And so continues our sweet journey around the world. Today we are in the homeland of the waltz dance and Mozart, landing in Austria!
This small nation has so many typical sweets known all over the world. Many of these are also reproduced in the northern Italian regions close to the border, have you ever ordered Strudel, Linzer, Kaiserschmarrn or Krapfen in mountain huts by the slopes? Yes, they are all typical of our Austrian neighbors. Representing the nation, I chose to replicate the queen of chocolate cakes: the Sachertorte.
The Sacher is a two-layer chocolate cake filled with apricot jam and covered with a light, dark chocolate glaze.
It was invented by a very young sixteen-year-old pastry chef named Franz Sacher, who made the cake for an official lunch at the court of Chancellor Klemens von Metternich instead of the sick head chef. After his career in pastry came to an end, he opened the Sacher Hotel which is one of the few places in the world where you can taste the cake prepared with the original recipe, just imagine that outside Austria it can only be found at the Sacher Shop in Bolzano. The trademark is protected and no one has ever obtained the licence.
The authentic recipe involved 18 egg whites and 14 yolks, perhaps at the court lunch there were 42 guests because otherwise this enormous quantity cannot be explained. It was dry enough and for this served with unsweetened whipped cream.
However, the preparation of this Sacher (not original) is not difficult, if you have a stand mixer, making the base will be very quick and simple. Instead, it takes more time for the glazing and the writing or any decorations.
The consistency of the base is similar to a sponge cake but a little more humid (so we avoid serving it with cream, it is already quite heavy as it is). Overall it is a bomb in every sense, obviously chocolaty, the jam is a perfect combination, Franz thought it well!
Tips
Before cutting the cake in half, wait for it to cool completely or it will crumble apart.
If the glaze is too liquid to write with it, fill the pastry bag and place it in the refrigerator for few minutes.
Happy baking!
Recipe
Download the PDF
Preparation time 40 minutes + rest
Baking time 35-40 minutes
Servings 18 cm Ø cake tin
Ingredients
Sponge cake
2 eggs
90 gr of sugar
90 gr of all purpose flour
60 gr of dark chocolate 70%
40 gr of fresh cream
130 gr of soft butter
12 gr of unsweetened cocoa powder
4 gr of baking powder
250 gr of apricot jam
3 gr of salt
Glaze
270 gr of dark chocolate 70%
190 gr of fresh cream
Method
FOR THE SPONGE CAKE
1. In a bain-mariemelt the dark chocolate with the fresh cream. Leave to cool
2. In a stand mixer, whip the soft butter with the sugar for about 10 minutes to obtain a frothy cream, add the lightly beaten eggs a little at a time, incorporating them well
3. Pour the melted chocolate into the mixture in two or three times, once blended increase the speed of the mixer to whip all the ingredients well
4. Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and add them to the mixture, folding with a spatula from the bottom up, transfer everything to the tin lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven with fan at 180 ° for 35 minutes. Leave to cool completely
5. Cut the cake in half and fill it with apricot jam, also on the sides and on the surface, let it rest for one hour at room temperature before glazing
FOR THE GLAZE
1. Coarsely chop the dark chocolate, in a saucepan over low heat bring the fresh cream to the boil, pour it over the chocolate and mix until completely melted
2. Place the cake on a rack with a sheet of parchment paper underneath, pour the glaze over the entire surface and cover the side as well with the help of a spatula
DECORATION
1. Fill a fine tipped piping bag with the glaze that has fallen from the cake and the remaining one. Decorate the surface of the cake with the classic writing
Comments