Sacher Torte

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Sachertorte, is the signature cake from Vienna, Austria. There are a lot of versions of the torte but the original recipe has never been made public and is a national trade secret to Austrians. The available recipes for the cake are mere approximations of the real thing and so you have to be careful that you find a good recipe to try out. I have two versions of the recipe and I just found the version that Lidia used on her show.  However, I am sticking to the recipe that I know works and will be using the recipe from my Chocolate Ecstasy cookbook. 

After looking at pictures of the actual cake, I decided to make a little bit of change to the assembly of the cake. There are differing number of layers to the cake. I've seen one with just one layer and another with the cake sliced in half and filled with the apricot glaze. I've also been reading a couple of blogs about the authentic Sachertorte and the reviews run the gamut from being very simple yet expensive to kind of dry and quite ordinary. To counter the dry comments, I made sure that the glaze did soak the cake to ensure maximum moistness. I also added an extra layer of chocolate ganache since the way they described the chocolate glaze was that is was quite sugary and has a brittle texture. The addition of an extra layer of chocolate ganache afforded me enough extra chocolate frosting to pipe rosettes to achieve a clean look to the cake. 

*Sachertorte - Adapted

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Cake:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter,   softened
1/2 cup supefine sugar
8 eggs, separated
1 cup flour

Glaze: 
1 cup apricot jam
1 tbsp lemon juice

Chocolate Glaze:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
scant 1 cup superfine sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line it with 
    wax paper. 

2. Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl over hot water. Set aside. 

3. Cream the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy for about 3 minutes. 
    Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in 
    the melted chocolate. In a second bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg 
    whites until stiff. 

4.  Fold in the sifted flour alternately with the egg whites. Place batter in 
     prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. 

5. To make the glaze, heat the jam with the lemon juice and once warm, 
    pass the mixture through a sieve. Set aside. 

6. Once the cake has cooled, slice the cake in half and spread both layers 
    with the apricot glaze on the cut side. Set aside and prepare the 
    chocolate glaze. 

7. Combine the ingredients for the chocolate glaze in a pot and heat gently 
    with stirring until the mixture is thick and smooth. Pour a third of the 
    chocolate glaze on top of the lower layer and allow to cool and set in the 
    fridge. Leave the rest of the glaze at room temperature. 

8. Once the chocolate glaze has set on the lower cake layer, cap with the top 
    layer, the apricot-glazed side facing the chocolate glaze layer. Spread the 
    rest of the apricot glaze on the sides and top of the cake. Cool in the 
    fridge for about 15 minutes.  

9. Put the cake on a cooling rack set on top of a baking sheet and pour the 
    rest of the glaze over the cake. Return the cake into the fridge until the 
    glaze sets. Let the glaze set for at least 4 hours. 

10. To make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream over low heat. Pour 
    the cream over the chocolate and mix until smooth and satiny. Add the 
    vanilla. Let the glaze cool to room temperature and when it starts to 
    thicken, pour the glaze over the cake and let it set in the fridge for at 
    least an hour. 

11. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and you can scoop out the glaze 
    that dripped on the baking pan and pipe rosettes on the edge of the cake. 
    Serve with whipped cream. 

* France, C.; Chocolate Ecstasy; Annes Publishing Limited: London, 1996