Sacher Torte – The Classic Viennese Chocolate Cake

Step-by-step method

At a glance

This elegant Viennese chocolate cake takes patience and precision to master – you're looking at multiple days of work, with the cake needing to cool overnight before you layer it with apricot glaze and finish it with silky chocolate icing. The trickiest part is nailing the batter by gently folding egg whites into the chocolate mixture without deflating them, propping the oven door open while baking to prevent doming, and getting that glossy chocolate icing perfectly smooth before it sets.

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Prepare the tin

Prepare a springform cake tin, 26 cm in diameter. Grease the sides with butter and dust with fine plain flour. Cut a circle of baking paper slightly larger than the base of the tin.
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Set up the tin

Open the springform, set the ring aside for a moment (ha!), and lay the baking paper on the base of the tin. Fit the ring back around it and close it up. Your tin is now ready to use.
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Egg foam, chocolate and beaten whites

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. Add the butter and mix well. Using a stand mixer, whisk the eggs with the sugar until foamy. Gently pour the egg foam into the chocolate mixture, then whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.

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140 gram
85% Dark Chocolate

140 gram
Unsalted Butter

6 piece
Chicken Eggs

140 gram
Granulated Sugar

3 gram
Salt

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Fold everything into the chocolate mixture

Once the egg whites are whipped into a stiff snow, fold them into the chocolate mixture gently, alternating with the flour. Do this in about three additions.

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120 gram
Medium-Fine Wheat Flour
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Position the oven rack

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and place it in the oven, preheated to 200°C, with the rack positioned in the middle.
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Getting the cake to rise evenly

Put the tin in the oven but don't close the door all the way – prop it open slightly at the top with a wooden spoon. This lets the cake rise more gradually so it doesn't dome up in the middle. After ten minutes, remove the spoon and close the oven door.
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Bake

Bake at 200°C for another twenty minutes, then lower the temperature to 180°C and continue baking for 15–30 minutes more. Every oven bakes a little differently, so keep an eye on the cake and check for doneness with a skewer after about 45 minutes total baking time.
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Turn out and weigh down if needed

Done! Turn the cake out onto a wire rack so that what was the top during baking is now facing down, and let it cool completely, ideally overnight. If the middle has domed up a little, turn it onto the rack and weigh it down – I used a wooden board topped with a pot.
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Apricot glaze

Make the glaze by simmering apricot jam together with rum until it thickens slightly.

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350 gram
Apricot Jam

25 milliliter
Rum
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Fill and coat the cake

The next day, slice the cake horizontally once or twice. Spread the glaze between the layers, then coat the top (take your time here – any unevenness will show through the chocolate icing) and the sides as well. Let it chill again for at least a couple of hours.
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Chocolate icing

You'll need a candy thermometer for this. In a saucepan, cook sugar and water into a syrup, using the thermometer to check the temperature. Stop cooking once the syrup reaches 110°C. If you're working without a thermometer, cook the syrup until it has visibly thickened.

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220 milliliter
Water

200 gram
Granulated Sugar

160 gram
85% Dark Chocolate
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Smooth chocolate icing

Once the sugar syrup has reached the right consistency and temperature, add the broken-up chocolate. Stir gradually but quite vigorously. You can warm it briefly on the stove if needed to get a smooth, fine, fairly runny chocolate icing. Pour it over the cake immediately.
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Dip the knife while slicing

Leave the cake in a cool place until the chocolate icing has set firm. Slice with a sharp knife, dipping it in hot water before each cut so the icing doesn't crack.

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Sacher Torte – The Classic Viennese Chocolate Cake

Name: Authentic Sacher Torte Recipe
Prep time: 36 min
Cook time: 71 min
Total time: 712 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Austrian
Ingredients: 300 gram 85% Dark Chocolate; 340 gram Granulated Sugar; 25 milliliter Rum; 6 piece Chicken Eggs; 350 gram Apricot Jam; 140 gram Unsalted Butter; 120 gram Medium-Fine Wheat Flour; 220 milliliter Water; 3 gram Salt

bohynekuchyne

Prep 36 min Cook 1 h 11 min

Plus overnight of resting (not counted in active time)

9 Ingredients

13 Steps

Very hard Difficulty

Ingredients — what you'll need

You only need 9 ingredients

Adjust servings

300 gram
340 gram
25 milliliter
6 piece
350 gram
140 gram
120 gram
220 milliliter
3 gram

Equipment

What you'll need besides the ingredients.

Cake tin ⌀ 26 cm

Baking paper

Stand mixer

Skewer

Cooling rack

Sugar thermometer optional

What's in it?

736 kcal

Calories

99 g

Carbohydrates

34 g

Fats

10 g

Proteins

The nutritional information is an estimate and may vary based on the specific ingredients used.

About this recipe

The original recipe for this famous cake is a closely guarded secret, owned by the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. But plenty of versions circulate among home bakers, so there's nothing stopping you from trying it out yourself. I did a lot of digging, testing, and mixing of different recipes, trying to nail down the best cake batter, the best apricot glaze, and the best chocolate icing. I think I've pretty much cracked it, and I'm really happy with my version of the Sacher Torte.

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Step-by-step method

At a glance

Prepare the tin

Set up the tin

Egg foam, chocolate and beaten whites

For this step

Fold everything into the chocolate mixture

For this step

Position the oven rack

Getting the cake to rise evenly

Bake

Turn out and weigh down if needed

Apricot glaze

For this step

Fill and coat the cake

Chocolate icing

For this step

Smooth chocolate icing

Dip the knife while slicing

How it went

Nobody has tried this recipe yet

Sacher Torte – The Classic Viennese Chocolate Cake

Ingredients — what you'll need

Equipment

What's in it?

About this recipe

Want a recipe like this every Thursday?

Similar recipes

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