Sachertorte
4.3
(41)
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Rick Rodgers's book Kaffeehaus: The Best Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. Rodgers also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
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In the past few years, bakers have been upping the ante with chocolate desserts (think of your local American bistro's "warm chocolate cakes with gooey chocolate centers"). The Sachertorte is a refined, elegant combination of chocolate flavors, complemented by a compulsory mound of Schlag. The whipped cream is an important part of the picture, as it moistens the frankly firm cake layers. Every bit of Sachertorte is supposed to be dipped in the whipped cream. This version is based on the recipe in Das Grosse Sacher Backbuch ("The Big Sacher Baking Cook"), which should be a reliable source.
Don't expect the cake layer to look perfect; sometimes the air bubbles are large and make holes in the top of the cake. If that happens, take some cake trimmings and mash them with a little of the apricot glaze to make a paste, and use a metal icing spatula to "spackle" the holes with the mixture.
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Ingredients
Makes 12 to 16 servings
Torte:
Assembly:
Preparation
Step 1
1. To make the torte: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper. Dust the sides of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.
Step 2
2. In the top part of a double boiler over very hot, but not simmering, water, or in a microwave at medium power, melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat or the oven, and let stand, stirring often, until cool.
Step 3
3. Beat the butter in the bowl of a eavy-duty standing mixer fitted with the paddle blade on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 inute. On low speed, beat in the confectioners' sugar. Return the speed to medium-high and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the chocolate and vanilla.
Step 4
4. Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer on high speed just until they form soft, shiny peaks. Do not overbeat. Stir about one fourth of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites, leaving a few visible wisps of whites. Sift half of the flour over the chocolate mixture, and fold in with a large balloon whisk or rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Step 5
5. Spread evenly in the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. (The cake will dome in the center.) Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan, and invert the cake onto the rack. Remove the paper and reinvert on another rack to turn right side up. Cool completely.
Step 6
6. To assemble: Using a long serrated knife, trim the top of the cake to make it level. Cut the cake horizontally into two equal layers. Place one cake layer on an 8-inch cardboard round. Brush the top of the cake layer with the apricot glaze. Place the second cake layer on top and brush again. Brush the top and sides of the cake with the remaining glaze. Transfer the cake to a wire rack placed over a jelly-roll pan lined with waxed paper. Let cool until the glaze is set.
Step 7
7. Make the chocolate glaze (it must be freshly made and warm). Pour all of the warm chocolate glaze on top of the cake. Using a metal offset spatula, gently smooth the glaze over the cake, allowing it to run down the sides, being sure that the glaze completely coats the cake (patch any bare spots with the spatula and the icing that has dripped). Cool until the glaze is barely set, then transfer the cake to a serving plate. Refrigerate until the glaze is completely set, at least 1 hour. Remove the cake from the refrigerator about 1 hour before serving.
Step 8
8. To serve, slice with a sharp knife dipped into hot water. Serve with a large dollop of whipped cream on the side.
MAKE AHEAD:
Step 9
The cake can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight cake container at room temperature.
Quality ingredients will really make a difference in this cake. Valhrona chocolate is perfect because of its dark, almost bitter flavor. For the most authenticity, look for the Austrian brand D'Arbo apricot preserves and Austrian Stroh rum for the glaze. For the best results, be generous with the apricot glaze — don't miss a spot, and let plenty sink into the cake before you pour on the chocolate.
Leave a Review
Reviews (41)
Back to TopThis is wonderful. I followed the recipe exactly as written and the results were outstanding. The cake took about 37 minutes at 400. Next time I will lower the temp to 375. I was tempted to make a ganache rather than the chocolate glaze. I'm so glad I didn't. The glaze is glossy and slightly sticky, a perfect contrast to the drier and not-too-sweet cake. The apricot glaze was superb. Whipped cream is important to this recipe so make sure to make a good portion.
shelleytee
Boston, MA
7/5/2021
OMG, this is an AWESOME cake. Best Sachertorte (cake) recipe EVER. I recommend making this on a day when you have plenty of time because it takes a lot of time to make. Next time I will prepare the cake day one and refrigerate it and then day two I will make the Apricot filling and Chocolate glaze. I didn't use this Chocolate glaze recipe (too much sugar involved). I used a Chocolate ganache recipe with cream involved. DIVINE!
londres
Europe
10/26/2019
I did bake the cake at 350 because I felt 400 was awful high temperature for a mouse cake. Also, I watched the video demo of the recipe which I recommend. This recipe was delicious! I made it for a party tonight and everyone raved about it including myself who is always critical of my own recipes.
trudyburch
Seattle, Washington
5/12/2019
Delicious! My husband and I taste tested and decreed my first try making the Sachertorte was as good as what we ate in Vienna last month and worthy of sharing with friends. Our friends almost licked their plates clean! After reading through all of the reviews and taking note of what worked, I baked the Sachertorte in two 9" baking pans at 375 for 18 minutes and it turned out fine. I used a tried and true ganache recipe for the icing. The apricot jam gave a nice tart taste to offset the semi sweetness of the icing. I was generous spreading the jam on the cake. One cup of jam would have been fine as I had about 1/4+ cup left over.
sahassinger
St. Simons Island, GA
6/25/2018
The taste was good but that was it. It was such a very dry cake and was so hard. Plus the edges were quite burnt. It was after the fact that I read the comments and saw that the temperature at 400F is too high especially at 45 minutes. It was quite disappointing that you needed to find the correct instructions through the comments and not from the actual recipe.
Anonymous
Canada
1/20/2018
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE FROSTING Bet you can't make a cake without milk, butter or eggs . Challenge accepted! She uses mayonnaise! Mayonnaise is made from eggs! Challenge failed. I rated this 1 because it won't let me rate this 0.
Walter von Hier
Hier
1/16/2018
Burnt cake. I re-checked the recipe and noticed in the comments that the correct temperature is 375, not 400 (as mentioned in the actual video.) You've got to be kidding me. I'm so frustrated.
Anonymous
Roanoke, VA
12/4/2016
The cake turned out moist and fluffy but the taste of apricot jam was too mild and the chocolate sauce wasn't shiny and smooth when it cooled down. The description of the recipe steps is not very detailed and doesn't help much. You need to be generous with the apricot jam. The cake absorbs a lot of the jam so be very generous. The chocolate sauce turned grainy I don't know why. Don't think I'll repeat using this recipe next time.
kakisawan
New Jersey
12/30/2015
This is a great cake, I only deducted the amout of confectioner's sugar by half, and I would recommend you watch the video related to this recipe.... the chef mentions in the second video that the ideal temperature for baking this cake is 375*f... not 400 as stted in the written recipe.
Anonymous
Amman- Jordan
10/8/2014
As someone who has baked a lot of cakes, this was not worth the effort. The next time my husband craves this cake, we'll just fly to Vienna.
nym85
Raleigh, NC
10/3/2014
I made this cake more than 20 times for sure. Every member of my family "orders" it for birthdays. We love its "dry" taste; I actually think that chocolate cakes here in U.S. are way too moist and sticky sweet. But this cake is just perfect. I also cut the baking time to 35 min. I pour chocolate glaze, never spread it. The cake comes out looking so perfect and it impresses everybody. I am not an experienced baker, but after so many times baking this cake, the process is on autopilot, and I consider it is an easy recipe.
Ollia
Pittsburgh
9/24/2014
This cake cannot be baked at 400 as the recipe states. try 350 for 35-40 minutes. I wasted all of the ingredients baking as instructed. Redid cake and ba350 for 35-40 minutes...now that's a sachertorte! But what a waste of money and lots of time...and lots of utensils and bowls!
ElizabethSS
St. Louis, MO
5/27/2014
I made this today and it was a big success. I did adapt a few things though. Firstly, after reading that people did not think it had enough of a chocolate flavor, I added 1 tsp. of espresso powder to the batter which helped boost the chocolate flavor. I also added a small spoonful of cream of tartar to the egg whites to stabilize them. I lowered the oven temperature down to 380 F or so the outside would not totally dry out. I also used a thick walled springform pan which helped. In the end, it baked for 45 minutes without drying out and I got a good even bake. I used a completely different chocolate glaze that did not use as much sugar and had cream in it. Overall, it was a huge success for my husband. The Sachertorte is his favorite cake. I had never had it until coming to live here in The Netherlands.
pooterbug
The Netherlands
2/7/2014
I agree with all suggested modifications with the addition of two things: 1) a second person to clean up after the cook, ( my kitchen was a wreck afterwards) 2) two beers ( one for person) and a nap for follow up!
maryclick
Virginia
2/1/2014
My boyfriend is Austrian so he asked me to make--had never heard of it. Didn't realize what I was getting into. Took 3 hrs to complete. I baked this at altitude (6800 ft)and added 1 egg and 1 tbs. flour to compensate--came out very nice, though as many have said, it is not a "pretty" cake. Cooked it at 375 for 40 mins. and it didn't burn and it held together through all the steps. Also, as others have said, the video is much better than the recipe. Followed everything else pretty closely except I used double the amount of the apricot glaze. Added sugar to the Schlag--really made it! Great reviews from my dinner party members.
WPsnowgirl
2/24/2013
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