Sacher Torte

This very rich, chocolatey cake has a fascinating history. The cake was created in Vienna by apprentice Pastry Chef, Franz Sacher in 1832. He was 16 years old at the time. The head chef was ill that day and Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternick, an Austrian State Chancellor, requested a very special cake for one of his guests, so young Sacher was tasked with the challenge of coming up with something very special.

The decadent cake is made with lots of chocolate and the layers are soaked in apricot jam and rum; the rum is probably a more recent addition. Finally the cake is covered in chocolate ganache and traditionally served with unsweetened whipped cream.

I was tasked with creating a very special chocolate indulgence for my good friend, Jan Burke celebrating her birthday at one of our weekly Canasta games. I poured through tons of recipes until coming across this one, which seemed fitting. Today, the Sacher Torte is considered a cultural and culinary symbol of Vienna. Obviously young Sacher’s Torte was a smash hit, not only with the Chancellor, but all of Vienna!

There are a fair amount of steps in putting this cake together, but you can make the actual cake a day in advance, as it’s best to let the apricot rum drizzle soak thoroughly into the layers. I also made the drizzle a day ahead.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Either line the bottom of a 9 x 3 inch cake pan with parchment or generously butter and flour the bottom of the pan. I only had a 9 x 2 inch pan and was concerned with all the eggs (8 in total) that the batter would spill over the top, so fashioned an extension in foil to keep this from happening.

The cake did rise considerably. Do not be concerned about the mounded top, as you will trim this off with a serrated knife once the cake is completely cooled. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Sift together 1 cup cake flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream 8 oz. of butter (that is 1 cup or 2 sticks) and 1/2 of the sugar until very light and airy. European butter is always preferable to use in baking because it has a higher butter fat content  than American butter; at least 82% compared to 80%. That doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but it really is. European butter melts faster, is richer and creamier.

I generally use Kerry Gold from Ireland, but this time opted for this beautiful Danish butter.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating briefly after each addition. Add 2 tsp. vanilla and mix well. Mix in the sifted dry ingredients; do not over-mix. Whisk 6 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate into the batter. Use a good quality chocolate, like Ghiradelli.

Next, whip the 8 egg whites to soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and whip to full peak.

Fold the egg whites into the batter in thirds, mixing just until there are no streaks of egg whites visible. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread to an even level and bake until the middle of the cake springs back when pressed or a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack until completely cooled.

Stir 1/4 cup dark rum (I may have used a little more) into 18 oz. (1 12/ cups) Apricot preserves. Gently heat stirring to combine.

Using a serrated knife, trim the top of the cake so it is flat. After trimming, I flipped the cake so the bottom layer became the top ensuring very level surface. Split the cake horizontally into two layers.

Spread 1/3 of the Apricot mixture on the bottom layer and place the top layer onto the cake. Next time, I would use a little more of the chunky Apricot mixture and strained Apricot mixture, which you will ice the cake with.

 

Strain the Apricot mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the chunky pieces of Apricot. Ice the top and sides of the cake with the strained Apricot preserves. Place the cake onto a rack set over a sheet pan to catch the drippings. Allow the cake to air-dry for at least an hour.

Once the cake sits out for an hour, cover and leave on the counter overnight. The next day, again using a double boiler (or your microwave) melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate with 4 oz. (1 stick) butter. Add 1 1/2 oz. corn syrup to the chocolate/butter mixture.

Pour the warm glaze over the cake using an off-set spatula to fill in any gaps. As the ganache slides down the sides, continue using the spatula to smooth out so the entire cake is covered evenly. Traditionally, the name “Sacher” is piped onto the cake using the left-over chocolate ganache. Next time, I will dispense with the squiggly line under “Sacher” as it detracted from the name.

This was my first time making this cake and it truly was a labor of love! The assembled cake will improve for a day or two after being iced as the Apricot preserves absorb into the cake.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, DEAR JAN!