Sachertorte - Famous Austrian Chocolate Cake

A plain chocolate cake with icing can be a little dry. Sometimes even a little boring. The Sachertorte is in a class of its own though. With its tangy jam, soft chocolate mousse and the heavy chocolate coating. At one point I was getting a bit tired of chocolate cakes. Yes it is hard to believe, but it can happen. Fortunately, I discovered the Sachertorte which extended the live of chocolate cakes in this home. This recipe is a classic for a reason. It is actually old and classic enough that it is not using chemical leavening. It raises with the help of the whipped egg whites alone.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 5 eggs
  • 120 g (4 oz) butter
  • 40 g icing sugar
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate, 70%
  • Half a vanilla pod, grains of (with chocolate cake as strong as this you can use 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar instead.)
  • 120 g (4 oz) sugar
  • 120 g (4 oz) wheat flour

Chocolate Cream

  • 50 g (2 oz) chocolate, 70%
  • ½ dl (2 oz) cream

Ganache / chocolate glaze

  • 50 g (2 oz) chocolate, 70%
  • 4 tbsp (2 oz) cream
  • 10 g (1/3 oz) butter

Jam

  • Apricot or orange marmalade.

Directions

Chocolate Cream

Melt the chocolate in the cream over a water bath. Stir until it becomes smooth paste.

Let it cool in the fridge and whip it into a chocolate foam. Like when you whip cream.

Cake

Separate the eggs into yolks and whites.

Whip the butter, vanilla and icing sugar until it is white and fluffy.

Mix the egg yolks into the butter mixture, one at a time.

Melt the chocolate in a water bath and whip it into the butter mixture.

Whip the egg whites with sugar, until it is like whipped cream. You should be able to overturn the bowl without it falling out.

Mix it gently into the butter mixture. It is important to keep the air in the mixture.

Finally, mix the flour into the butter mixture.

Pour batter into a 20 cm (8 inch) spring form pan.

**Bake at 170°C (340°****F)**for approximately 30 minutes. It’s done when no batter sticks  to a knitting needle, meat pin or similar, when you stick it into the center.

Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it from the spring form pan.

Ganache / chocolate glaze

Melt the butter, cream and chocolate over a water bath.

Stir it well to a creamy consistency.

Layering the cake

Split the cake horizontally once, into two parts. Place one portion on a cake plate, or similar, and the other one next to it. Both with the cut side up.

Dilute the marmalade with 1/3 water so it’s easier to spread out.

Cover the two pieces of cake with a layer of marmalade where they are cut. Just like if if you smear jam on a white bread. It has to prevent the chocolate in the mousse to sieve into the cake, and to provide little acidity to counter the sweetness of the cake.

Add the chocolate mousse on the base half.

Turn the other base onto the one with chocolate cream, with the jam against the chocolate mousse.

Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of marmalade. I usually use a brush, but a spatula or plastic scraper can also be used. Make it as smooth at possible.

Then cover the cake with ganache. Try to get it as smooth as possible.

You may want to sprinkle a little grated white or milk chocolate over the top as a garnish.