The iconic, classic Opera Cake! If you’ve never tried this famous coffee cake creation, you’re in for a real treat! When you take a bite of this cake, your taste buds will be in cake heaven! This 6-layer coffee cake is made with almond sponge cake, soaked with coffee syrup and frosted with creamy coffee buttercream! Dessert just doesn’t get any better than this! If you want an extra tall cake, just double this recipe!
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Watch my video recipe for all the details and for step-by-step instructions! Want to receive new recipe emails in your inbox? Make sure to subscribe to my website and my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!
The History of Opera Cake
The Opera Cake was created in France in 1955 by French pastry chef Cyriaque Gavillon and named after the Parisian ‘Palais Garnier’ opera house. Cyriaque wanted to create that captured the elegance and style of the city. It’s traditionally made in a rectangle shape and you can find it in just about any Parisian bakery shop!
You’ll also find this classic coffee cake in my dessert cookbook, The European Cake Cookbook. My book features 65 all-new cake recipes you don’t want to miss!
How to Make Opera Cake
The original French recipe for this cake requires many intricate steps, but I’ve simplified this recipe so you can easily make and enjoy this dessert at home. For the cake layers, I used my basic sponge cake recipe and added almond flour for a bit of nutty flavor. I highly recommend adding the almond flour for taste. If you don’t have it, more all-purpose flour will work in a pinch. I have a separate video recipe for my ‘Vanilla Sponge Cake’ recipe – make sure to check it out for an in-depth tutorial!
Make sure to let the layers cool completely, then use a sharp knife to cut the in half. If the layers are too soft, try placing them into the freezer for 30 minutes. This will help make the cake layers easier to work with. The layers are then soaked with a Kahlua liqueur and coffee syrup, ensuring that you’ll get coffee flavor in every bite! Don’t want any alcohol in the cake? Try adding a teaspoon of coffee extract to the coffee syrup to make it extra intense!
Coffee Frosting
The delicate almond sponge cake layers are frosted with a creamy coffee-flavored buttercream, then topped with a simple chocolate ganache. For my original video recipe, I created what I call a ‘cheat version’ of French buttercream, using sweetened condensed milk. If you prefer, you can use my traditional ‘French Buttercream’ recipe instead! This buttercream is my personal favorite, made with egg yolks, hot sugar syrup and butter! I like to let the cake stand in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to really come together. Just take the cake out about an hour or two before enjoying to allow the cake to thaw.
Garnishing the Cake
I finish this coffee cake off with rich chocolate ganache! This ganache is so easy to make and requires just two ingredients. Make sure to check out my ‘Chocolate Ganache’ tutorial for in-depth details! Pour the ganache gently on top of the cake and let it drip down the sides. And to make this cake extra special, try topping it off with cookies, wafers, truffles or even chocolate chips!
More Recipes!
Enjoyed this classic cake recipe? Check out some of my other recipes you’re sure to enjoy!
- German Chocolate Cake – very rich and decadent chocolate cake filled with coconut pecan filling!
- Coffee Tres Leches Cake – delicate coffee sponge cake with light and fluffy coffee cream!
- Neapolitan Cake – this iconic cake is made with three different flavors: chocolate, strawberry and vanilla!
- Torte Napoleon – buttery and flaky layers are filled with vanilla cream for this famous cake recipe!
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Looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it. Although, is there a different cream substitue that would work nicely? Not really a big fan of buttercream but if I have to I will 😉
For this particular cake, I do recommend sticking with the French buttercream. You could bake a cream cheese buttercream if you really want to though
My cake came out flat.. After watching your video I think it might have been because my eggs were not at room temperature..? Ive had this problem several of times when making other cake s
Hmm, did you whisk your eggs very well? That’s the biggest issue with sponge cakes. The eggs have to be very light and fluffy, otherwise the cake will fall flat.
I tried this recipe twice. Both times it fell flat. The second time I did whisk for 7 minutes. I timed it.
So sorry that the cake hasn’t turn out well for you. Make sure you are folding the flour into the egg mixture very gently; the eggs will give the cake volume
This cake is amazing!! We did find it a bit too sweet for our liking, What can I do to the soaking mixture to make it not so sweet? Should I just dilute it with more water? And what about making my own “simple syrup”? Would that work? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
If you want it to be less sweet, you can simply use a strong coffee with a touch of sugar in place of the syrup concoction! 🙂
Hi there can you use almond meal instead of flour ?
If you don’t have almond flour, you can actually use regular flour in place of the almond flour. The cake layers won’t have that nutty flavor but will still turn out great 🙂
Очень вкусный торт! Я спёк этот торт, всё получилось так как должно. Правда я зделал две порции для выпечки так как хотелось чтобы торт получился выше.
Я кофе люблю и с этим кофейным тортом было просто ям!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed my recipe! I usually make two portions also to get a tall cake! 🙂
I’ve had my eye on this cake for some time now! Looking forward to making it for easter!
Hi tanya what kind of chocolates did u put on top for decorations?
I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips 🙂
Hi Tatyana, can I use caramel syrup instead of vanilla?
Yes, caramel will taste great here, too! 🙂
This recipe is the absolute best!! Made it dozens of times for various occasions and each time it’s major hit!
Thanks a bunch!!
I’m so glad that you enjoy my recipe! Opera is one of my favorites! 🙂
Hi T, I have made this cake twice and I absolutely love it but the only problem I face is that my cake is that it caves in.
So glad you enjoy it! Hmm, is the cake falling flat while it’s in the oven? Try whisking your eggs a bit longer. That should help!
Hi T, this cake looks delicious! May I know if I can use 2 of 9 inch pans to make 4 layers instead of 3 of 8 inch pans for 6 layers?
Yes, that will work great 🙂
Oh.. Thanks so much… I will make this as a birthday cake.. It looks just delicious!
Hi T, yeah, i tried to use 2 9 inch pans to make the cake with the same recipe.. But then my cake didnt rise enough to cut into 2 layers. May i know something went wrong?
This recipe is the absolutely the BEST!!!! Made it a few times for various occasions and each time it’s major hit! Today I was asked to make it for the family reunion.
Thank you much!!!
I’m so glad you enjoy my recipe! This is one of my personal favorites, too! 🙂
Hi, this cake interested me because its made of almond flour instead of wheat-based flour. Because I am likely making it for a gluten-free person, are there any replacements for the 1/4 cup of allpurpose flour?
HI! 🙂 have you tried using a gluten-free flour? ‘Bob’s Red Mill’ makes a great product! Using almond flour alone will make the cake very fragile, the additional flour will help keep everything together a bit better 🙂
Hi tatyana …how can i make almond flour at home…is this almond crushed into a powder…
Or a meal almond available in market
Yes, essentially, it’s almonds crushed into powder. If you want to make this at home, use blanched almonds and a food processor. Most stores will carry almond meal 🙂
Would I be able to bake this in a 6-inch pan? Or would that be too risky?
Yes, that will work well, too! You’ll just have a taller cake 🙂
Tanya how do you make your simple syrup? Could I use Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing instead?
For the simple syrup, I simply combine a cup of boiling water with 1/2 cup sugar and stir until it’s dissolved. The Swiss Meringue Buttercream will work okay, or my whipped cream frosting
Holy Hannah! This cake is AMAZING!!! Tiramisu is my favorite dessert and this is a million times better. I shared your link on Facebook, I hope you don’t mind. Thanks for sharing!! ❤
Thank you so much for sharing and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 This is one of my personal favorites!
I made just the almond sponge cake to see if making this sponge cake would good enough to have for my birthday. Good news is it is pretty darn good! However, after folding the batter when I place it on a pan, I saw that not all the flour mixture got mixed in so I had to quickly mix that in. Another is I can see from the video that you got a nice tan/fawn color while mine was yellow. Could it be the eggs I used? I get my eggs from my own chickens that are only used for laying eggs.I’m responding to this because I was wondering what I did wrong and does anyone have tips that I should try next time.
Thank you for your time and keep up the awesome work!!!
Hi! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! Just make sure to scrap from the bottom of the mixing bowl next time to make sure all the flour gets incorporated. And yes, fresh eggs from home chickens are almost always much more intense in color so it wasn’t something you did wrong! You can try whisking the eggs for longer to get the batter more pale.
Ok, I’ll do that next time. Thank you very much!!!
Hi, i love this cake. feel to do it at home.
i don’t have a mixer bowl, what can i use instead of that.
can you tell the measurements for 1 cake tray..
You can use a hand-held mixer but it will take a bit longer to get the eggs to the right consistency.
That buttercream looks absolutely divine! Can it be flavored with cocoa powder, Nutella or chocolate instead of coffee? I think it would be really good on your Ferraro Rocher cake I’m planning to make in a couple of weeks.
Yes, that would taste amazing! 🙂 love that idea!
Hi Tatyana
I love your receipes. They always are a big hit with my family.
I reside in a country where liqueur is not available. So Kahlua is out of question. Hence how do i make that syrup combination without that liqueur? Do I add equal amount of coffee and simple syrup or just substitute simple syrup for kahlua? Or is there any other option?
Hi! I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes! I hope you enjoy this one, too! A combination of coffee and simple syrup will work perfectly! 🙂
can i make this into chocolate almond cake? if yes how much cocoa powder i must use ?
Yes, just add 1/3 cup cocoa powder to the dry ingredients. No need to adjust for the ingrediets
Hi Tatyana..you have an amazing channel and fantabulous recipes,, pls help me with measurements if i want to try this recipe using a 9×13 inch rectangular pan..would I need to double or triple the almond sponge recipe?? Pls try replying me soon as i really want to try this recipe in sometime now. Thanks!
Hi Mariya! Thank you for reaching out to me! Do you want to make just one layer using the 9×13 pan or multiple layers? If just one layer, the original recipe will work just fine. If you want multiple layers, I would triple the recipe. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Hello! Thank you for this awesome recipe! I have a question about the sponge cake. In the past when I have made sponge cake, I noticed that after baking, the sides of the cake really pulled away from the cake pan leaving the layers with caved in sides. I had a problem frosting the cake as it was all wavy on the sides. I have also noticed that some recipes call for buttering the cake pan sides and some do not. What is the correct way to do this and could buttering the sides be the reason the cake pulled away on the edges? Thanks very much!
Hi Irene! With sponge cakes, I never grease the sides or bottom. I just line the bottom with parchment paper. This way, the cake sticks to the sides and doesn’t pull away. You’ll need to run a knife along the edge to release the cake from the pan.
Hi Tatyana, I made this AWESOME cake for Mother’s Day and it was truly phenomenal! I used the recipe from your “European Cake” cookbook and have noticed the recipe was slightly different there. I have to say that the mascarpone icing in the cookbook recipe was perfection (I’m not a huge buttercream fan as I do find it too sweet as I’ve noticed more than one person has commented on here). The only change from the cookbook recipe I made was making the ganache ratio 1:1 as I find it spreads much easier. Thank you for your most fabulous recipes! Can’t wait to make another cake! (PS I posted an instagram shout out to you and photo of the cake @kellyskitchenca ).