Not just chocolate cake ~ but Sachertorte!
This post is dedicated to my special friends Pami Taylor and Joseph Stricklin…
I promised I’d put the recipe for a wonderful chocolate cake online, but I’ll give you slightly more than that– a little history into the origins of the world famous Sachertorte.
C’mon then, grab yourself a coffee or tea, put your feet up and make yourself comfortable, and let’s begin!
I promised I’d put the recipe for a wonderful chocolate cake online, but I’ll give you slightly more than that– a little history into the origins of the world famous Sachertorte.
C’mon then, grab yourself a coffee or tea, put your feet up and make yourself comfortable, and let’s begin!
The Original Sachertorte, as produced by the Hotel Sacher in Vienna (pic Hotel Sacher site)
The “Sachertorte”, as it is known worldwide, is undoubtedly one of Austria’s most famous desserts, if not THE most famous, and was created in 1832 by an apprentice chef in the service of the then Chancellor of Austria, Prince Clemens Lothar Wensel Metternich. As with many great inventions in the world, the birth of the Sachertorte – a very rich chocolate layered cake, generally served with unsweetened whipped cream- was actually the result of circumstance: On the day of its inception Prince Metternich’s head chef was unexpectedly taken ill, and it befell 16-year old apprentice Franz Sacher to come up with an almost instant solution to the dessert requirements for a grand dinner party the Prince was having that night. Rumour has it that young Franz was told “Let there be no shame on me tonight!”
I guess Franz Sacher must have performed well enough to have pleased the palates of his master and important guests for he obviously survived his ordeal, but his creation -the Sachertorte- did not really make international acclaim until many years later, and then only after some legal issues over the name had been sorted out.
I guess Franz Sacher must have performed well enough to have pleased the palates of his master and important guests for he obviously survived his ordeal, but his creation -the Sachertorte- did not really make international acclaim until many years later, and then only after some legal issues over the name had been sorted out.
Chocolate heaven 'n whipped cream...
It was Franz Sacher’s eldest son Eduard who continued in his father’s footsteps and perfected the “Original Sachertorte” recipe to its current status. However, there exists another official version of the Sachertorte at the famous Viennese Royal & Imperial Bakery and Chocolatier “Demel”, where Eduard Sacher had undergone his own training and where he’d perfected the family recipe, later claimed by Demel to be their own and fought over when the famous Vienna Hotel Sacher began selling Original Sachertorten in the 1930s. Thus were laid the foundations for a long legal battle that would erupt in 1938 between Eduard Sacher Junior, who was named after his father, and the Demel house, which ultimately resulted in an out-of court settlement in 1963 after which both parties were officially allowed to carry the name Sachertorte. And so, while the Original Sachertorte name was awarded to the Hotel Sacher, Cafe Demel, with its own Eduard-Sacher-Torte was henceforth also officially allowed to offer its own version of this culinary delight.
Equally inviting: a Demel Sachertorte (downloaded from Demel site)
Typically the recipes of the Sachertorte are treated as closely-guarded state secrets. It is claimed that the main component is determined not so much by the ingredients themselves, but rather the qualities of chocolates used in the icing, which are said to be 3 special types of chocolate, produced solely for this purpose by different manufacturers in Belgium and Germany.
The cake is made up of two layers of chocolate sponge cake in between which rests a thin layer of apricot preserve. The entire cake is covered with rich dark chocolate icing on the top and sides. Because it is considered to be rather dry to be eaten like that, it is served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Hotel Sacher’s Original Sachertorte and Demel’s production differ mostly in the way they treat the different layers of preserve, each house jealously protecting their treasured formula.
The cake is made up of two layers of chocolate sponge cake in between which rests a thin layer of apricot preserve. The entire cake is covered with rich dark chocolate icing on the top and sides. Because it is considered to be rather dry to be eaten like that, it is served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Hotel Sacher’s Original Sachertorte and Demel’s production differ mostly in the way they treat the different layers of preserve, each house jealously protecting their treasured formula.
So, if you’d like to treat yourself to the “real” thing, I can only suggest you look into a visit to the wonderful city of Vienna at some point where you’ll be able to sample the cake both at the Sacher Hotel and at Demel’s Patisserie and make up your mind yourself as to which one you prefer…
It might just be an unforgettable experience, who knows!
There are many different versions of the “unofficial” Sachertorte, for this exercise though, let me share the recipe I received from a friend of mine, who is a great chef when it comes down to baking and producing sweet temptations… an area in which I display a distinct lack of the necessary skills!
It might just be an unforgettable experience, who knows!
There are many different versions of the “unofficial” Sachertorte, for this exercise though, let me share the recipe I received from a friend of mine, who is a great chef when it comes down to baking and producing sweet temptations… an area in which I display a distinct lack of the necessary skills!
Knowing the cake's international name and reputation, I'm not surprised to find that there are several cafés and coffeeshops dotted all over the globe offering Sachertorte, with Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia probably being the most unexpected! However, what did really make my eyebrows rise is the fact that there is even an National Sachertorte Day; it's on 5 December... Fancy that!
Click here and you will be taken to my virtual kitchen library where I’ve displayed my friend's recipe, and who knows, with a little patience and a lot of determination you too could become an expert Sachertorte baker!
For those who'd rather give the self-baked experience a miss, there's always the possibility of ordering the cake directly online from either the Sacher Hotel or the Demel bakery in Vienna.
Click here and you will be taken to my virtual kitchen library where I’ve displayed my friend's recipe, and who knows, with a little patience and a lot of determination you too could become an expert Sachertorte baker!
For those who'd rather give the self-baked experience a miss, there's always the possibility of ordering the cake directly online from either the Sacher Hotel or the Demel bakery in Vienna.
Hope you enjoyed all that!
Chocolate covered Smiles,
Emm xx
sightseeing in Vienna, Austria
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