In 1832, in one of the most central hotels in Vienna, which has now become a “sacred” temple of pastry, something special happened that marked the history of Austrian cuisine. Franz Sacher, a pastry apprentice at just 16 years old and a lover of chocolate, came up with the Sachertorte, which to this day is certainly one of the most famous and appreciated chocolate cakes in the world. The story goes that young Franz, who was replacing a sick chef that day, was preparing a dessert for the dinner of the very greedy Prince Von Mitternich Winnesburg and, after much thought, decided to combine simple and traditional elements such as chocolate and jam to create a delicate and tasty dessert. Apparently, the dessert was a great success and from that day on, young Franz Sacher had to work hard to prepare this cake that also took his name: the Sachertorte. Since then, the fame of the Sachertorte has spread all over the world, and even though thousands of people continue to prepare it, the original recipe is guarded jealously in Vienna and not revealed to anyone. We propose the version made by Ernst Knam, a true guarantee when it comes to chocolate!
Sachertorte
Ingredients
– 75g dark chocolate (60%)
– Around 3 egg yolks (60g)
– Around 3 egg whites (90g)
– 65g soft butter
– 65g flour 00
– 20g icing sugar
– 90g granulated sugar
– 1 vanilla bean
– 1 pinch of salt
– Apricot jam, to taste
Calories: 350 per serving
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Cost: Low
Note: The mold to use is as indicated in the recipe photo: 18 cm. Remember to consider the cooling and resting time of the cake.
Preparation
How to prepare Sachertorte:
1. To prepare the Sachertorte, first transfer the chocolate in small pieces to a bowl and melt it over a bain-marie. If you prefer, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave, turning it on for a few seconds at a time and stirring with each interruption to prevent the chocolate from burning.
2. In the meantime, place the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla pod seeds, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and start working the mixture with the whisk until obtaining a creamy consistency.
3. Add the lightly beaten egg yolks to the mixture in two batches and continue beating the butter for about 8-10 minutes, until the mixture of powdered sugar, egg yolks, and butter is well whipped, to make the dough rise well during cooking.
4. At this point, make sure the melted chocolate has a temperature between 45 and 55°C; it is preferable to use a thermometer to measure it; if it is too high, in fact, it risks melting the butter, otherwise it risks compacting the mixture too much. Then add the chocolate to the butter and yolks mixture and continue stirring until obtaining a uniform mixture.
5. Then pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and start beating them at high speed. As soon as they are white and foamy (when they start to “rise”), slowly pour in the granulated sugar a little at a time; it is important to wait for the egg whites to be slightly whipped before adding the sugar; otherwise, the egg white becomes too heavy and will have much difficulty in whipping.
6. The egg whites should not be whipped until stiff, but you should stop a few moments before, otherwise, when you insert them into the mixture, they will continue to rise and the cake, once cooked, risks sagging.
7. Now combine the egg whites in two batches with the yolk and chocolate mixture and mix with a spatula or whisk.
8. Add the sifted flour to the mixture and mix from the top down with a spatula until obtaining a smooth and uniform mixture.
9. Grease and flour a 18 cm diameter cake tin, then pour the mixture inside, level the surface and bake in a preheated static oven at 170°C for 35-40 minutes. After this time, check the cooking with a toothpick, then remove the cake from the oven. Do not worry if the cake is cracked on the surface.
10. Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan and cutting it in two discs, using a long serrated blade knife.
11. Spread a good amount of apricot jam on the interior of the cake and cover with the second disk of cake.
12. Add more jam on the surface of the cake and using a spatula spread it everywhere to create a veil, even on the edges.
13. Transfer the cake on a rack and proceed to prepare the ganache.
14. Place the cream in a small pot and heat to nearly boiling. When it begins to boil, turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted.
15. Transfer the ganache to a bowl and use it to glaze the cake, helping yourself with a spatula and beating it gently so as to cover both the surface and the edges at the same time.
16. To make the ganache smooth and shiny, it must have a temperature of about 40°C.
17. Then refrigerate the cake for about