{"id":4314,"date":"2026-04-13T06:10:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T05:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/dinner\/quick-no-bake-opera-cake-dessert-easy-coffee-chocolate-treat\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:42:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:42:03","slug":"quick-no-bake-opera-cake-dessert-easy-coffee-chocolate-treat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/anytime-bites\/quick-no-bake-opera-cake-dessert-easy-coffee-chocolate-treat\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick No-Bake Opera Cake Dessert: Easy Coffee &#038; Chocolate Treat"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Quick No-Bake Opera Cake Dessert Cups<\/h1>\n<p>Every element comes together effortlessly, without lengthy waits or complicated steps, in this delightful take on Opera cake, a classic French patisserie masterpiece. We&#8217;ve reinvented this iconic dessert to ensure a rapid preparation, all whilst preserving the distinctive coffee and chocolate flavours. It&#8217;s the perfect solution for an unexpected sweet craving or to round off a dinner without spending hours in the kitchen. A sophisticated treat, completed in around 30 minutes, ideal for evenings when time is precious but the desire for a special dessert remains.<\/p>\n<h2>Quick Overview<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Preparation Time: 15 minutes<\/li>\n<li>Cooking Time: 0 minutes (assembly)<\/li>\n<li>Chilling Time: 15 minutes (optional, for a brief setting)<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty: Easy<\/li>\n<li>Serves: 4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ingredients<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Approx. 7 oz (200g) ladyfingers (about 12-16 biscuits)<\/li>\n<li>7 fl oz (200ml) strong, cold espresso coffee (prepare in 5 minutes)<\/li>\n<li>1.8 oz (50g) icing sugar<\/li>\n<li>8.8 oz (250g) mascarpone cheese, chilled<\/li>\n<li>3.5 fl oz (100ml) fresh double cream, chilled<\/li>\n<li>3.5 oz (100g) dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), roughly chopped<\/li>\n<li>Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Method<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Prepare the coffee base and cream:<\/strong> Pour the cold espresso coffee into a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, whip the fresh double cream with 0.9 oz (25g) of the icing sugar until soft peaks form, a process taking approximately 3-4 minutes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Create the mascarpone cream:<\/strong> In a third bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese with the remaining 0.9 oz (25g) of icing sugar and gently mix with a spatula until well combined. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture, stirring from the bottom upwards to maintain the cream&#8217;s lightness.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Melt the chocolate:<\/strong> Melt the roughly chopped dark chocolate in a bain-marie or microwave, stirring until you have a smooth and glossy sauce. This step will take around 2-3 minutes. Allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Assemble the desserts:<\/strong> Quickly dip the ladyfingers into the coffee, one at a time, ensuring they don&#8217;t become too soft. Arrange a layer of coffee-soaked ladyfingers at the bottom of 4 individual glasses or dessert cups. Cover with a layer of the mascarpone cream, then drizzle with a spoonful of the melted chocolate. Repeat the layers, finishing with the mascarpone cream. Assembly will take approximately 5-7 minutes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Finish and serve:<\/strong> Dust the surface generously with unsweetened cocoa powder. If time allows, refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to allow the layers to set slightly. Serve immediately for best results.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Serving &amp; Leftovers<\/h2>\n<p>These individual desserts are best enjoyed fresh. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 day, covered, though the ladyfingers may soften considerably.<\/p>\n<h2>Nutrition<\/h2>\n<p>Nutritional values are estimates and may vary depending on specific ingredients and portions used.<\/p>\n<h2>One Last Thing<\/h2>\n<p>Crafting quick and delectable sweets, such as these Opera Cake Dessert Cups, can transform even the busiest evenings into moments of pure indulgence. It&#8217;s a reliable approach to relishing a refined dessert without the stress of lengthy preparations, enriching your daily routine with small culinary joys.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indulge in the rich flavours of a classic Opera cake with this effortless, no-bake recipe. Perfect for satisfying a sweet craving without any fuss.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"ingredients_html_en_gb":"<div style=\"background:#f9f7f2;padding:25px;border-radius:10px;border:1px solid #e8e4db;font-family:sans-serif\">\n    <h3 style=\"text-align:center;margin-bottom:20px\">Shop ingredients<\/h3>\n    <div style=\"background:#fff;padding:15px;border-radius:5px;border:1px solid #eee\">\n      <div style=\"text-align:center;margin-bottom:15px;border-bottom:1px dashed #ccc;padding-bottom:10px\">\n        <strong style=\"color:#ee1c2e;margin-bottom:10px\">TESCO<\/strong>\n        <div style=\"margin-bottom:8px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/groceries\/en-GB\/search?query=ladyfingers\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#1a1a1a;text-decoration:underline\">Add ladyfingers \u2192<\/a><\/div><div style=\"margin-bottom:8px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/groceries\/en-GB\/search?query=espresso%20coffee\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#1a1a1a;text-decoration:underline\">Add espresso coffee \u2192<\/a><\/div><div style=\"margin-bottom:8px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/groceries\/en-GB\/search?query=icing%20sugar\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#1a1a1a;text-decoration:underline\">Add icing sugar \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div style=\"text-align:center\">\n        <strong style=\"color:#53334e;margin-bottom:10px\">OCADO<\/strong>\n        <div style=\"margin-bottom:8px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocado.com\/search?q=ladyfingers\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#1a1a1a;text-decoration:underline\">Add ladyfingers \u2192<\/a><\/div><div style=\"margin-bottom:8px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocado.com\/search?q=espresso%20coffee\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#1a1a1a;text-decoration:underline\">Add espresso coffee \u2192<\/a><\/div><div style=\"margin-bottom:8px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocado.com\/search?q=icing%20sugar\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#1a1a1a;text-decoration:underline\">Add icing sugar \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div style=\"margin-top:15px;border-top:1px solid #eee;padding-top:10px\"><details><summary style=\"font-size:13px;cursor:pointer\">See all ingredients<\/summary><div style=\"margin-top:10px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/groceries\/en-GB\/search?query=mascarpone%20cheese\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#888;text-decoration:none;font-size:13px\">mascarpone cheese<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/groceries\/en-GB\/search?query=double%20cream\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#888;text-decoration:none;font-size:13px\">double cream<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/groceries\/en-GB\/search?query=dark%20chocolate\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#888;text-decoration:none;font-size:13px\">dark chocolate<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/groceries\/en-GB\/search?query=cocoa%20powder\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#888;text-decoration:none;font-size:13px\">cocoa powder<\/a><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,208],"tags":[220,8,219,11,14,227,12,229,212,230,9,13,18,10],"class_list":["post-4314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anytime-bites","category-recipes-en","tag-15-minute","tag-30-minute","tag-evergreen","tag-family-friendly","tag-make-ahead","tag-meal-prep-base","tag-no-chaos","tag-no-cook","tag-premium-vault","tag-processed-weekly-plan","tag-quick-prep","tag-repeatable","tag-short-ingredient-list","tag-weeknight","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4314"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4358,"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4314\/revisions\/4358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartkitchen30.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}