These Broadway-inspired "opera" cakes are delicious prima donnas
Seize the Daaé by adding a little drama to your Halloween treats
Bonjour! and BOO!
Paris has taken to Halloween with a vengeance. There are fantômes everywhere. Goblins and witches as well. There must be candy corn somewhere, but I haven’t seen it. And I won’t be looking for it — I’m an M&M's girl myself. And this year I’m a cupcaker, too. Gideon Glick and my friend, Adam “The Amateur Gourmet” Roberts, made it impossible for me to pass up their Phantom of the Opera Cakes. It’s one of dozens of perfectly punned recipes from their new book: Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway.
THE FUNNIEST COOKBOOK EVER
Many of you may already know Adam. Adam started The Amateur Gourmet in the early days of blogging and made his reputation by learning to cook — and then teaching us how to cook — great recipes from great chefs, eventually writing a book about his kitchen time with people like Ruth Reichl and Amanda Hesser. These days, Adam lives in LA, writes for TV, has a really good podcast (yes, it’s called The Amateur Gourmet) and writes a really good newsletter (yep, same name). That he collaborated with the actor, Gideon Glick — you may know him from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — to write this hilarious book is a gift to every cook and every lover of musical theater.
It’s a treat as tasty as M&M's to just page through the book. The illustrations by Justin “Squigs” Robertsonare delicious, and the writing and the recipes are fiendishly clever. And so smart — don’t skip the introductions to each recipe, they’re filled with great information about the musicals that inspired the recipe and every recipe includes terrific “Listening Notes.”
If it weren’t Halloween, I might have chosen Weenie Todds, How To Succeed in Blinis Without Really Trying, Griddler on the Roof (Rich Man Challah Toast with a Blueberry Blessing on Its Head), Slawsettos or Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Cream Float to share with you. There are so many temptations.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA CAKES
The cupcakes are based on the famous French opera cake — a coffee-soaked almond cake with a chocolate glaze and some buttercream too. These minis are much simpler. As the authors described them: “Almond cocoa cupcakes masquerade as opera cake and whipped chocolate ganache frosting with instant espresso powder brings in the coffee flavor.” There’s also the option to tuck some red jam into the heart of the cupcake — read on.
Phantom of the Opera, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, and book by Stilgoe and Webber, is the longest running show in Broadway history. However, shortly after it celebrates its 35th anniversary, it will close (the last performance will be February 18, 2023.) The show will be gone, but the cupcakes will live on.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I might earn a little flour-and-sugar money if you make a qualifying purchase after clicking on a link, which I promise to use while creating more stories like this. Thanks for your support.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA CAKES
Almond-Ask-of-You Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Adapted from Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway: The Broadway Lover's Cookbook by Gideon Glick and Adam Roberts
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
Cooking Notes from the authors:
Do almonds make you choke Carlotta-style? Just substitute all-purpose flour for the almond flour and leave out the almond extract. You’ll have more traditional vanilla cupcakes.
For a little extra Phantom drama, when the cupcakes are cool and before they’re iced, cut out a small circle from the top of each cupcake and lift it out. Add a dab of raspberry jam (about 1 teaspoon), place the piece back in, and cover with the chocolate ganache frosting. Just like the Phantom has a beating heart despite his monstrous behavior, so will your cupcakes.
The measurements: The book uses American volume measures. I’ve inserted metric measures.
Makes 12 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes
3/4 cup (75 grams) almond flour
3/4 cup (102 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
1 stick (1/2 cup / 4 ounces /113 grams) butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Photo: Mary Dodd
For the whipped chocolate ganache icing
8 ounces (226 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
Photo: Mary Dodd
DIRECTIONS
To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake holders and spray everything with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring glass, mix the vanilla extract, almond extract, and buttermilk together.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. On low speed, add one-third of the flour mixture, half of the buttermilk mixture, another one-third of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk mixture, and finish with the final third of the flour.
Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, scoop the cupcake batter into the cupcake tins, dividing everything evenly, so that the batter comes up three-quarters of the way.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cupcakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean. Carefully lift the cupcakes out of the pan with an offset spatula and allow to cool on a wire rack before icing.
To make the frosting: Place the chopped chocolate, espresso powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Heat the cream in a small pan or pot until just bubbling around the edges, then pour over the chocolate. Allow the warm cream to melt the chocolate for 3 minutes without stirring.
Stir with a rubber spatula until all the chocolate is melted. (If it all doesn’t melt, it’s okay. Place the bowl of the stand mixer on top of a pot of simmering water without letting the bottom touch the water. Keep stirring until all the chocolate is melted.) Now set the melted chocolate aside and let sit for 1 hour or until it reaches room temperature.
When the chocolate is at room temperature, attach the whisk attachment to your mixer and mix on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until the frosting is light and fluffy. (If the ganache won’t fluff up, refrigerate it for 5 to 10 minutes and try again.)
Use an offset spatula or piping bag to frost your cupcakes. They’ll keep in a covered container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
LISTENING NOTES FROM THE AUTHORS:
At the time of Swiss Chards’ publication, The Phantom of the Opera is currently the longest running show in Broadway history, having stayed open since its premiere in 1988. It has grossed over $6 billion worldwide.
Roger Waters, former Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist, claims that the main ascending and descending chord progression from the titular song, “Phantom of the Opera,” was plagiarized from the bass line in Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.” He never took legal action. Why? Because, as he puts it, “Life’s too long to bother with suing Andrew F****ing Lloyd Webber.”
The show is known for its foggy atmosphere, which is created nightly with the use of 400 pounds of dry ice! Guess that explains the Phantom’s chilly demeanor.
💥 New to xoxoDorie? You can find an archive of past newsletters here.
📬 Subscribe to find me in your inbox.
👨👩👧👦 Join BAKE AND TELL, our very own clubhouse so we can bake — and share— together. It has great recipes, riffable ideas & so much to learn from each other.
👋 Say hello and share what you're making on Facebook and Instagram.
📚 You can find more recipes in my latest book BAKING WITH DORIE.
OH MY...the tip for putting jam in the middle is perfect! I love little things like that to take recipes up a notch. I will definitely post results after making.