Sachertorte

Sachertorte (Sacher cake) is a chocolate cake with a chocolate icing and a apricot jam filling. It is a typical sweet from Vienna. It is named after Franz Sacher, who invented the recipe.

History

The first cake was made by Franz Sacher in 1832 when Klemens Fürst Metternich ordered the kitchen to create a new sweet for his evening guests. The chef was ill so Sacher, who was apprentice in his second year, invented the first Sachertorte. After this the cake was nearly forgotten. Sacher worked in Budapest and Presburg and opened in 1848 a high-class delicatessen and winery in Vienna. His son Eduard Sacher, who learned in the Demel bakery which supplyed the court, brought the recipe in the form we know today. First the cake was sold by Demel, but after Eduard bought the Hotel Sacher also there.

In the 20th century there was a legal battle between the Sacher and the Demel about selling the "Original Sacher Torte". In 1963 the both parties agree, that the Hotel Sacher is allowed to use the name "Original Sacher Torte". The Demel could now sell a "Eduard Sacher Torte".

The Sachertorte consists of a chocolate sponge cake with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle and dark chocolate icing on the top and sides. The main difference between the cake from the Hotel Sacher and from the Demel bakery is that the Original Sacher Torte has a layer of apricot jam under the icing and in the middle of the cake. The cake from Demel has only jam under the icing.

Most of the time the cake is served with whipped cream without sugar.

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