Sachertorte

One of chocolates true classic cakes. A certain way to please nearly any guest.

Chocolate is one of the true ways to a ladies heart, you can ask any chef.

I hope you enjoy this Tasmanian version of a classic cake that has even made its way to court in a certain region of Italy.

Ingredients

Cake-

200g dark chocolas6wv6te

125g plain flour

8 egg yolks

10 egg whites

130g melted butter

150g caster sugar

Vanilla esssence

Method

Pre-set your oven to 160c. Then line the base and sides of 2 cake tins with grease proof paper.

Place chocolate into a metal mixing bowl and melt over a bain-marie. Ensure you stir the bowl regularly to ensure the chocolate does not split.

Mix together melted butter, egg yolks, and vanilla. Now mix these through the melted chocolate and rest.

Place egg whites into a bowl and whip to soft peaks. Gradually incorporate sugar into egg whites, a little at a time, ensuring sugar breaks down before each extra addition.

Once all sugar has been incorporated, fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture, one third at a time, being carful not to knock all the air out of the egg mixture.

Once all the meringue (sugar and whites) have been incorporated into the chocolate, fold the sifted plain flour through your chocolate batter, being carful to once again not knock out the air bubbles.

Spread mixture evenly between the two cake tins, spreading it out as flat as possible without being to rough.

Place cakes into the oven, and bake for 45-50 minutes. Poke a skewer into the cake, and if it comes out clean, your cake is ready.

Allow cake to rest for 10 minutes, the remove from tins and allow to cool on a cake rack.

Icing –

150g apricot jam (preferably, but any variety is suffice)

150g dark chocolate

250ml thickened cream

1 egg

Icing, and the build

Place chocolate and cream into a metal mixing bowl, then place over a bain-marie. Warm the chocolate cream until chocolate is melted and a chocolate sauce is achieved.

While you are waiting for your chocolate to melt, whip your egg with a beater until sort peaks are achieved.

Once chocolate is melted, fold through beaten eggs and rest.

Trim the top of one of your cakes in order to place the second one on top so as to achieve a flat, even surface on top.

Spread over your jam onto the top of your first cake, then place the second cake on top, pressing down the second cake to ensure they stick together and an even top is achieved. It is best to do this on the cake rack, with a glad wrap layer down under the rack to collect your over run of icing. This will make it easier to clean up the mess.

Slowly start to pour the icing over the top of the cake, starting in the centre, while working the icing out over the cake.

Try to make sure the icing runs evenly down the sides while also using a palate knife to ensure edges are completely covered.

Place cake into the fridge, and allow to rest and set for one hour before cutting and serving.

Serve with Anvers truffles, and my homemade, real deal anglaise (custard) sauce.

#Pickle pro tip: I had the pleasure of accommodating with a legit French pastry chef a few years ago and managed to squeeze a few tips of of him in relation to proper desert cookery. One of those tips were to make sure you melt your chocolate separately from other ingredients before adding them to the chocolate. Apparently, if you melt chocolate with butter at the same time, for instance, the compounds of the chocolate separate, and you are left with an inferior product once whatever you are making is finished. It’s a bit harder to do as the chocolate likes to split more easily, but it is well worth it in the end.

Reference:

Larousse Gastrominique, 2001 edition, page. 1010