A slice of Sachertorte is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I’ve made this a few times now and the result has recently met with official Austrian approval, so I feel reasonably safe in sharing this recipe to a wider public.
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 6 eggs
- 200g Caster sugar
- 125g Dark chocolate
- 100g Butter (soft)
- 125g Plain flour
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Filling:
- 150g Apricot jam (Marillenmarmelade)
Glaze:
- 150g Dark chocolate
- 150g Golden syrup
Method:
Line a 23cm springform baking tin with greaseproof paper. Set the oven to 170°c.
Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Split the eggs, putting the whites into a mixing bowl, retaining the yolks in a jug. Err on the side of caution – even the slightest amount of fatty egg yolk among the whites will reduce their ability to foam.
Whisk the egg whites until fairly stiff, then add 150g of the sugar and whisk until the “Schnee” is stiff and foamy.
For the butter foam, whisk the butter, the remaining 50g of sugar and the vanilla extract until it goes pale and creamy.
Gradually add the egg yolks, then the molten chocolate, mixing gently so as not to knock the air back out.
Add the plain flour through a sieve to remove any lumps and gently fold in with a metal spoon.
Add the whites foam to the cake mixture and mix together very gently, making sure to fold in the heavy chocolate at the bottom of the bowl.
Pour into the cake tin.
Bake in the oven for around 70 minutes.
Turn out upside-down onto a wire rack to cool, but keep the cake in the tin so it retains its shape.
Slice the cake in half horizontally.
Gently melt the apricot jam and pour onto both halves of the cake, spreading with a pastry brush. Reassemble the cake and allow to cool again.
For the glaze, melt the golden syrup and dark chocolate in a saucepan until smooth. Allow to cool a little, then spread over the Sachertorte, taking care to cover the sides too. Leave to set.
Top tip: When eating Sachertorte, never be tempted to flip your slice onto its side. A frosty diplomatic situation may ensue…