Sachertorte

Sachertorte

Sachertorte from the Hotel Sacher, Vienna
Place of origin	Vienna, Austria
Created by	Franz Sacher
Main ingredients	Chocolate sponge cake, apricot jam, chocolate glaze
Cookbook: Sachertorte   Media: Sachertorte

Sachertorte ^[a] is a chocolate sponge cake covered with chocolate glaze and filled with apricot jam. The apricot jam is either under the glaze or in the middle of two sponge layers. The cake was invented by the Austrian Franz Sacher, either in 1832 for Austrian chancellor Klemens von Metternich, or in the 1840s.

The Hotel Sacher and Demel pastry shop in Vienna serve the cake, while it is also popular in other parts of Austria and in other German-speaking countries. In the 20th century, they battled over the cake's ownership, trademark, and whether the original cake had one or two layers of sponge. Both of their cakes were made with butter, chocolate, eggs, flour, and suagar, but their exact recipes were kept secret. Hotel Sacher serves the cake with whipped cream.

History

Franz Sacher invented the cake in the 19th century.

The Sachertorte was invented by Franz Sacher. ^[1] He worked as a chef in Vienna and Pressburg (modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia) for Prince Metternich of the Austrian Empire. ^[2] He was trained under Metternich's chef Chambellier. ^[3] It is unclear, however, exactly when he did so. One story says he made the cake in 1832 for Metternich and his friends. However, according to an interview Sacher gave in 1906, he created the cake in the 1840s at his restaurant in Pressburg. ^[2] Several food writers have indicated that the cake was created in 1832, ^[4] with his son, Eduard, also claiming in 1888 that Sacher created the cake for Metternich. ^[5] Eduard claimed that Metternich liked the cake. ^[6]

Regardless of the exact origin, after Eduard opened Hotel Sacher in 1876, ^{[7] [8]} the cake made its way to the hotel's menu. ^[2] It became widely popular in Vienna, surpassing the popularity of Linzer torte. ^[9] It also became popular in other cities in Europe, such as Paris, Berlin, and London, and was even shipped over the ocean, such as to the United States, India, and Japan. ^[6] Spelling variations include Sacher-Torte and Sacher Torte, ^[1] torte being a German word for a multi-layered cake with a filling. ^[10] The cake was introduced to the Austrian food codex (Latin : Codex Alimentarius Austriacus) in 1894. ^[11] It appeared in the English vocabulary in the early 20th century. ^[12]

The cookbook writer Katharina Prato was one of the first to promote the cake, having published it in Die Süddeutsche Kirche (1858), calling it "A Chocolate Cake. A La Sacher". ^[13] She helped popularise the cake in her other books. ^[14] Writers, such as Louise Seleskowitz, Klara Fuchs, Anna Bauer, and Anna Fink, also featured the cake in their books. ^[13] By the 1930s, the cake had become globally known and there were many versions of it. ^[14]

In the 1930s, Hotel Sacher entered a legal battle with the pastry shop Demel over the cake's ownership and trademark. The shop introduced the cake as "Eduard Sacher-Torte" in 1934, while the hotel had the cake under the name "Original Sacher-Torte". ^[2] Demel's argument was based on the fact that they had obtained the right to produce the cake from Eduard, while Hotel Sacher based their argument on the family connection. ^[15] Hans Gürtler, one of the hotel's investors, took the shop to court and won in 1938. ^[2] After World War II, the dispute resurfaced in the Austrian Supreme Court. This time, there was also a dispute on whether the original cake had one layer of sponge, preferred by Demel, or two layers, preferred by the hotel. ^[2] The dispute over the ownership remained complicated as Eduard had connections to both Hotel Sacher and Demel. ^[16] The case ended in 1963, ^[8] with the court siding with Hotel Sacher on the ownership and Demel on the number of layers. ^[2] Deutsche Welle, however, reported that it was an out-of-court agreement. ^[8] Since then, Hotel Sacher and Demel have retained their duopoly over the cake, though Hotel Sacher outsells Demel by five to one. ^[16] Other pastry shops and restaurants have tried to replicate the original Sachertorte. ^[11]

In July 2025, a café in Želiezovce, Slovakia, where Franz Sacher once worked, was renovated and began selling Sachertorte. ^[17]

Description

The cake is modelled after a chocolate biscuit. ^[18] The Austrian food codex (Latin : Codex Alimentarius Austriacus) describes the cake's ingredients and preparation in detail. Sachertorte has to be a chocolate sponge cake and covered with apricot jam, chocolate glaze, and sugar. The primary ingredients must be butter, chocolate, eggs, flour, and sugar. The recipe calls for whipping the butter and melting the chocolate. The chocolate and sugar are then combined and mixed. The mixture is then thickened with egg yolks and flour before being folded with egg whites. The batter should be baked for an hour. After baking, apricot jam is placed on top of the cake, which is then coated with chocolate glaze. ^[19] Nuts can be added if the name of the cake reflects their inclusion. ^[2] The butter content is unusually high for a cake, raising the tempreature at which the chocolate-content melts. This has made the Sachertorte a rare cake that bakeries could hold without refrigeration. ^[20]

Demel's version has one layer, and puts the apricot jam below the chocolate glaze, while Hotel Sacher puts the jam in the middle of two layers. ^{[21] [22]} Both keep their exact recipes secret. ^{[23] [24]} Hotel Sacher serves the cake with whipped cream, ^[19] which is also popular in other places in Vienna. ^[25] According to Elisabeth Gürtler, the director of Hotel Sacher, the cake pairs well with champagne. ^[26]

In culture

Sachertorte served at the cafe at Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria in 2023.

Sachertorte is a popular dish in Vienna and other regions of Austria, ^[27] as well as other German-speaking countries, particularly during festive periods. ^[28] In Japan, McDonald's offered the cake for ¥ 360 from 2015 ^[29] to at least until 2021. ^[30] The food writer Michael Krondl described it as "easily [the] city's most storied confection". Hotel Sacher ships its cakes worldwide. ^[2]

Reception

According to Krondl, Sachertorte is "almost the personification of the sweet". ^[2] Roland Mischek of Die Welt described the cake as "sweet, delicate, and with a flawless surface" (German : süß, delikat und mit makelloser Oberfläche). ^[27] On the other hand, Cloake noted that others complained about the cake being "dry and boring". ^[31] Writing for the BBC News , Bethany Bell complained that the Sachertorte almost always "looks better than it tastes", unless "homemade with extra chocolate". ^[26] The cake is well-acclaimed. Author Franz Maier-Bruck wrote that the cake's taste is "delicate and mild" (zart und mild) and that it is not too soft, sweet, dry, and gritty. He added that the success of Sachertote lies in the balance of its ingredients, the baking process, and the smoothness of the glaze. ^[11]

Notes

1. UK: /ˈzæxərtɔːrtə/ ZAKH-ər-tor-tə, US: /ˈsɑːkərtɔːrt/ ^ⓘ SAH-kər-tort, German: [ˈzaxɐˌtɔʁtə] ^ⓘ , Austrian German: [ˈsaxɐˌtɔrtɛ]

References

1. Krondl 2011, p. 286; Becker 1992, p. 204.
2. Krondl 2015, pp. 588–589.
3. Krondl 2015, p. 36.
4. Haber 2003, p. 177; Iaia 1988, p. 277; Mason 2006, p. 679.
5. Krondl 2011, p. 288.
6. Maier-Bruck 1975, pp. 564–565.
7. Krondl 2011, p. 291.
8. Friedrich, Lina (19 December 2016). "Wie die Sachertorte zu ihrem Namen kam" [How the Sachertorte Got Its Name]. Deutsche Welle (in German). Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
9. Krondl 2015, p. 405.
10. Heinzelmann 2015, p. 739.
11. Maier-Bruck 1975, p. 565.
12. Becker 1992, p. 204.
13. Maier-Bruck 1975, pp. 566.
14. Krondl 2011, p. 292.
15. Iaia 1988, p. 277.
16. Soteriou, Helen (14 May 2014). "Vienna's Chocolate Cake War". BBC News . Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
17. "Where Franz Sacher once cooked, a new café will soon serve his famous cake". The Slovak Spectator . 5 July 2025. Archived from the original on 27 July 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
18. Krondl 2011, p. 289.
19. Prinz, Deborah R. (5 December 2015). "Celebrating the Sacher Torte". The Forward . Archived from the original on 2 November 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
20. Wohlmuth 2017, p. 502.
21. Haber 2003, p. 177; Segnit 2010, p. 281.
22. Rylander, Summer (16 December 2022). "Searching for Sachertorte in Vienna". National Geographic . Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
23. Hofmann, Paul (16 January 1983). "Sacher Torte, Viennese Delight". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 26 June 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
24. Gisslen 2016, p. 397.
25. Iaia 1988, p. 278; Mason 2006, p. 680.
26. Bell, Bethany (31 May 2007). "Happy Birthday, Cake". BBC News . Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
27. Mischke, Roland (19 February 2008). "Das Geheimnis der heiligen Sachertorte" [The Secret of the Holy Sachertorte]. Die Welt (in German). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
28. Mason 2006, p. 679.
29. St. Michel, Patrick (18 December 2015). "Vienna's Chocolate Cake Gets the McDonald's Treatment". The Japan Times . Archived from the original on 13 January 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
30. ""Sachertorte" at McCafé for 3 consecutive years! Rich taste using chocolate for all cakes". Entabe. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
31. Cloake, Felicity (31 March 2021). "How to Make the Perfect Sachertorte – Recipe". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.

Sources

• Becker, Gerhard (Autumn 1992). "German Loanwords Related to Foods and Drinks". Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German. 25 (2). doi:10.2307/3531920.
• Gisslen, Wayne (2016). "Sachertorte". Professional Baking (7th ed.). Wiley. pp.  397. ISBN   978-1-119-14844-9.
• Goldstein, Darra, ed. (2015). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets . Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-931339-6.
  • Krondl, Michael. "Sachertorte". In Goldstein (2015), pp. 588–589.
  • Heinzelmann, Ursula. "Torte". In Goldstein (2015), pp. 739–740.
• Haber, Barbara (2003) [2002]. From Hardtack to Homefries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals. Penguin Books. ISBN   978-0-684-84217-2.
• Iaia, Sarah Kelly (1988) [1985]. Festive Baking: Holiday classics in the Swiss, German, and Austrian traditions . Doubleday. ISBN   978-0-385-19731-1.
• Krondl, Michael (2011). Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert. Chicago Review Press. ISBN   978-1-55652-954-2.
• Maier-Bruck, Franz (1975). Das große Sacher Kochbuch: Die österreichische Küche [The Great Sacher Cookbook: Austrian Cuisine] (in German). Schuler Verlag. ISBN   978-3-88199-388-3.
• Mason, Laura (2006). "Sachertorte". In Jaine, Tom; Davidson, Jane; Saberi, Helen (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Food (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-280681-9.
• Segnit, Niki (2010). The Flavour Thesaurus: Pairings, Recipes and Ideas For the Creative Cook . Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7475-9977-7.
• Wohlmuth, Edward G (2017). "Recipes". In Beckett, Stephen T.; Fowler, Mark S.; Ziegler, Gregory R. (eds.). Beckett's Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use (5th ed.). Wiley. p. 502. ISBN   978-1-118-78014-5. For many years, only chocolate flavoured coatings were used for cake products due to the warm atmosphere in bakeries, the exception being the Sacher Torte of Vienna with its very high butter oil content, which makes it cuttable at room temperatures, and the half and fully enrobed biscuits and chocolate chip cookies, which came via the United States to Europe.

Further reading

• Doehnert, Rodica (2016). Das Sacher: Die Geschichte einer Verführung[The Sacher: The Story of a Seduction] (in German). Europa Verlag. ISBN   978-3958901230.
• Gürtler, Alexandra; Wagner, Christoph (2005). Das neue Sacher-Kochbuch die zeitgemässe österreichische Küche[The New Sacher Cookbook: Contemporary Austrian Cuisine] (in German). Pichler Verlag. ISBN   9783854313502.
• Haslinger, Ingrid (2018). Die Wiener Küche. Kulturgeschichte und Rezepte[Viennese Cuisine: Cultural History and Recipes] (in German). Mandelbaum. ISBN   978-3-85476-558-5.
• Maier-Bruck, Franz (2003). Klassische österreichische Küche[Classic Austrian Cuisine] (in German). Seehamer. ISBN   9783932131981.
• Stolzer, Dominik; Klein, Michael; Fertl, Krista (2016). Das Original Sacher-Backbuch[The Original Sacher Baking Book] (in German). Gräfe und Unzer. ISBN   9783833858543.

External links

• The Original Sacher Torte website