Sachertorte (, , ) is a

chocolate cake Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau (from ) is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both. History Chocolate cake is made with chocolate. It can also include other ingredients. These include fudge, vanilla creme, and other ...

, or

torte A torte (from German language, German ''Torte'' ( (in turn from Latin language, Latin via Italian language, Italian ''torta'')) is a rich, usually multilayered, cake that is filled with whipped cream, buttercreams, mousses, jams, or fruit. O ...

of Austrian origin, invented by Franz Sacher, supposedly in 1832 for

Prince Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

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

whipped cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, an ...

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 Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...

), using redcurrant jam and marzipan.

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 and Graz, at the Sacher Shop in

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

, in the Duty Free 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 Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

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 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 Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may ...

, 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