Sachertorte
Let me introduce you to a classic Austrian cake – Sachertorte. This is a cake sure to satisfy any chocolate craving you may be suffering from. And when it comes to Austrian specialties, who else to go to for advice, other that the Austrian born Wolfgang Puck. Wolfgang’s original recipe called for apricot brandy which of course sounds perfect for this wonderful cake but was nowhere to be found in my stash of booze, so I ended up using Grand Marnier instead which I thought turned out to be a really good substitute. Also, I made one tiny little mistake. Wolfgang tells you to cut the cake into three layers, which I overlooked, and so I only cut my cake into two layers. It still turned out fantastic, but I only got to use 1/2 the amount of apricot jam called for. Next time I make this delicious cake, I will make sure that my cake gets cut into three layers so I can use up all that heavenly apricot jam. Or come to think of it, I could have used the remaining jam on top of the cake, chilled it, and then poured the chocolate glaze over it. That would have been great too. 😀
Cake batter: melt chocolate, beat eggs, add chocolate to eggs, beat meringue, add flour to chocolate mixture, fold in flour, add meringue to chocolate, fold in meringue, finished batter.
Sachertorte: in 1832 Prince Wenzel von Metternich were having important guests for dinner and tasked his personal chef with creating a special dessert for the event. But it just so happened, that the chef fell sick that day and the daunting task fell on his 16 year old apprentice Franz Sacher. His dessert was very pleasing to Metternich’s guests but did not actually become famous until Franz Sacher’s son Eduard Sacher developed his father’s recipe into it’s current form. Since then, the Sachertorte has become one of Austria’s most famous specialties.
Sachertorte
Sachertorte (yields 8-10 servings)
Ingredients
Cake:
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (170 grams)
3 oz. butter (85 grams)
4 egg yolks
1 oz. sugar, plus 3 oz. sugar (28 grams, plus 85 grams)
5 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flour, sifted (45 grams)
Apricot filling:
1 cup apricot jam (280 grams)
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier (optional)
Chocolate Glaze:
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (170 grams)
1 oz. butter (28 grams)
2 oz. heavy cream (59 milliliter)
Serve with:
whipped cream
In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 3 ounces of sugar (85 grams) and continue to beat until shiny stiff peaks. Fold the sifted flour into the chocolate mixture until combined and then fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites, gently but thoroughly. Pour into prepared cake pan.
Bake for 40 minutes or until done. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of cake, it should come out dry. Remove cake from the oven and cool on a rack.
To make the apricot filling:
Slice the cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Spread half of the apricot filling on the bottom layer. Top with a second layer of cake. Spread the remaining apricot filling and top with the third layer of cake. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
To make the chocolate glaze:
In a bowl, combine the chopped chocolate and butter, melt over a hot water bath. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Stir the hot cream into the melted chocolate. Cool until it reaches a glazing consistency. Spread over and around the cake. Chill for another 30 minutes before serving. Serve cake slices with whipped cream on the side. Enjoy!
My Danish Kitchen 