Austrian Sachertorte

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Austrian Sachertorte

September 22, 2013 by mydanishkitchen

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

Directions

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Butter and flour a 9 x 2-inch cake pan (23 cm x 5 cm), bang out excess flour and set aside.Cut chocolate into small pieces. In a bowl, combine chopped chocolate and butter, melt over a hot water bath. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a bowl using a wire whisk, whip the egg yolks with 1 ounce sugar (28 grams) until thick and pale yellow. While pouring in a thin stream, beat in the chocolate mixture until combined.

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:

Puree the apricot jam and stir in the Grand Marnier (optional).

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!

Source: adapted from Wolfgang Puck

Posted in Austrian, Cake, Chocolate | Tagged apricot, Austrian, cake, chocolate, Grand Marnier, Sachertorte | 7 Comments

7 Responses

on September 23, 2013 at 19:05 | Reply Forestwoodfolkart

Reblogged this on Something to Ponder About and commented:
Sorry, I had to re-blog as this is one of my favourite cakes. Something to ponder about making some day soon.
on September 23, 2013 at 08:31 | Reply ramblingtart

This looks and sounds absolutely divine!! 🙂 I love how dense and chocolatey the cake is. The jam must’ve been splendid!!
- on September 23, 2013 at 17:45 | Reply mydanishkitchen
  
  The jam definitely makes the cake, that and the glaze. Just yummy 🙂
on September 22, 2013 at 11:38 | Reply Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

I will have to try this one the next time I bake a birthday cake for a chocoholic. It looks so good.
- on September 23, 2013 at 17:47 | Reply mydanishkitchen
  
  It was very satisfying for my chocolate craving.
on September 22, 2013 at 06:11 | Reply Geraldine

yummm..great photo!
- on September 22, 2013 at 06:30 | Reply mydanishkitchen
  
  Thanks Geraldine 🙂