Janine Marsh at The Good Life France: “The creation of the cake goes back to 1955 when great French pastry chef Cyriaque Gavillon worked at the legendary Dalloyau shop in Paris. Dalloyau have been trading since 1682 and were suppliers to the court of Versailles. It was the perfect match when Cyriaque, a genius with patisserie and an artist who created the most amazing cakes and sugar decorations, and Dalloyau got together.  When inventing the Opera cake he wanted to make something that in taking one bite, would give a taste of the whole cake. He worked on layers and tastes and came up with a wonderfully sophisticated cake. His wife told him it reminded her of the Paris Opera House, Palais Garnier. It was a name that stuck, the Opera cake was born.”

Additional Products

Basic Pastry Baking Kit

$60.00

Our Basic Pastry Kit is ideal for newer pastry bakers, and includes tools we typically use for baked goods like scones, cookies, and brownies. It comes packed with the following equipment: a bowl scraper, a bench knife, an oven thermometer, ten sheets of parchment paper, a small pastry brush, a small offset spatula, 1 oz portion scoop, and a french rolling pin. The price includes ground shipping. For more in-depth equipment descriptions please go to our FAQ page or send us an email at [email protected].

Everything Pastry Baking Kit

$115.00

Want to elevate your baked goods to baked greats? Our Everything Pastry Kit adds more handy tools we like to use for baking, decorating, and displaying your delicious works of art. In addition to everything from the Basic Pastry Kit (bowl scraper, bench knife, oven thermometer, parchment paper, pastry brush, small offset spatula, 1 oz scoop, rolling pin), it comes packed with the following equipment: a pastry blender, 1/3 oz portion scoop, a whisk, large and small piping bags, a large star and a large round decorating tips, and 3 cake boards—10x14-inch rectangle, 9-inch round, and a 12-inch round. The price includes ground shipping. For more in-depth equipment descriptions please go to our FAQ page or send us an email at [email protected].



Our classes (except for family classes & kids camps) are for adults 17 & up.

Dates for the Class Class Format Price Class Status Register
Friday, May 10, 2024 - 1:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
In-Person $135.00 8 spots left