Still doing catch up for the Have the Cake baker's challenge. September's cake was Sacher torte. I've never actually even eaten this before, much less made it so this was definitely going to be a challenge. Sacher torte is a Viennese pastry invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 and is notoriously difficult to make.
Wow. OMG. First, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing this particular cake for the challenge. I've never had it before and it knocked my socks off. If you're reading and thinking of trying this, go for it!!! You won't be sorry.
The recipe specified dark chocolate, so I chose something that I would willingly eat by itself.
I melted the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pot of simmering water since I don't have a double boiler. It just took a few minutes.
Whisk until it's all smooth and melty. Taste it to make sure it's yummy.
Whisk in the powdered sugar. Maybe it's just me, but there is something pretty about powdered sugar on chocolate...it's always been a favorite image of mine...
Gradually whisk in the egg yolks.
Egg yolks and sugar totally incorporated.
Here is where I think I made an error. The recipe didn't specify how far you were supposed to whip the sugar into the eggs. Was it just a quick whip or was it supposed to be like a meringue? I just did a quick one, but the cake didn't rise as much as I expected. Live and learn...
Whisk egg white/sugar mixture into the batter.
Whisking constantly, add the flour.
Pour into greased springform pan. And place into preheated 190 C oven. Immediately reduce to 165 C.
Just a bit of trivia: Did you know that springform pans leak? Did you also know that chocolate cake batter burning in the bottom of your oven smells really bad? The more you know...(cue PSA music)
Take cake out of oven, put on parchement lined pan and return to oven.
Baked and done. Let cool completely before messing with it. The cake will pull away from the pan as it cools.
When it's completely cool, slice in half, creating two cakes.
I had to take a close up photo of the inside of the cake...this cake is so rich looking it's hard to not dive in.
Spread the inside side of one half of the cake with Apricot jelly. Place jelly side down on the other half.
For the icing I looked at another recipe, because this one calls for coconut shortening and I don't even know what that is, and the commissary doesn't stock it. I found one that was simpler, calling for 60g butter and 250 grams chocolate. Melt chocolate in the same way as before, but by itself. When it's smooth and melty, mix in butter. This was thicker than I thought it should be...I has to spread it more like frosting than pour over. I tasted it though, and went straight to heaven, so I didn't care.
Spread all over...let sit two hours. The icing actually did solidify...it looked amazing...shiny and beautiful...and it held it's shape when you cut it. The best part is a piece of the solidified icing just MELTS on your tongue.
Oh I will be making this again. Next time maybe I'll slice through the center evenly, but that's my only complaint!
Ingredients for 12 people
Batter:
Icing:
Batter:
Preheat the oven to 180-200°C.
Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over hot water (Bain Marie, "im Wasserbad"). If you do not have a double boiler you can also use a normal pan filled with water and with a smaller pan in it. Remove from heat and let the mass cool.
Add the powdered sugar and the egg yolks little by little while carefully stirring.
Beat the egg whites and add the white sugar. Mix into the batter and add the flour gradually while constantly stirring.
Pour batter into a greased spring form pan. Bake at 165°C for 50 to 60 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from pan and before icing.
Once cool remove the cake from pan then slice horizontally. Insert a filling of pureed jam between the layers.
Icing:
Melt chocolate and coconut shortening in a double boiler over hot water and cover the top and sides of the cake with the warm (not hot) icing.
Batter:
Icing:
- 150 grams (5.29 ounces) chocolate
- 75 grams (2.65 ounces) coconut shortening
Batter:
Preheat the oven to 180-200°C.
Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over hot water (Bain Marie, "im Wasserbad"). If you do not have a double boiler you can also use a normal pan filled with water and with a smaller pan in it. Remove from heat and let the mass cool.
Add the powdered sugar and the egg yolks little by little while carefully stirring.
Beat the egg whites and add the white sugar. Mix into the batter and add the flour gradually while constantly stirring.
Pour batter into a greased spring form pan. Bake at 165°C for 50 to 60 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from pan and before icing.
Once cool remove the cake from pan then slice horizontally. Insert a filling of pureed jam between the layers.
Icing:
Melt chocolate and coconut shortening in a double boiler over hot water and cover the top and sides of the cake with the warm (not hot) icing.
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