Sachertorte
Ingredients
- 150 g dark chocolate, melted
- 150 g butter, softened
- 150 g sugar, divided
- 6 eggs, separated
- 150 g flour
- 150-200 g apricot jam, warmed and strained
- Glaze: 150 g dark chocolate, 130 g sugar, 125 ml water
Created in 1832 in Vienna by a 16-year-old apprentice, Franz Sacher, for a dinner at the court of Prince Metternich, the Sachertorte is a not-too-sweet chocolate sponge, split and coated with a thin layer of apricot jam, then covered entirely in a smooth, glossy chocolate glaze. The exact ratios used by Hotel Sacher remain a closely guarded secret, but the essential structure — chocolate sponge, apricot, chocolate glaze — is well documented.
Method
Cream the butter with half the sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the melted chocolate.
Whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar to stiff peaks.
Fold the flour into the chocolate-butter mixture, then fold in the whipped egg whites in stages, keeping the batter as airy as possible.
Pour into a buttered and lined springform pan and bake at around 170°C (340°F) for 50-55 minutes; cool completely.
Slice the cooled cake in half horizontally and spread a layer of warmed apricot jam between the layers; brush more jam over the top and sides for a smooth base for the glaze.
Make the glaze by boiling sugar and water to a syrup, then adding chopped chocolate and stirring until smooth and thick.
Pour the glaze over the cake in one go, quickly spreading it with a palette knife to coat the top and sides evenly.
Let the glaze set for several hours before slicing; serve traditionally with unsweetened whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 150 g dark chocolate, melted
- 150 g butter, softened
- 150 g sugar, divided
- 6 eggs, separated
- 150 g flour
- 150-200 g apricot jam, warmed and strained (for a single layer only)
- Glaze: 150 g dark chocolate, 130 g sugar, 125 ml water
When Hotel Sacher began marketing 'The Original Sacher-Torte' in 1938, Vienna's famed Demel pastry shop — which had employed the son of the cake's inventor — fought back, leading to a legal dispute that ran from 1954 to 1963. Hotel Sacher ultimately won exclusive rights to the name, and Demel had to rebrand its version as the 'Eduard-Sacher-Torte.' The recipes were set apart during that dispute: Hotel Sacher's cake has apricot jam both between the two sponge layers and under the glaze, while Demel's has only a single layer of jam, spread directly beneath the chocolate icing — giving a sweeter, more chocolate-forward slice with a drier crumb underneath.
Method
Cream the butter with half the sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the melted chocolate.
Whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar to stiff peaks.
Fold the flour into the chocolate-butter mixture, then fold in the whipped egg whites in stages, keeping the batter as airy as possible.
Pour into a buttered and lined springform pan and bake at around 170°C (340°F) for 50-55 minutes; cool completely.
Unlike the Hotel Sacher version, do not split the cake — leave it as a single layer.
Brush the top and sides of the whole cake generously with the warmed apricot jam, forming a smooth, even base directly under where the glaze will go.
Make the glaze by boiling sugar and water to a syrup, then adding chopped chocolate and stirring until smooth and thick.
Pour the glaze over the jam-coated cake in one go, spreading it quickly with a palette knife to coat evenly.
Let the glaze set for several hours before slicing.
