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THE Opera Cream
There’s a Diva in the House
It may not mirror the drama of an opera, but our Opera Cream Cake has an interesting story, and we are celebrating her star power this month. You know how they officially call Ohio State University, THE Ohio State University, that is how we address our signature cake. We call it THE Opera Cream Cake to differentiate her from all her co-stars in BonBonerie’s recipe box.
Oh, what a splendid journey THE Opera Cream has taken us on. It has provided a flavor platform that even inspires others to capture its lusciousness from our Opera Cream coffee custom roasted by our local provider Seven Hills Coffee to the Opera Cream Stout created by Braxton Brewery. Once United Dairy Farmers created, with our help, a limited-edition version of Opera Cream ice cream. It was sold at all of their local stores for a while. Years ago, returning from a vacation, I stopped for lunch at Frisch’s and was surprised by the table tent inviting customers to try their newest dessert, a slice of Opera Cream Cake. I assumed it may have been inspired by our very own, so I bought a slice and soon realized it was an Opera Cream Cake in name only. Early in BonBonerie’s history while members of the Cincinnati Bakers Association, we were regularly asked to share our opera cream recipe with other bakeries. The purpose of belonging to such an organization was to share helpful resources, sometimes recipes as well as commiserate the pains of owning your own bakery, but we always had to decline sharing our star recipe with them, but they never stopped asking.
For the last few years, the opera cream has been the inspiration for events like this week’s OPERAFEST, masterminded by our own Pat Ryan. Every year since its inception, live opera performances have become part of the evening’s festivities. Our very own French macaron maker, Grace, who also happens to study opera at CCM will be performing during the evening’s festivities. Last week Grace created a new version of the opera cream macaron for our macaron repertoire. I ate one last Friday and swooned. The combination of dark chocolate and rich vanilla has inspired us to create other iterations of taste of the opera cream flavor profile in the form of an opera cream cupcake, a soon to be released opera cream truffle and an opera cream ala mode coffee drink in the Cafe.
If you asked our wedding cake coordinator what the number one chocolate flavor is chosen for the wedding cakes we create, opera cream would be the unanimous choice. We offer many other chocolate flavors that are utterly delicious, but the opera cream rules.
We did not create the idea of opera cream. That goes to a candy maker here in Cincinnati, regularly debated as either Putman’s or Bissinger’s. It is believed that each company formulated a version of the delectable dark chocolate covered vanilla cream candy for patrons of the Cincinnati Opera. It was created specifically so that patrons could quietly enjoy a treat during performances at Music Hall instead of noisily unwrapping hard candies. There is a brief story about this in the Joy of Cooking. (And of course I trust Irma Rombauer who knew everything about food in Cincinnati. She created her masterpiece Joy of Cooking while living here in Newtown)
When a local business makes something wonderful, Cincinnatians are loyal to the bone. I am so proud that THE Opera Cream has become one of those products our fellow Cincinnatian’s are proud of. The day THE Opera Cream Cake was included on the cover of Cincinnati magazine as one of Cincinnati’s iconic foods, I was overjoyed. Our Diva had actually become a Cincinnati icon! It was an unexpected honor that I will always cherish.
You are all invited this Saturday, September 28th to THE OPERA FEST at Braxton Brewing. Celebrate our diva. I’m sure she will make an appearance.
