Sachertorte

If you ask me which are the two most beautiful cakes in the world I would say, Torte Reform and Sachertorte. There are other beautiful cakes as well, but these two are absolutely perfect. Sachertorte is a little easier to make, so it is pretty regular on my home menu.

Last weekend I was getting ready to make my first baby shower although we are going  to have our second baby. My good girlfriend, an American, had warned me that it's "against the law" to organize the event myself. Instead, a relative or a friend should do it for me. I did not heed to it and I said it would not be an ordinary baby shower, but the US-Serbian one. For those who do not know, baby shower is an event that celebrates the arrival of a newborn. People bring gifts for the baby, usually selected from a wish list of the future parents. As you can see, Americans do not suffer of pessimism and superstition as Serbians do, they are convinced that everything will be fine with the baby and the mom. Or maybe it is related to the fact they like to plan everything much long in advance.

As I was planning menu for the event, discussed the matter with my ​​husband ... and decided I had to make my favorite cake Sachertorte, something happened. A week before the baby shower, our friends invited us to have lunch in their home. When I entered their house there was a big loud "Surprise!" and I realized that they “set me baby shower up”. All people that I had planned to invite were there. I was very surprised especially since I didn’t notice for a long time my friends including my husband organizing the event behind my back. Besides the initial shock, I had a very nice time.

However, I have not given up on making Sachertorte. I was feeling it on my palate, so I said to myself, "Never mind, I'll make it for myself".


This recipe I got from my friend Jenni, an American, who mastered the art of making cakes and pastry in Germany. Of course it is difficult to discuss if this recipe is close to the original one (you know the story that the original Sachertorte can be found only in the Viennese Sacher Hotel), but since it's so good it must be like original.

These are half measures, if you want bigger cake with three layers multiply measures by two.  

Ingredients:

Sponge:

• 162g butter
• 50g powdered sugar
• 75g dark chocolate
• 6 egg yolks
• 225g sugar

• 180g all purpose flour
• 13g cocoa
• 37g cornstarch

Filling:

• 1 jar of apricot jam (325g or 12 oz)
• 1 tablespoon rum

Ganache:

• 150g heavy cream
• 150g dark chocolate

Preparation:

1. Prepare a round baking pan. I usually line it up with parchment paper.
2. Turn the oven to 175C (350F).
3. Melt chocolate in a glass bowl over steam . Leave it aside to cool slightly.
4. Whip soft butter and powdered sugar and add melted chocolate.
5. Add egg yolks one at a time with constant stirring.
6. In a separate bowl whisk egg whites with mixer, adding sugar, spoon by spoon. Try not to over do it. When it is shiny and firm it is done. Add egg whites to chocolate and egg yolks.
7. Combine sifted flour, cocoa and starch and stir them into the wet mixture previously made. Mix with spoon, do not use a mixer.
8. Put the batter into the pan and bake for 45 min. To ensure that the cake is ready put a toothpick in the dough, and if it goes out clean it is well baked.
9. When it is cool, remove it from the pan. Cut it into two layers.
10. When the cake is completely cooled spread the apricot jam mixed with tablespoonful of rum over the inside layers.
11. Then put the cake in the freezer over night.
12. The next day make the ganache. Heat the heavy cream and add melted chocolate. Stir until creamy. When the ganache cools slightly, cover the cake with it. How? Place the cake on the rack. Pour the ganache on top of the cake and let it distribute evenly without touching it. When the top is covered and it starts pouring over the edge, use a palette or back edge of a long knife to smooth and completely cover the side of the cake. Thanks to this technique you get an incredibly smooth surface of the cake (see photos). Yes, I forgot to say to get smooth frosting the cake must be leveled and clean of the crumbs. This means that you must cut off the “hilly top” and remove any crumbs with pastry brush.

You can serve this cake with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Consumed exclusively with black coffee.

I couldn’t resist to make a few cheesy photos of cake with roses. When I think of it, it was actually my husband who came up with this idea :)