For our year of musical tourism as part of our reimagined 90th season, we have been so thrilled to see people enjoy fondue for a trip to Paris, bison meatballs for Paris of the Prairies, and pretzels for our Oktoberfest event. Now that we’re off for a Visit to Vienna, there’s a few tasty treats you can try….but one of them is a must!

When in Vienna, you become intimately familiar with Wiener Schnitzel (it even has Vienna in its name!), apple strudel, spargel, tafelspitz, and of course enjoying their addition to Melange.

No trip to Vienna would be complete without enjoying a piece (or two…or three….) of Sachertorte.

Popular all across Austria, this rich chocolate cake is as important to a trip to Vienna as seeing the works of Klimt and hearing the Vienna Phil!

SACHERTORTEN Ingredients
130 g – dark couverture chocolate (min. 55% cocoa content)
1 – Vanilla Pod
150 g -softened butter
100g – Icing sugar
6 – Eggs (its definitely an indulgent cake!)
100 g – Castor sugar
140 g – Plain wheat flour

FAT AND FLOUR FOR SPRINGFORM
200 g – apricot jam
200 g – castor sugar
150 g – dark couverture chocolate (min. 55% cocoa content)

Unsweetend whipped cream to garnish

Ok – here we go!

• Preheat oven to 170°C. Line the base of a springform with baking paper, grease the sides, and dust with a little flour.
  Melt couverture over boiling water. Let cool slightly.
• Slit vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Using a hand mixer with whisks, beat the softened butter with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds until bubbles appear.
• Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg yolks into the butter mixture one by one. Now gradually add melted couverture chocolate. Beat the egg whites with the castor sugar until stiff, then place on top of the butter and chocolate mixture. Sift the flour over the mixture, then fold in the flour and beaten egg whites.
• Transfer the mixture to the springform, smooth the top, and bake in the oven (middle rack) for 10–15 minutes, leaving the oven door a finger’s width ajar. Then close the oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes. (The cake is done when it yields slightly to the touch.)
• Remove the cake from the oven and loosen the sides of the springform. Carefully tip the cake onto a cake rack lined with baking paper and let cool for approximately 20 minutes. Then pull off the baking paper, turn the cake over, and leave on rack to cool completely.
• Cut the cake in half horizontally. Warm the jam and stir until smooth. Brush the top of both cake halves with the jam and place one on top of the other. Brush the sides with the jam as well.
• To make the glaze, put the castor sugar into a saucepan with 125 ml water and boil over high heat for approximately 5 minutes. Take the sugar syrup off the stove and leave to cool a little. Coarsely chop the couverture, gradually adding it to the syrup, and stir until it forms a thick liquid (see tip below).

HOW TO TEST WHETHER THE GLAZE HAS THE RIGHT CONSISTENCY
Let a little of the glaze run over a wooden cooking spoon. It should now be covered by a layer of glaze approximately 4 mm thick. If the glaze is too thick, add a few drops of sugar syrup to dilute it (to do so, loosen any remaining sugar in the saucepan with a little hot water). Make sure the glaze does not get too hot, or it will be dull when cooked and not glossy.

We know that this is a big baking challenge, but Sachertorte is worth every single ounce of love put in to it! Let us know how you made out with your torte by tagging us in your photos on social media @ssoyxe #SSOVienna

Happy baking!