Opera Cream Cupcakes

By: Sarah

A few weekends ago, one of my favorite couples, John and Allison, got married.  My husband and I had so much fun celebrating their big night with them.  The wedding was held in a beautiful cathedral with breathtaking stained glass windows.  Allison looked stunning as ever and John couldn't have been more "John" in his boots.  Also, the reception was top notch! The shabby chic decor was so adorable and the food, drinks, and dancing made the night perfect.  

At John and Allison's couple shower, I had my first ever experience with Opera Cream Cake.  At first the cake just looked like a regular chocolate cake with white buttercream icing, but when I tasted it, I couldn't place the flavors or consistency.  The white icing just melted away in my mouth and had the perfect hint of vanilla.  I fell in love with this cake right then and there.  Since then, I've been researching this so called "Opera Cream" cake and I found that I'm not the only one in love.  I'm not sure where Allison had her Opera Cream cake made, but I found a bakery in Cincinnati that is known for this exact dessert.  (We were in Cincinnati, so I'm guessing her cake had to come from here.)  This bakery is called the BonBonerie.  I also found several message boards and websites that rave about the BonBonerie and their Opera Cream when I googled Opera Cakes. Since then I have been looking at pictures of this cake online trying to figure out how I was going to get my next fix.....

My first piece of Opera Cream Cake.

So tonight I decided that I must recreate my new favorite sweet. I happened to come across an Opera Cream Icing recipe, so I gave it a try. Now it's been a little while now since I had my first official taste of the real Opera Cream Cake, so I don't really remember all of the details of the cake, but I tried my best to recreate it.  I have to say,while it may not taste exactly like the BonBonerie's cake, this cupcake and icing turned out to be superb!  The icing is so light and airy and melts away on your tongue.  It is pairs well with chocolate because it's not overly sweet.  My husband even rated this cupcake a 9.5 on a scale of 1-10 (this never happens)!  By the way - Husband -  if you are reading,  I want my next birthday cake from the BonBonerie :) 

Opera Cream Cupcake

1.  Make your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. Tonight I made my favorite Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake Mix in Dark Chocolate. 

2.  Let cool.

Opera Cream Icing

by cooks.com

5 T flour

1 cup milk

1 cup granulated sugar

2 sticks butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1.  Cook flour and milk in a small sauce pan stirring frequently.  Once it is thick like paste remove from heat. Cool completely.  

2.  Cream together butter and sugar and put in refrigerator.  

3.  After the paste is completely cool remove mixing bowl from refrigerator. Combine the paste with creamed butter and sugar. Add vanilla.  Beat mixture with an electric mixer until thick and smooth.  Make sure all grains of sugar have dissolved.  In hot weather, due to the high butter content, frosting should be refrigerated.  

How to assemble cupcakes:

Filling - I filled my cupcakes with the opera cream icing.  I used an icing bag and a small round tip to fill the cupcakes.  Just stick the tip into the top of the cupcake and squeeze icing in until the cupcake starts to bulge at the top.  

Icing - I didn't use a tip, but just a plain plastic icing bag with the tip cut off.  

Chocolate Drizzle - Today I used Smucker's Chocolate Magic Shell to drizzle on my cupcakes. Once the cupcake has the chocolate drizzle, put in the refrigerator to get hard.

Mini Chocolate Chips - Cover as desired.

Enjoy with a tall glass of milk ;)