Sacher cake, mine freely inspired by Ernest Knam’s recipe, a specialty that requires a bit more effort in the kitchen, a perfect refinement for any occasion that enriches the table and makes diners happy. Certainly a dessert that never goes out of style, the procedure and doses are more or less known by now and are standard, thus ensuring the success of the Sacher cake. Where we find chocolate with the addition of other ingredients, the goodness is always guaranteed, and today I wanted to try my hand at preparing the most classic of cakes, I’m talking about the Sacher cake par excellence, the cake of cakes that I discovered on one of my pleasure trips to Austria, specifically at the Sacher hotel. The story tells us of a young pastry chef who replaces the sick chef and prepares a chocolate and jam cake for a dinner with a prince. Needless to say, it was a great success, and the dessert took the name of its inventor, Sacher Franz. It is clear that to this day, the recipe remains secret, and many versions are imitated and proposed. Today I wanted to prepare the Sacher cake myself, so I was inspired by the master, delicious even if I think, indeed I am sure, that I will never taste the flavor of the one eaten in Vienna.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven, Bain-Marie
- Cuisine: Austrian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 488.65 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 47.54 (g) of which sugars 30.27 (g)
- Proteins 7.27 (g)
- Fat 30.74 (g) of which saturated 14.12 (g)of which unsaturated 9.00 (g)
- Fibers 3.79 (g)
- Sodium 92.94 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for preparing the Sacher Cake
- 5 tbsps butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 2.8 oz 70% dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1.4 oz powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 5.3 oz apricot jam
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 6.3 oz 70% dark chocolate
Useful Tools for Preparing the Sacher Cake
- Stand Mixer
- Piping Bag
- Spatula
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Pan
- Small Pot
- Bowl
- Cutting Board
- Thermometer
Steps for Preparing the Sacher Cake
Melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie very slowly and as soon as it reaches 131°F, remove it from the heat source. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, whip the softened butter with the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt. Add one egg yolk at a time and whip for 10 minutes, this is an important step, do not underestimate it. After 10 minutes, remove the whipped mixture from the stand mixer and place it in a bowl, outside the mixer with the spatula, add the melted chocolate. Clean the stand mixer thoroughly and whip the egg whites, gradually adding sugar, incorporate them into the rest of the mixture along with the sifted flour.
You can butter and flour the baking pan or use parchment paper. The batter is ready; bake the Sacher cake in a preheated oven at 338°F for 35/40 minutes, the toothpick test is worth it here to ensure it is cooked.
The Sacher cake is ready to be divided in half and filled.
Cut the cake into two discs, spread a layer of apricot jam over the entire surface of the Sacher.
Close it with the other half and spread the remaining jam on top.
Boil the cream and cut the dark chocolate into pieces.
Remove the cream from the heat as soon as it boils and immerse the chopped dark chocolate in it.
With the help of a hand whisk, stir quickly until the chocolate is completely melted and has become glossy.
Here is the ready and glossy chocolate ganache to cover the Sacher cake.
Let the chocolate ganache fall onto the Sacher with the help of a spatula.
With a small piping bag, write Sacher on the cake, refrigerate, and let it cool for a few hours before serving.
Small note
The ganache cream has French origins, and its 2 ingredients are cream and dark chocolate. There is no precise information on how it was created, but there is a rumor that an inexperienced apprentice accidentally dropped hot cream into a bowl of chocolate, and thus the name ganache (translated: fool) given by the owner of the pastry shop.
