HI MY NAME IS AMBER.....

and I am a perfectionist. (hello Amber) Yes…I admit it and it gives me comfort. Throw in some Daring Baker challenges and I think that I will definitely have a stroke. But alas, it is all for the better good eh? This month's challenge was one I was psyched about….I love opera and I love cake. How could I not love Opera Cake? The recipe was fantastic in that you could make the recipe in stages or all in one day. I freaked out a little bit as I read the part for the Joconde. I live in Korea and my oven-is not so large. Luck was on my side though and I found a smaller jelly roll pan that happened to fit perfectly.

I waited for the perfect day to begin. I waited and waited…..waited some more and then I had ONE sunny perfect day. I don't know about you, but I can never whip egg whites unless the weather is perfect. However, I did not blanch the almonds since I only had slivered almonds on hand….I'm curious though to know what the difference is. Anyway, the Joconde was perfect and so tasty that my son loved just eating that. (I did find out that I am an idiot as it took me a while to figure out how to do the parchment part of that whole thing….seriously….I'm a rock) I took the easy route and decided that I would have a Pina Colada flavored Opera cake. Killer flavor which was gonna make my cake the best cake ever. I'm talking EVER. With the recipe being so many different parts I had a flavor for each step. I was a little nervous about the buttercream after reading all the issues people had been having, but it worked out. I will say I never knew buttercream could taste so good..

• Joconde
  
• Coconut Syrup
  
• Pineapple buttercream
  
• Rum white chocolate mousse
  
• Maraschino Cherry flavored glaze
  

After I layered everything…oh it was beautiful. And then I tasted it. Something was lost in the translation….not sure what went wrong, but I could not taste the individual flavors separately or together. Therefore my perfect cake is not so perfect. ARGH!!!!!!! I vow to one day make this again so that I do it the way it was meant to be….full of flavor and oh so perfect. June is gonna be fantastic as I will be in the states using a normal kitchen….I'm talking a normal size oven with normal size pans…even a counter that is at a normal height. Oh the fun…

p.s. I have no experience with alcohol….cooking or otherwise…but rum made that mousse BANGIN!!!!

- Amber