The History of Sachercake
Austria is known for its coffee house culture and one of the most famous cakes is probably the Sachercake. Although uncomplicated but to make it perfect, still complicated, sweet but not overly sugary, fluffy but not too soft, the “Sachertorte” is and remains a masterpiece of sweet Viennese cuisine.
The Sachercake has its origin in the imperial kitchen of the Austrian State Chancellor Prince Metternich, who in 1832 instructed his kitchen to create a special dessert for himself and his guests. Unfortunately, on that very day, the head chef was sick and the 16-year-old apprentice named Franz Sacher had to step in. The prince encouraged the apprentice with the well-known words: “That he does not disgrace me tonight!”
Franz Sacher mastered the task given to him to the satisfaction of the prince and his guests and created the basic recipe of the Sachercake.
The original Sachercake Recipe
The Sachercake first became known with Eduard Sacher, who during his training at the confectionery Demel refined the recipe for today’s version. That is why the original Sacher Cake was served at Demel for a long time. It was not until Eduard Sacher founded the Hotel Sacher in 1876 that the famous cake was also served there. When the Hotel Sacher filed for bankruptcy in 1934, the son of the same name, Eduard Sacher, found a job again at the confectionery Demel and sold them the exclusive right to sell the Eduard-Sacher-Torte.
In 1938 the new owner of the Hotel Sacher reintroduced the sale of the famous cake and registered the name “Original Sachertorte” as a trademark. This later developed into a longstanding legal dispute between the Demel confectionery and the Hotel Sacher.
In these processes, which lasted for several years, not only the property rights were discussed, but also the exact recipe of the original cake. Whether butter or margarine would be the right ingredient and whether, in addition to the layer of apricot jam under the glaze, a second layer should be applied in the middle of the cake or not.
Since then, the “Original Sachertorte” has been sold and served in the Hotel Sacher and under the name “Demel’s Sachertorte” in the Demel confectionery. Both cakes are very similar and at first glance they only differ in the layers of jam (in the Hotel Sacher the cake is served with another layer of jam in the middle). You will have to decide for yourself which of the two is the more successful on your next visit to Austria.
Until then, I’ll show you my version of the Sacher Cake, which is a mixture of different recipes. The recipe of the original Sachercake remains a well-kept secret, but I hope that my recipe will give you just as much pleasure.
Try my Recipe for Chocolate Soufflé
Always with Whipped Cream
There are a few combinations in the culinary world that simply fit like a glove. Seldom will anyone discuss the combinations of sausages with mustard, mozzarella with balsamic vinegar, pasta with cheese, or bananas with chocolate. In my opinion, whipped cream and Sachercake definitely form one of these cosmic connections. So if you try this recipe, don’t forget to buy cream to make your dining experience perfect. I am sure that with a Sachercake with whipped cream and a cup of coffee you will feel like in a Viennese coffee house.
Sachercake Recipe
Equipment
- round cakeform (springform)
- handmixer or whisk
- kitchen scale
- thermometer
- fine sieve
- Cake rack (optional)
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 140 g butter at ambient temperature
- 50 g sugar icing sugar if possible
- 140 g chocolate dark at least 55% cocoa content
- 6 egg yolk at ambient temperature
- 6 egg white at ambient temperature
- 170 g sugar caster sugar
- 130 g flour all purpose
- 20 g Cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 200 g apricot jam
For the frosting
- 200 g chocolate dark at least 55% cocoa content
- 250 g sugar caster sugar
- 170 g water
Instructions
The chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 170 ° C.
- Melt the chocolate for the dough (140g) over a double boiler, in the oven or in the microwave until lip-warm.
- Beat the lukewarm butter and icing sugar (50g) with a hand mixer until frothy. Gradually stir the egg yolks into the butter mixture.
- Slowly stir the melted chocolate into the butter mixture.
- Add a pinch of fine salt and 1/4 of the sugar (approx. 45g) to the egg white and slowly start to mix. As soon as the mixture becomes frothy, add another 2/4 of the sugar (approx. 90g) and increase the speed. As soon as the egg whites have formed, add the remaining sugar and mix at maximum speed for about 2 minutes until stiff tips form when you pull out the whisk.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the mixture.
- Mix the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together and then sieve over the remaining mixture. Fold in the flour piece by piece in several stages.
- Butter and flour the cake form so that the cake comes out more easily later.
- Pour the mixture into the mold and place in the oven at 170 °C. Bake for the first 30 minutes at 170 °C, then reduce the temperature to 150 °C and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Let the cake cool, remove it from the mold and cut once horizontally in the middle.
- Gently heat the apricot jam in a saucepan and stir until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and use it to thinly spread the cake in the middle. Assemble the cake and coat the sides and top with jam.
For the frosting
- Bring the sugar and water to the boil in a saucepan while stirring.
- Boil the sugar solution to a "thread stage" (that is, until the sugar solution has reached 106 °C).
- Remove from the fire and dissolve the crushed chocolate in the hot sugar solution.
- Place the pot in cold water and rub the glaze on the edge of the vessel with the back of a wooden spoon (tabletting) until the glaze has a thick consistency and is shiny. Then pass the glaze through a fine sieve so that there are fewer air bubbles and small particles are caught.
- Place the cake on a grid and pour the chocolate icing over it.
- Let the glaze cool and solidify. Serve with whipped cream.
