Austria - Sacher Torte

Austria: the land of world-renowned coffee, cake, architecture, composers, and beautiful green rolling hills that are alive with the sound of music!

Austria is a mountainous landlocked country in central Europe. Vienna, the capital of Austria, was the former seat of the Holy Roman Empire. Partially because of Austria’s geographic position, the country has been at the centre of much political and economic turmoil, including the downfall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, decades of social and economic turbulence and a Nazi dictatorship. However, after declaring permanent neutrality in 1955, Austria has become a stable and socially progressive country.

A significant part of Austrian cultural heritage is the tradition of Viennese coffee houses. UNESCO describes Austrian coffee houses as “a place where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill”. This cafe culture is an important part of Vienna’s identity. These cafes create an environment where people can share ideas, discuss the events of the day, and sit for hours soaking up the atmosphere.

An Austrian legend suggests a Turkish army left behind sacks of strange beans when they retreated from Austria in 1683. The beans were initially thought to be camel feed. One of the polish officers, Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, discovered the beans true properties and opened Austria’s first coffee house. Initially the various blends served at the coffee house had no names and instead the customers selected their coffee from a colour chart.

Viennese coffee culture rose in popularity. Regulars such as Sigmund Freud, Mozart and Beethoven frequented these establishments. Austrian-born classical composer Mozart’s last public performance took place in Cafe Frauenhuber in 1791.

Austrians typically lived in small, crowded flats and used the elegant coffee houses as an extended living room. Going to a Viennese coffee house is a special experience. Waiters wear tailcoats, and the inside is decorated in the style of Historicism, with marble tabletops and elegant chandeliers.

Unfortunately, the 1950s saw a period of decline for coffee houses when modern fast-paced espresso bars began to take over. However, recently there has been a renewed interest in the elegant and relaxed atmosphere of the traditional Viennese coffee house.

A cornerstone of the coffee house is their freshly baked cakes. These cakes can be highly regarded works of art and intense rivalries developed between cake makers to make the most delicious cake. In honour of this tradition, I made a Sacher Torte, which is one of the most famous Viennese cakes. Sacher Torte is a chocolate cake with an apricot filling. It was invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Wenzel von Metternich.

Sacher Torte

Ingredients: 

• 125g unsalted butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 6 eggs
• 360g dark chocolate (54%)
• ¾ cup plain flour
• ½ cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup apricot jam
• 200ml double cream
• 40g milk chocolate (for decoration)
• Whipped cream for serving

Preheat oven to 180, grease a cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper.

Separate 6 eggs, and melt 180g dark chocolate and let cool to room temperature.  

Beat butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla and beat the egg yolks into the butter mixture one at a time.

Beat in 180g melted dark chocolate until combined.

Sieve and fold in plain flour.

In a separate clean bowl whisk the eggs whites until they have soft peaks. Slowly add caster sugar to the eggs whites and whisk until the mixture is glossy, it has stiff peaks, and the sugar has dissolved.

Add the egg whites (⅓ at a time) to the chocolate cake mixture and gently fold until combined. Be careful not to lose too much air from the mixture.

Pour mixture into the cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes.

When the cake has cooked, let it cool on a wire rack until it is at room temperature (about 1 hr). Then, level and cut the cake in half.

Heat and sieve the apricot jam. Spread the jam on the middle, the top and the sides of the cake. Let the cake cool.

Break up the remaining 180g of dark chocolate into a bowl. Heat the cream until almost simmering and then pour the cream over the top of the chocolate. Let the heat from the cream melt the chocolate and then stir til combined. Let the mixture cool slightly until thickened.  

Place the cake on a wire rack, with a tray underneath, gently pour the melted chocolate ganache over the cake and let it drip down the sides, covering the whole cake. Let the cake cool and the ganache set.

For traditional decoration: pipe the word ‘Sacher’ across the middle of the cake in melted milk chocolate. Serve the cake with whipped cream. 

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This cake is amazing! It is a really delicious and rich dark chocolate cake but the apricot jam cuts through the richness of the chocolate and gives it a really nice flavour. A friend of mine suggested that the apricot flavour tastes a bit like a liquor. Peter and I agree that it tastes like no ordinary chocolate cake, and we thought it was best served with some whipped cream.

186 meals to go. Next stop on my world tour: Azerbaijan!