Sachertorte – according to Knam’s recipe

Sachertorte can be considered the queen of chocolate cakes, loved and appreciated all over the world. It was invented in 1832 by a 16-year-old apprentice pastry chef, Franz Sacher, who, due to a sudden illness of the head cook, found himself having to create a dessert for an official lunch held by the Austrian Chancellor Metternich. The cake, prepared by combining simple ingredients such as chocolate and apricot jam, was a resounding success and since then its fame has spread all over the world. The original recipe for the cake is jealously guarded by the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, which handcrafted more than 270,000 a year. Below is the recipe of master Ernest Knam!  

Ingredients 20 cm cake pan

• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 75 gr dark chocolate
• 65 gr flour 00
• 65 gr of butter
• 1 vanilla pod
• 90 gr granulated sugar
• 20 gr icing sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder (in the original recipe it is not provided)
• 1 pinch of salt

For the filling

• Apricot jam (150 gr)

For the ganache

• 170 gr dark chocolate
• 130 ml fresh cream

Method

Melt the dark chocolate in a saucepan in a bain-marie, then let it cool.

In a bowl or planetary mixer, work the butter with the icing sugar, the vanilla extracted from the pod and the salt. when it is well blended, add the egg yolks one at a time and continue to work for 7/8 minutes to allow the mixture to mix well. Incorporate the warm melted chocolate.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with the granulated sugar, being careful not to whip them too much to allow the mixture to swell during cooking.

Incorporate the whipped egg whites into the butter mixture, then add the flour with the baking powder by sifting it over the dough and stirring gently with movements from the bottom to the top.

Pour the mixture into a greased and floured cake pan, preferably hinged or with a removable bottom, and bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees for 40 minutes. To check the cooking, insert a toothpick in the center; it must come out dry.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack.

In the meantime, let’s prepare the ganache:

In a saucepan, heat the cream and add the chopped dark chocolate, mix until it melts. We will get a smooth and homogeneous cream.

Once the cake has cooled, cut it in half to obtain two discs. Lightly melt the jam in a saucepan, distribute it on the first disc, leaving a little for the surface, and cover the cake with the second disc. Brush the surface and edges with the remaining jam.

Place the cake on a wire rack with a larger pan underneath to catch any excess ganache. Pour the still hot chocolate ganache into the center of the sacher and with a spatula help to distribute it even on the edges.

Put the cake in a cool place or in the refrigerator to make the covering thicken.

If you want to consult another sachertorte recipe, tap here