Name: Blackberry Opera cake
Yield: 12 servings

Directions

Prep. time

1h 10m

Gioconda chocolate cake
- 125 g powdered sugar
- 100 g ground almond
- 150 g eggs (3)
- 70 g egg whites (2)
- 25 g cocoa powder
- 20 g all purpose flour
- 20 g melted butter
- 2 g salt
- In a bowl, mix the eggs, powdered sugar and almond meal and whisk till foam starts to form and doubles in size.
- Then, sieve the cocoa powder and flour and integrate into the previous batter.
- Now, incorporate the melted butter with a rubber spatula.
- In another bowl, place the egg whites and salt. Whip it to firm peaks.
- Right after, incorporate the whipped whites into the previous mixture with a rubber spatula in a circular motion, from outside to inside, trying to keep as much air as possible inside the whites.
- Spread the batter on a 40 cm x 30 cm tray lined with parchment in a 5 mm thick layer.
- Bake at 160º C for 14 minutes and leave at room temperature to cool down.
Chocolate namelaka cream
- 400 g heavy cream (35% fat)
- 350 g milk chocolate (50%)
- 200 g whole milk
- 15 g glucose
- 6 g gelatine
- Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water and let them sit for 10 minutes.
- In a pan, mix the glucose and milk and bring to a boil. Then add the gelatine and set aside.
- In a bowl, melt the chocolate and pour in the hot glucose milk mixture. Stir thoroughly till a homogenous and uniform texture is reached.
- Last but not least, add the chilled heavy cream and incorporate it with a hand blender.
- Refrigerate for 15 - 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.
Blackberry cremeux
- 260 g blackberry puree
- 110 g eggs (2)
- 80 g butter
- 60 g egg yolk (3)
- 60 g white sugar
- If we are to prepare our own puree and juice from fresh blackberries we will need around 500 g - 600 g due to the seeds and skin which will be discarded.
  In the end, we will need 260 g blackberry puree and 100 g blackberry juice.
- Place blackberries in a saucepan at medium heat and cook for 10 minutes. Blackberries can be either fresh or frozen, what we want is to extract the juice inside.
- When the juice has been released, strain the blackberries and set the juice aside for later use.
- Then, blend strained blackberries and strain them to remove skin and seeds. We should obtain at least 260 g of puree, which is the amount we need for the recipe.
- In a bowl, mix the eggs and yolks with sugar till a uniform texture is reached.
- Then, heat up blackberry puree and add it to our egg mixture to temper the eggs. Put it back into the saucepan and cook at medium heat to 82º C. At that temperature the mixture should have thickened. Pour the mixture into a bowl and leave to cool down.
- When the mixture has reached 40º C add butter and emulsify with a hand blender.
Blackberry jelly
- 100 g blackberry juice
- 50 g white sugar
- 4 g gelatine
- Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
- Heat the blackberry juice and sugar in a saucepan until it boils.
- Then, add the hydrated gelatine and cook for 1 more minute. Set aside.
Assembly
- We will need a square 20 cm x 20 cm x 4.5 cm mould which we will place on a flat tray.
- Using the mould, cut the gioconda cake into three equal portions. (Spoiler: we will need to play Tetris :-).
- First, layer one gioconda portion at the base of the mould and add a 5 mm coat of chocolate namelaka on top.
- Place a second layer of gioconda cake and freeze for 10 minutes.
- After the cake has set a bit, add the blackberry cremeux and spread it evenly with a spatula. Then add the third and last layer of gioconda cake. Freeze again for 10 more minutes.
- Add another 5 mm thick layer of namelaka cream on top and freeze for 2 hours.
- Lastly, warm up our blackberry jelly to 35º C, pour on top of the frozen cake and distribute it evenly. Put it back in the freezer until it is hard frozen, ideally overnight.
- Place in the fridge until completely unfrozen and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

Gioconda chocolate cake

125 g powdered sugar
100 g ground almond
150 g eggs (3)
70 g egg whites (2)
25 g cocoa powder
20 g all purpose flour
20 g melted butter
2 g salt

Chocolate namelaka cream

400 g heavy cream (35% fat)
350 g milk chocolate (50%)
200 g whole milk
15 g glucose
6 g gelatine

Blackberry cremeux

260 g blackberry puree
110 g eggs (2)
80 g butter
60 g egg yolk (3)
60 g white sugar

Blackberry jelly

100 g blackberry juice
50 g white sugar
4 g gelatine

Blackberry Opera cake

Gioconda chocolate cake

Chocolate namelaka cream

Blackberry cremeux

Blackberry jelly

Gioconda chocolate cake

125 g powdered sugar
100 g ground almond
150 g eggs (3)
70 g egg whites (2)
25 g cocoa powder
20 g all purpose flour
20 g melted butter
2 g salt

Chocolate namelaka cream

400 g heavy cream (35% fat)
350 g milk chocolate (50%)
200 g whole milk
15 g glucose
6 g gelatine

Blackberry cremeux

260 g blackberry puree
110 g eggs (2)
80 g butter
60 g egg yolk (3)
60 g white sugar

Blackberry jelly

100 g blackberry juice
50 g white sugar
4 g gelatine

Assembly

Mocha cake

Fraisier cake

Jaffa cake

Blackberry Opera cake

Gioconda chocolate cake

Chocolate namelaka cream

Blackberry cremeux

Blackberry jelly

Gioconda chocolate cake 125 g powdered sugar 100 g ground almond 150 g eggs (3) 70 g egg whites (2) 25 g cocoa powder 20 g all purpose flour 20 g melted butter 2 g salt

Chocolate namelaka cream 400 g heavy cream (35% fat) 350 g milk chocolate (50%) 200 g whole milk 15 g glucose 6 g gelatine

Blackberry cremeux 260 g blackberry puree 110 g eggs (2) 80 g butter 60 g egg yolk (3) 60 g white sugar

Blackberry jelly 100 g blackberry juice 50 g white sugar 4 g gelatine

Assembly

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Mocha cake

Fraisier cake

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Gioconda chocolate cake

125 g powdered sugar
100 g ground almond
150 g eggs (3)
70 g egg whites (2)
25 g cocoa powder
20 g all purpose flour
20 g melted butter
2 g salt

Chocolate namelaka cream

400 g heavy cream (35% fat)
350 g milk chocolate (50%)
200 g whole milk
15 g glucose
6 g gelatine

Blackberry cremeux

260 g blackberry puree
110 g eggs (2)
80 g butter
60 g egg yolk (3)
60 g white sugar

Blackberry jelly

100 g blackberry juice
50 g white sugar
4 g gelatine