Name: Sachertorte
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Austria
Ingredients: 150 g dark chocolate, melted, plus 200g for the glaze; 150 g butter, softened; 150 g sugar, divided; 6 eggs, separated; 150 g plain flour; 200 g apricot jam, warmed and strained; 100 ml water, for the glaze; heavy cream, to serve, whipped with no added sugar

Sachertorte is Vienna's most famous cake, a dense chocolate cake split and coated in apricot jam under a glossy chocolate glaze, and the two bakeries most associated with it have spent decades arguing over whose version is the real original.

The unsweetened whipped cream served alongside is deliberate, not an oversight; the cake itself does plenty of the sweetening, and the cream is there to balance it.

Part of our 20 best Austrian recipes list.

method

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F), and line a round cake tin.

Melt the 150g chocolate and let it cool slightly.

Beat the butter with half the sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the melted chocolate.

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, gradually adding the remaining sugar, until stiff and glossy.

Fold the whisked egg whites into the chocolate mixture in two or three additions, alternating with the flour, keeping the mixture as light as possible.

Pour into the tin, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in the tin.

Slice the cooled cake horizontally into two layers. Spread the warmed apricot jam between the layers and over the entire outside of the cake, then let it set for at least 30 minutes.

For the glaze, melt the 200g chocolate with the water over low heat until smooth and glossy.

Pour the glaze over the jam-coated cake, tilting and smoothing to coat it evenly on top and down the sides. Let the glaze set completely before slicing.

Serve in slices with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

chef's tips

The whipped cream served alongside is traditionally unsweetened, on purpose; the cake itself is sweet enough, and plain cream is meant to balance it rather than add more sugar.
Let the apricot jam coating set properly before pouring the glaze. A tacky, unset jam layer makes it much harder to get a smooth, even glaze on top.
There is a long-running, genuinely contested legal history between two Viennese establishments over which one makes the "original" Sachertorte; both are considered legitimate today.
Good quality dark chocolate matters more here than almost anywhere else on this list, since the cake and the glaze both rely on it directly for flavor.