Sacher torte is Vienna’s rare chocolate star

Born in 1832, this is no ordinary chocolate cake as apricot jam plays a delicious role in its making, writes Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

Some years back, during my first ever flight to Vienna from Zurich, I still recall the lovely smile of that Swiss flight steward as I asked her about Vienna’s famous desserts. “That’s a mouth-watering question,” she replied and began rolling out a long list. “…but don’t leave Vienna, without trying its delicious Sacher torte — a traditional chocolate cake,” she said.

Though cafes and restaurants all over Austria and even outside it have Sacher torte on their menus, if locals advice is to be followed, it tastes best, where it was born in 1832 — in one of the most celebrated Viennese hotels Sacher and hence it was also given the same name. Its story of birth intrigues all. During one of the days in that year, when the chef of this hotel was not working due to an illness, Austrian state chancellor Prince Metternich requested to craft an extraordinary dessert for his guests. As a 16-year-old trainee, Franz was on duty and took up the challenge. With whatever was available in the kitchen, he ended up creating the cake, loading it with dark chocolate and a rich layer of apricot jam in its centre. Not just the chancellor but even his guests on tasting Sacher torte filled the air with many praises and it soon had a cult following. Served with unsweetened whipped cream, it’s commonly ordered with coffee. Sitting at Sacher’s historic and elegant café where I got a table after a long wait in the queue, I admire recalling how apricot jam and soft dark chocolate melted in my mouth. A touch of cream with every bite contributed beautifully to the mélange.

“Like any Austrian working abroad, I often miss Sacher torte — our rare chocolate star despite it not having many ingredients in play. Some may find it bittersweet but that’s what makes it special. Interestingly, it’s also made at homes — a favourite of grandmothers to treat both adults and children,” adds Cornelia Gerber, from Vienna, who works with a Jaipur-based tour company.

But what’s Sacher Hotel’s take on their cake’s preparation at homes and in other cafes or bakeries? “They may be doing a good job but they certainly do not follow the original recipe which we will always keep a secret. On our website, we have just presented a rough idea of the recipe,” reveals Katrin Atzlinger, the hotel’s spokesperson.

Sacher’s dessert team has divided the recipe into eight steps, which also advises the use of vanilla beans, besides other ingredients. Cut the cake horizontally to richly brush the top of both parts with warm apricot jam and even their sides but I had a real melt-in-the-mouth feel as I learned about the preparation of glaze, one of the final steps over high heat, involving castor sugar, water and finely chopped dark chocolate. Pour the lukewarm glaze liquid at once over the top of the cake and quickly spread using a palette knife and leave the glaze to sit for at least a few hours before serving.

For many, it’s a must on special occasions. “I became Austria’s ambassador to India just last autumn and on my first birthday here, my embassy team in Delhi surprised me with a Sacher torte. It felt like a piece of home. Thankfully, there are amazing variants of this cake in Delhi bakeries too and we proudly serve this treat during many of our social events,” shares Katharina Weiser.

If we look through the lens of commerce, the treat is big business: 36,000 Sacher cakes are sold and shipped all over the globe every year. Not astonishing, souvenir shops all over Austria remain busy selling postcards and even posters. This is why the Austrian Post released a stamp on the same hotel and its famous torte in 2018. It was printed 1,30,000 times and was designed by Regina Simon. “The good sale proved our love for the cake,” says Simon.