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I had been wanting to prepare this recipe for some time… Well, more than one at home had been after me for years to make the traditional and wonderful Sachertorte. In the end I have granted them the wish, hahaha. The truth is that it’s a cake I don’t know why I haven’t prepared it before, especially considering that its main ingredient is one of my favorite. The chocolate.
The Sachertorte is a cake made with a chocolate sponge cake that is divided in half and, between the two sponge layers, is filled with a thin layer of apricot jam. Then cover the whole cake with a dark chocolate glaze and serve it with whipped cream or Chantilly.
Sachertorte origin.
This cake is one of the most famous specialities in Austria. It was invented by the Austrian Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Wenzel von Metternich in Vienna.
Apparently there was some similar elaboration to this cake before. In 1718 a very similar cake appeared in Conrad Hagger’s cookbook and in 1749 another similar recipe was found in the book “Wienerisches bewährtes Kochbuch“.
It is said that Prince Wenzel von Metternich commissioned his personal chef to create a special dessert to receive important guests. The chef fell ill and had to delegate responsibility to his 16-year-old apprentice, Franz Sacher. The prince asked Sacher not to embarrass him in front of his guests, so it was. He made this wonderful cake, which did not have the attention expected at that time.
Franz Sacher completed his apprenticeship in Bratislava and Budapest before moving to Vienna, his natal city. There he opened a shop specializing in delicatessen and wine.
Continuing the tradition.
Eduard, Franz Sacher’s eldest son, continued with his father’s culinary legacy and finished his training in Vienna at the Demel bakery, where he perfected his father’s cake to the look we know it today.
This cake began to be served at the Demel bakery and later at the Hotel Sacher founded by Eduard in 1876. From that time until today, this cake is still a culinary reference in Vienna.
The cake of rivalry.
During the first decades of the twentieth century, a legal battle took place over the use of the name “Original Sachertorte” between the Hotel Sacher and the Demel bakery.
Eduard Sacher perfected and created the current Sacher cake while working at Demel, where this cake was first offered. After Eduard’s death, his widow Anna became the hotel manager and became one of the best hotels in the world where aristocrats and diplomats met.
Anna died in 1930 and the bankruptcy of the hotel came in 1934. Eduard Sacher’s youngest son, also named Eduard, found work at the Demel bakery (where his father worked) and there he took the only right to distribute the Sachertorte.
The new hotel owners began to serve this cake under the brand name “Original Sachertorte”. After World War II, the hotel sued the Demel bakery claiming that they had bought the rights to the name of the cake.
Later it became known that Eduard Jr. had sold his original Sachertorte´s recipe to Demel for some unknown reason. So they both claimed to make the original cake.
Making a deal.
After seven years of rivalry, in 1965, the Sacher Hotel was finally declared eligible to use the name “Original Sachertorte”, while Demel had to settle for the name “Eduard Sachertorte”.
The main difference between the two tarts was, in Demel’s case, the use of jam covering the sponge cake before glazing it with chocolate and, in Sacher’s case, the use of jam between both layers of sponge cake.
Friedrich Torberg was a frequent guest at both establishments, served as a witness during this process and testified that, during Anna Sacher’s lifetime, the cake was never covered with jam or cut in half to fill it.
Preparing the recipe.
I was looking for a recipe I liked about this Sachertorte. As you can imagine, there are hundreds of them. Seeing the final result and inner texture, I decided to prepare one that was present in a high percentage of blogs. Esther’s recipe from Chocolatísimo.
I quote the main source, because the recipe I have followed is based on this one. But in my case I have had access to it thanks to a good friend who does incredible wonders, Raul “The Bear with Boots”/ “El Oso con Botas”. I liked many of the steps that he followed to elaborate this recipe based on Esther’s.
I decided to version a little the traditional presentation and adjust it to my personal taste, trying to maintain its essence. I have chosen the main ingredients that compose it to give a little color to the outside decoration.
