Following up specials in the country I currently live in, I give you the classics of all – Delicious Sacher Torte.
This recipe is indeed not very difficult to make. The filling has been done in such a delicate way that even uneasy critics like my dad found it very satisfying. This decadent chocolate cake is made of almond flour, filled with apricot marmalade, topped up with some more quality chocolate. Traditionally, Sacher Torte can be served with a whipped cream. My family isn’t a huge fan, therefore, I incorporated some of it in the topping. Don’t tell anyone.
Delicious Sacher Torte is suitable for kids 2 plus as a baby dessert due to a possible egg white intolerance. My baby loves dark chocolate, but she is fine with adornments only or a small piece of cake. Children have no limits, do not forget that.
This year, I treated my kid to Birthday Double Layer Sacher Torte. The smaller part was just as good as the bigger one, using around one half of the ingredients.
Play with it and take your time. For the rest, just enjoy!
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes + an overnight sit of the cake
Instructions
Whether you plan to make your own chocolate decoration, the best way is to start with that.
Melt around 50g of dark chocolate in a steam bath and mix until nicely smooth.
Tip Number 1
Take off the heat, fill up a decorating bag and pipe your desirable letters or figures onto some baking paper. I wrote down Sacher Torte, for instance.
Next, gently transfer the paper into a freezer and let it dry out until serving.
Tip Number 2
Pour hot chocolate over a rectangular bubble wrap sheet and smoothen with a pallete knife. Refrigerate until firm.
Then, remove the wrap and break it into pieces or you can also wrap it around the cake. In this case the sheet must be just a tiny bit longer and higher than the form.
For more tips how to create chocolate adornments, check out my Hazelnut Meringue Recipe.
The Cake
First, melt 160g of dark chocolate in a steam bath. Transfer into cold bath and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl place butter and sugar and mix for about 3 minutes until nicely foamy. Then, start adding egg yolks, one at a time. Always start on low-speed until incorporated well. Afterwards, increase the speed to the highest. Continue until you process all 10 egg yolks (or 10 egg yolks + 4 for double layer cake).
Stir in the melted chocolate.
In a medium metal bowl whisk 10 egg whites (or 10 egg whites + 4 for double layer cake) into snow peaks. Start on low-speed until it is running, then increase to the highest and mix.
In a small mixing bowl place almonds and flour and stir with spatula.
Next, start adding almond flour and egg whites into the chocolate base, one-third at a time. Almond flour, then egg whites, then mix by using a spatula.
Do not use mixer, so you won’t loose all the air within. Continue until you get a beautiful mousse-like texture.
Mold into lightly greased springform (I used 25cm or 21 cm and 12 cm for the double layer cake). Beat against table like you do with macarons and bake in the oven for about 1 hour until a wooden skewer comes clean from the middle.
Once it is baked through, run the knife around the edge of the cake and let it cool down entirely.
The Filling
In a small deep pot place the marmalade and melt on a medium heat until nicely liquid. Take off the heat and set aside.
Gently ease The Cake from the springform and transfer onto a cooling rack.
Make a cut in the middle. Remove the top and put ½ of the marmalade on the 1st part. Smoothen with a palette knife and cover with the 2nd part of The Cake (top layer).
Transfer the marmalade on a heat and stir in ½ cup of water. Cook for about 1-2 minutes on medium heat until it has a lemonade consistency.
Next, take off the heat and sieve the liquid, so you won’t have any bigger pieces left in it.
Sprinkle top of The Cake with the rest of the marmalade, few at a time. Smoothen with palette knife and continue until all is soaked within. Spread it all over the top and sides of The Cake.
This way The Cake won’t get dry and you won’t even know there is marmalade. Trust me.
In case of double layer cake, I used the same amount of marmalade as the spring forms were a bit smaller, therefore, higher.
The Topping
Meanwhile The Cake is resting, melt 200g of chocolate in a steam bath on medium heat.
Break into cubes and pour in the double cream, always few at a time. The cream will smoothen the texture, gives it a stunning shine, and very satisfying taste.
Continue adding cream until the chocolate is melted, shiny and smooth.
My Culinary tip is to always melt Topping in a steam bath on a medium heat. If the temperature is too high, you can either burn it or when using fat (double cream or butter), it can split. No worries there. If The Topping splits, take off the heat and pour a bit of cold cream inside. Quickly whisk with a balloon whisk and voilà, The Topping is back.
Presentation
Mold The Topping all over the top and sides. You can either smoothen it by using a palette knife or a large soup spoon. This way it will be very equal and smooth.
In may case, I played with a color. I added a bit of double cream in one-third of the amount of The Topping and splashed it all over the cake. Just have some fun with it.
Refrigerate until next day, so The Filling has enough time to work inside of The Cake. It is going to be big.
Next Day
Slice and serve or decorate just before that.
Take out your precious adornments from the freezer and dust with the gold on a baking paper. Afterwards, gently place them on the cake and go impress your beloved. So yummy!
Makes 10-12 serves (in case of double layer cake around 15-20 serves).