I’m celebrating! My website in Spanish (www.deliciosoyvegetariano.wordpress.com) has had over 10,000 views since I started it in March. I can’t believe it, I certainly never expected that so many people would come on over to my little corner of the blogosphere ever, let alone in less than 3 months. So I’m celebrating and to celebrate properly I need a cake, so here it is 😉
I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but a long time ago, when I was a student I worked in a French bakery, patisserie and tea rooms in the corner of London where I was brought up. It was a fantastic experience where I learnt so much and met some really amazing people from all over the world. And one of the things I’ll never forget is they sold this most amazing cake called Opera Slice.
Opera slice is a cake made of layers. Layers of almond sponge, coffee buttercream and dark chocolate ganache. All piled one on top of the other. It’s rich – you don’t need to eat much of this to feel full. It’s totally decadent and perfect for a celebration.
As usual I decided to make a healthier version than the original, although it’s not something you’re going to want to eat every day! I also didn’t want to use any weird ingredients that I wouldn’t have in my cupboard. The only unusual ingredient is egg eplacer called “no-egg” which not all of you will have in stock. Here is a link so you can see what it looks like. If you live in Spain like me it’s quite easy to find but I’m not sure about the rest of the world! I think my version isn’t too far from the original but this cake is definitely not an exact copy of the original. As a result French pastry chefs probably faint at what the sight of what’s in my version! Especially when they read about avocado buttercream!
I made a small cake because I have a small family! Most people will probably want to make a bigger cake, just double the quantities. It’s also very rich, so we had six quite small servings but we didn’t need any more! It is a bit more work than a normal cake but well worth it. If you try it, let me know how it goes for you.
So a big Thank you to all of you who have visited yummyvege or deliciosoyvegetariano and keep on stopping by to see what’s new and if you have a moment leave me a comment – I love reading them.
Vegan Opera Slice
Preparation: 35 minutes Servings: 6 small slices Cooking Time: 25 minutes Total: 1 hour
Ingredients:
For the almond sponge:
60g ground almonds
30g extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g agave nectar
2 rounded tbsp “no-egg”
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp wholemeal flour (gluten free if necessary)
For the coffee syrup:
125ml water
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp espresso coffee
For the chocolate and coffee buttercream:
1 ripe avocado
2 tbsp espresso coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
For the topping:
150g dark chocolate
1. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Line a baking tray with baking parchment (size: 32cm x 22cm or 12 1/2″ x 8 1/2″).
2. Put all the ingredients for the almond sponge except the no-egg and the water, in a bowl and mix together. You can do this by hand.
3. Put the no-egg and water in a separate bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until the no-egg mixture looks like egg whites that have been beaten until stiff.
4. Fold the no-egg whites into the almond mixture with a metal spoon. 
5. Put the mixture in the baking tray and use a spatula to push the mix right into the corners. This will form a very thin layer over the baking tray. Definitely not more than 1cm thick. 
6. Put in the oven until the mixture is set and golden. About 10 minutes.
7. Take the almond sponge out of the oven and leave to cool. Do not remove the parchment paper from the cake before it’s cool or it will disintegrate.
8. While the sponge is cooling make the other components. For the buttercream put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
9. Make the coffee syrup. Boil the water and agave syrup until the amount of water is reduced by about half. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. When cool add the coffee.
10. Putting the cake together. Cut the almond sponge in half. Place one half on a plate.
11. With a pastry brush, brush the sponge with coffee syrup.
12. With a spatula, spread half the buttercream on the sponge. 
13. Melt half the dark chocolate in the microwave. (about 1 minute) Pour on top of the buttercream and spread with the spatula.
14. Put the next layer of cake on.
15. Repeat the layers. Coffee syrup, buttercream, dark chocolate. 
16. Leave to cool, first at room temperature, then in the fridge.
17. If you wish you can neaten up the edges by trimming them. Warm the blade of the knife under the hot tap. Quickly dry the knife and cut off the edges. The warm knife will melt the chocolate so you can cut it. Please be careful with sharp knives and hot water!
18. Enjoy. Keep leftovers in the fridge.
yummyvege 