Wider Horizons

To bring a taste of Vienna into your kitchen and onto your table, try this recipe for Austria’s most famous dessert – Sacher torteSacher Torte. The original recipe dates to 1832, when Austrian Prince Wenzel von Metternich asked his personal chef to make a memorable dessert for some very important guests. But the head chef was sick that day – and so it fell to a 16-year-old apprentice cook, Franz Sacher, to come up with a cake using the ingredients he had on hand. The result, which can be found on almost every menu in Austria, is this dense layer cake with apricot filling and a smooth, dark chocolate icing. Add a bit of whipped cream and a fresh cup of coffee and you’ll suddenly start humming the Viennese Waltz.

When preparing this and other recipes, Lethbridge College’s chefs recommend baking and cooking using weights, not volume (after all, a cup of marshmallows is not the same weight as a cup of packed brown sugar). Introducing a scale into your kitchen is a small change in the way you cook that can make a big difference in the outcome. Why not give it a try on this sumptuous cake?
 

Ingredients

For the cake


  • Butter .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  120g or ½ cup

  • Sugar .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  120g or ½ cup

  • Dark baking chocolate . . 150g or 5½ squares

  • Egg yolks.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  120g or about 6 medium eggs

  • Vanilla . . . . . . . . . . . 1 teaspoon

  • Egg whites. . . . . . . . . 180g or about 6 medium eggs

  • Salt. . . . . . . . . . . . . pinch

  • Sugar .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  100g or ½ cup minus four tsps

  • Sifted cake flour .  .  .  .  .  120g or 1 cup

  • Apricot jam.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  150ml or about 2/3 cup



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For the icing (ganache)

 


  • Bittersweet chocolate.  .  330g or 12 squares (about 2 ½ cups)

  • Heavy cream.  .  .  .  .  .  .  250g or 1 cup



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Method

1. Preheat oven to 325F or 165C.

2. Line the bottom of a round pan with parchment paper.

3. Melt the chocolate. You can either place the chocolate in a small pan placed into a larger pan of boiling water (a Bain Marie, or hot water bath), or if using the microwave, heat in 10-second intervals to make sure it doesn’t burn.

4. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the melted chocolate. Add the egg yolks and vanilla.

5. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with the salt. Add the sugar and whip to soft peaks.

6. Fold the egg whites into the batter alternatively with the sifted flour. Be careful to not overstir.

7. Pour into pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes.

Once it is completely cooked, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool.

1. Next, split the cake into two layers.

2. Warm the jam. Spread the jam on top of one of the layers.

3. Sandwich the layers together. Cool until it is set.

You can even put the cake in the refrigerator while you prepare the icing.

Once it is completely cooled, prepare the icing (ganache).

1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Set aside in a stainless steel or glass bowl. Set up a Bain Marie (hot water bath).

2. Bring the cream just to a boil (scald). You can do this either by placing your pot in the Bain Marie, or by placing your pot directly on a burner and taking extra care to not let it burn. Once the cream is just about to boil, remove it from the stove and add it to the bowl of chopped chocolate.

3. Place the bowl over the Bain Marie and stir until completely melted and glossy.

4. Pour over the chilled cake and chill until set. Note that this will not be like regular icing – it is smooth, shiny, delicate and will melt in your mouth.

 

Wider Horizons
Recipe by Chef Charles Parker and Chef Stephen Klassen
Original Publication Date:
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