From: begonia@hardy.u.washington.edu (Rubricant Horticulturist)
Subject: Re: Sacher Torte Recipe Wanted
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 08:08:33 GMT

In article <1992Sep08.035946.2125@NeoSoft.com> jbrandt@NeoSoft.com (J Brandt) writes:
>A French restaurant/bakery here in Houston called La Madelaine serves a
>really good sacher torte.  It's very moist, wet even, and has a rich
>chocolate/raspberry flavor.  Does anyone have a recipe for it?
>
>-- 
>Jaclyn Brandt
>jbrandt@NeoSoft.com
>--

Sachertorte is that yummy chocolate cake served at the Sacher hotel in
Vienna, Austria.  Now they've never given out the recipe but lots of
people have tried to approximate it.  And here is one of those
approximations:  (taken from Time Life Books "The Cooking of Vienna's
Empire")  disclaimer:  I've never tried this recipe so I don't know
how good it is.  I've had the real thing though and it is pretty darn
tasty.

To make 1 nine-inch round cake.

6 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken or chopped in small chunks
8 egg yolks
8 tablespoons (1/4 pound stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 egg whites
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup apricot jam, rubbed through a sieve

Preheat the oven to 350 degress.  Line two 9-inch round cake pans with
circles of wax paper.

In the top of a double boiler, heat the chocolate until it melts,
stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.  In a small mixing bowl,
break up the egg yolks with a fork, then beat in the chocolate, melted
butter, and vanilla extract.

With a wire whisk or a rotary or electric beater, beat the egg whites
and a pinch of salt unitil they foam, then add the sugar, 1 tablespoon
at a time, continuing to beat until the whites form stiff, unwavering
peaks on the beater when it is lifterd from the bowl.

Mix about 1/3 of the egg whites into the yolk-chocolate mixture, then
reverse the process and pour the chocolate over the remaining egg
whites.  Sprinkle the flour over the top.  With a rubber spatula,
using an over-and-under cutting motion instead of a mixing motion,
fold the whites and the chocolate mixutre together until no trace of
the whites remains.  Do not overfold.

Pour the batter into the 2 lined pans, dividing it evenly between
them.  Bake in the middle of the oven until the layters are puffed and
dry and a toothpick stuck in the center of a layer comes out clean.

Remove the pans from the ven and loosen the sides of the layers by
running a sharp knife around them.  Turn them out on a cake rack and
remove the wax paper.  Let the layers cool while you prepare the
glaze.

The Glaze
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, broken or chopped into small chunks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon corn syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the chocolate, cream, sugar, and
corn syrup.  Stirring constatnly with a wooden spoon, cookon low heat
until the chocolate and sugar are melted, then raise the heat to
medium and cook without stirring for about 5 minutes, or until a
little of the mixture dropped into a glass of cold water forms a soft
ball.  In a small mixing bowl beat the egg lightly, then stir 3
tablespoons of the chocolate mixture into it.  Pour this into the
remaining chocolate in the saucepan and stir it briskly.  Cook over
low heat, stirring constatnly, for 3 or 4 minutes, or until the glaze
coats the spoon heavily.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the
vanilla.  Cool the glaze to room temperature.

When the cake layers have completely cooled, spread one of them with
apricot jam and put the other layer on top.  Set the rack in a
jelly-roll pan and holding the saucepan about 2 inches away from the
cake, pour the glaze over it evenly.  Smooth the glaze with a metal
spatula.  Let the cake stand until the glaze stops dripping, then,
using two metal spatulas, transfer it to a plate and refrigerate it
for 3 hours to harden the glaze.  Remove it from the refrigerator 1/2
hour before serving.

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