Sachertorte

Vienna’s iconic chocolate cake with apricot jam, chocolate glaze, and whipped cream

---

City/Region: Vienna

Time Period: 1857

---

Ah, Vienna! City of music and pastries! On my recent trip to the Austrian capital, I did my dead level best to try every pastry I came across (which was a lot), including two famous versions of sachertorte: one from Demel and one from Cafe Sacher. Both cakes were quite dry, but that hasn’t stopped sachertorte from becoming very popular, complete with legendary origins. You can order sachertorte to be shipped to you from Vienna, but why do that when you can make this recipe that is better in almost every way (in my humble opinion).

If you’ve never had sachertorte, it’s a deeply chocolatey cake with a wonderful layer of complexity from the apricot jam and a chocolate glaze. It’s really, really good, especially when served with the traditional schlagobers, or unsweetened whipped cream.

“You wet 150g of ground vanilla chocolate with a tablespoon of water and let it get soft in the oven. Stir it smooth, add 150g butter, and stir it in, 6 egg yolks and 150g of sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat 6 egg whites until they are like snow and then fold it in and then fold in 150g flour. Put the batter into a wide, round springform pan lined with paper and bake with medium heat. When it is baked, turn it upside down and spread apricot jam and pour 70g melted chocolate over it. ”

— Sûddeutsche Küche (South German Cooking) by Katharina Prato, 1857

---

Ingredients:

Cake

• 10 1/2 tablespoons (150 g) bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao), broken into small pieces
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 10 1/2 tablespoons (150 g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 6 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups (150 g) flour, sifted
• 1 cup (340 g) apricot jam

Glaze

• 7 1/2 tablespoons (80 g) bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao), broken into small pieces
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water

Instructions:

1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment paper.
2. Make a double boiler by bringing an inch or two of water to a simmer in a pot, then set a heatproof bowl with the chocolate in it over the pot. The bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water. Stir the chocolate as it melts, and once it’s fully melted, set it aside and let it cool for a few minutes, then add in the butter and then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
3. Add the egg yolks and beat again until fully combined. Add the salt and vanilla and mix again. Add the sugar about 1/3 at a time, mixing between each addition. After all the sugar has been added, mix for 4 to 5 minutes or until it’s smooth and light.
4. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they are nice and fluffy with stiff peaks.
5. Gently fold the whipped egg whites to the chocolate mixture a bit at a time, folding until there are almost no streaks of egg white remaining. The egg whites are the only leavener in this cake, so mix gently as to not knock out all the air.
6. Add the flour about 1/3 at a time, and fold it in until there is no more white visible from the egg whites or the flour.
7. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, smooth the top, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the springform ring and turn the cake upside down to cool on a wire rack.
9. Heat the apricot jam on the stove until it’s runny, then pour it through a sieve so you have a nice, smooth consistency.
10. For the glaze: Melt the 80 g of chocolate in a double boiler like for the cake. In a separate saucepan, mix the 150 g of sugar with the 1/2 cup of water and bring it to a simmer.
11. Add the melted chocolate to the sugar syrup and stir over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or so until it becomes smooth. It will separate and look rather disappointing at first, but it will come together. Don’t let it boil too much.
12. To assemble: Slice the cooled cake into two equal layers. Spread half of the apricot jam on one layer, set the other cake layer on top of that, and spread the rest of the jam over the top of the cake. Once the glaze is ready, pour it over the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
13. After the glaze has set, serve it forth with a dollop of schlagobers (unsweetened whipped cream) and a nice cup of coffee.

---