Sachertorte

The classic torte famously invented by Franz Sacher, supposedly for Prinz Metternich.

This recipe is a community recipe by belgrade [1]

Serves: 12-16

Ingredients

Torte

   180 grams butter
   8 eggs (separated into white and yolks)
   250 grams walnuts (ground)
   1 tablespoon flour
   1 tablespoon baking powder
   1 tablespoon cinnamon
   180 grams dark chocolate
   250 grams apricot jam
   1 tablespoon milk

Ganache

   200 grams dark chocolate
   100 grams butter
   1 tablespoon oil
   1 tablespoon sugar

Method

Cake

With an electric mixer, mix together 180g butter (room temperature) + 180g sugar till creamy. Add one by one egg yolks while still mixing.

Mix baking powder, flour, cinnamon,walnuts in a bowl Add this dry mixture slowly with mixer at the lowest speed.

Melt 180g chocolate. Add to the batter still at low speed.

At high speed, with a pinch of salt mix 8 egg whites for about 5 minutes. Add the whites to the mixture very slowly still mixing at the lowest speed or by hand.

Butter the pan (I use the one with removable sides-25cm round) put cut out baking paper at the bottom and cut out paper on the sides.

Pour the batter, bake at 170 degrees in the preheated oven (make sure the cake is in the middle) around 50-60 minutes.

Check with a toothpick(it should come out clean) if the cake is ready, or shake it a bit- the center should not be runny Let stand 15 minutes and cool Take out of the pan and cool

Heat the apricot jam (take out the chunky parts) with 2 tablespoons of water.

Turn the cake upside-down and cut in half horizontally and spread the hot jam on a cool cake couple of millimeters.

Put the cake back together, now cover the top and the sides with the jam (you may have left over jam or may need more) thickness being 2 or more millimeters.

The jam is the key and it prevents the chocolate glaze from absorbing into the cake.

Put the cake in the freezer for around 15 minutes for the jam to harden a bit (yes the freezer not the refrigerator)

Ganache

in a double boiler or on the stove melt the 200g chocolate+100g butter+1 tablespoon oil+ 1 tablespoon sugar

Put the cake on baking paper and pour the chocolate over slowly bringing back on the sides the chocolate that has run on the paper (may have left over chocolate-save for later).

Put the left over chocolate in a small pan.

Put the cake in the fridge after the icing has hardened put the left over chocolate back to melt put in a bag - this time the chocolate should not be hot, cut the tip off and write on the cake SACHER.

Skipper's note

Good served with gobs of thick whipped cream (perhaps with a drop of Kirsch?), and a nice rich cup of coffee.