Sachertorte (, , ) is a chocolate cake, or torte of

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

origin, invented by

Franz Sacher Franz Sacher (19 December 1816 – 11 March 1907) was an Austrian confectioner, best known as the inventor of the Sachertorte. Biography According to Sacher's son Eduard, in 1832 Austria's minister of foreign affairs, Prince Metternich, ordere ...

, supposedly in 1832 for Prince Metternich in Vienna.Michael Krondl, ''Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert'', , 2011, p. 290: "my best guess is that the Metternich creation story originates with Eduard Sacher" It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties.

History

According to Franz Sacher's son Eduard, Sachertorte was invented by Franz, when he was an apprentice under Chancellor Metternich's chef, one ''maître'' Chambellier. The story goes that Franz was required to create a novel cake when the chef was ill. The Metternich connection was probably invented by Eduard many years later, to appeal to "Viennese nostalgic for their imperial past". Sachertorte remains popular in Austria and worldwide.

Composition

The cake consists of a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of

apricot jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

in between two halves, coated in dark chocolate icing on the top and sides. It is traditionally served with unsweetened whipped cream.

Variations

The "Original" Sacher Torte has two layers of apricot jam between the outer layer of chocolate icing and the sponge base, while Demel's "Eduard-Sacher-Torte" has only one. Demel's cake is denser and smoother. Some of the various recipes for cakes similar to the "Original" are listed below. For example, at "Graz-Kulturhauptstadt 2003", a festival marking the city of Graz being declared cultural capital that year, "Sacher-Masoch-Torte" was presented (its name alluding to Leopold von Sacher-Masoch), using

redcurrant The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions. Description ''Ribes r ...

jam and

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...

Production and sale of the "Original Sacher-Torte"

Hotel Sacher's "Original Sacher Torte" is sold at the Vienna and Salzburg locations of the Hotel Sacher, at Cafe Sacher branches in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

and

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, at the Sacher Shop in Bolzano, in the

Duty Free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who ...

area of Vienna airport, and via the Hotel Sacher's online shop. The recipe of the Hotel Sacher's version of the cake is a closely guarded secret. Those privy to it claim that the secret to the Sacher Torte's desirability lies not in the ingredients of the cake itself, but rather those of the chocolate icing. According to widely available information, the icing consists of three special types of chocolate, which are produced exclusively by different manufacturers for this sole purpose. The hotel obtains these products from Lübeck in Germany and from Belgium. The Hotel Sacher has gone to great lengths to distinguish the Original Sacher Torte from other variations. This includes four golden corners on the wooden box, the wood engraving of the Hotel Sacher Wien as well as "Das Original" and "Hotel Sacher Wien" in writing in the inside of the lid, and bordeaux red wrapping paper with a Biedermeier motif.

Legal dispute with Demel's

In 1934, the

Demel Demel (colloquially ''der Demel'') is a famous pastry shop and chocolaterie established in 1786 in Vienna, Austria. The company bears the title of a Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court (''k.u.k. Hofzuckerbäcker'') up to today. Location ...

pastry shop started selling "Eduard Sacher-Torte", while the Sacher Hotel sold the "Original Sacher-Torte". The hotel's owners sued Demel for trademark infringement, and won in 1938. The lawsuit was appealed after the war, and the hotel was eventually given the exclusive right to call its version "the original".

References

External links

The Original Sacher Torte website

Original Sacher Torte (ro)

Sachertorte - BBC Food Recipes
{{Chocolate desserts 1832 introductions Chocolate cakes History of Vienna Austrian cakes Foods with jam