For our second day of cakes in baking class, we journeyed to Austria to pay homage to Austria’s most famous dessert, the Sacher Torte (pronounced “soccer”). Legend has it the Sacher Torte was invented in 1832, when sixteen-year-old cooking apprentice Franz Sacher stepped in for an ill chef to prepare a special dessert for Prince Metternich and his stately guests. The dessert became a hit in Vienna, and “The Original Sacher-Torte,” a carefully guarded recipe, has been tauted as the most famous cake in the world (though I admit I had never heard of such a cake until I made it the other day).
Le Cordon Bleu, obviously not privy to Vienna’s trade secret recipe, must have reverse-engineered the recipe provided to us. And I will intern provide the adapted recipe to you, Sacher Torte recipe. Caution: this isn’t your run of the mill cake. It takes quite a bit of time to prepare, but is not difficult and the end result is pretty darned good. The chocolate cake is surprisingly dense and light all at the same time, and the oozing apricot jam center complements the chocolate like honey to apples. The double layer of chocolate frosting packs a rich punch. The torte is traditionally served with whipped cream, though I sent it off to Big N’s work sans creme.
After making my torte in class, and having no special event on tap to tote my torte, I let Big N bring it with him to be devoured by his work colleagues. As luck would have it, a fellow foodie blogger was able to sample my torte (my first review!). Here’s what The Princess Gourmet had to say about yours truly (well, my torte, at least):
“A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! Light, not too dense. Subtle sweetness. Apricot jam in the middle added a nice layer of flavor. It’s supposed to be served with unsweetened whipped cream (didn’t miss it) but on its own, it’s wonderful. It’s one of the best sacher tortes I’ve ever had.”
Not too shabby, right? Sacher it to me baby! (How could I resist?!?)

Next up: creme brulee and the elusive souffle.
Sacher Torte
Serves | 8-10 |
Prep time | 1 hour, 30 minutes |
Cook time | 30 minutes |
Total time | 2 hours |
Meal type | Dessert |
Region | European |
Ingredients
Cake
- 4.5oz Butter, unsalted
- 5.75oz Sugar (Baker's (super fine) works best)
- 4oz Egg yolks (about 4)
- 6oz Egg whites (About 4)
- 1 1/2oz Cake flour
- 1 1/2oz Cocoa powder (good quality)
- 1 3/4oz Almond meal (finely ground in food processor)
- 4oz Apricot jam (no chunks)
- 4oz Simple syrup ((instructions below))
- to tasteVanilla or brandy (to flavor simple syrul)
Chocolate glaze
- 8oz Semi-sweet chocolate
- 6oz Butter, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon Light corn syrup
- Semi-sweet chocolate (Reserve some to write on the cake)
Note
Read through all of the instructions before getting started
Directions
