Opera Marco Pierre White
Makes 12 Good portions
Chocolate Roulade (From Marquise de Chocolate)
7 eggs ,separated
200 g. Caster sugar
50 g. Cocoa powder
Kahlua syrup
250 ml. Water
250 gr. Caster sugar
50 ml. Strong espresso coffee
20 ml. Kahula
Chocolate ganache
500 gr. Good dark chocolate
500 ml. Double cream
Coffee butter cream
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
375 gr. Caster sugar
100 ml. Water
400 gr. Unsalted butter
20 gr. Instant coffee powder
Coffee Crème anglaise (for 10 Portions (
6 egg yolks
75 gr. Caster sugar
50 gr. Plain flower
1 vanilla pod
20 gr. Instant coffee
Preparation
0. To Crème Anglaise
a) Mix the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl, and bring the milk and vanilla to the boil in a pan.
b) Pour the hot milk into the eggs yolks in the bowl a’ mix well and swifty, then return to the milk pan
c) Cook very slowly over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon.
d) Remove from the heat and pass trough a fine sieve into a jug, or bowl ot bowls. Leave to cool. Cover the surface with cling film.
Coffee Crème Angalise
Add 20 gr. Instant coffee powder, diluted in a little water, to the basic crème anglaise.
1. Make the Chocolate roulade Chocolate Roulade
a) Preheat the oven to 200ºC and have ready 40X60 cm non-stick Baking tray.
b) To make the chocolate roulade, mix the egg yolks, 70 gr. of sugar and the cocoa powder together. Do not over mix
c) Whisk the egg whites until stiff, and gradually whisk in the remaining sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy.
d) Gently fold the meringue into the yolk mixture until smooth. Spread on to the non-stick tray and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow getting cool. Cover with a cloth
2. Make the syrup by melting the sugar in the water and boiling to 125 .Add the coffee and kahlua
3. To make the chocolate ganache, break the chocolate into a metal bowl. Bring the cream to boil in a separate pan, and add to the chocolate. Mix until smooth and melted.
4. To make the coffee butter cream, whip the egg yolks and the eggs to the ribbon stage – when the lifted beater leaves a ribbon trail on the surface.
5. Melt the sugar in the water and boil to the soft ball stage – when a drop of syrup moulded into a ball in iced water loses its shape when take out of water. (Using a sugar thermometer’ when its registers 117ºC.)
6. Add the sugar syrup to the eggs and whisk until cold.
7. Whisk in the soft butter, then add the instant coffee disolved in a tiny amount of water.
8. To assemble, cut the chocolate roulade into three equal pieces. Trim if necessary. Moisten these with the Kahlua syrup.
9. Spread half of the soft chocolate ganache evenly over one of the moistened roulade pieces, and set in the fridge.
10. Place the second layer of roulade over the ganache and spread with half of the coffee butter cream. Place the third layer of roulade on top and spread with the remaining butter cream. Do this evenly as possible .Set in the fridge for 20 minutes.
11. Spread the remaining ganache on top of the coffee butter cream, again as evenly as possible, as this is the final layer of the opera.
12. TO serve cut the opera into required slices, and serve with coffee crème angalise. It is best at room temperature
Chef Notes
This is another tricky and complicated dish, and another use of the chocolate roulade. It’s very rich and delicious, and like the Marquise de Chocolate it freezes well – so you can make it well in advance. But remember to unfreeze it for at least three hours in the fridge, and then bring to room temperature for another half an hour.