Viennese Sachertorte

It has been said that a Viennese Sachertorte is a cake worth fighting over….! Hopefully without the fighting, you will bake this labour of love and indulge in the best chocolate cake in the world! Traditionally the cake is served with Chantilly cream on the side so that every bite may be dipped into the cream before eating. If you want a higher cake like the one in my photographs, bake the cake twice – the apricot and chocolate glaze is sufficient to cover a higher/larger cake.

125g dark chocolate, chopped
125g butter, room temperature
110g icing sugar, sifted
6 eggs, separated
5ml vanilla
50g granulated sugar
130g flour

Apricot glaze:
300g apricot jam
15ml dark rum

Chocolate glaze:
220g sugar
125ml water
200g dark chocolate, chopped

Place an oven rack in the centre of your oven and preheat to 180℃.
Lightly butter 22cm springform tin with butter and line the bottom with a round of baking paper. Dust the sides of the tin with flour and tap out the excess.
Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt.
Remove from the heat. Stir the chocolate often until tepid but still fluid.
Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute.
Turn the mixer to low speed and beat in the icing sugar.
Set the mixer back on medium-high and beat until light in colour and texture. (about 2 minutes)
Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Now beat in the chocolate and vanilla with the machine running.
Remove the bowl from the mixer.
Add the egg whites and granulated sugar to a mixing bowl and beat with a hand-held electric mixer on high speed just until they form soft, shiny peaks. Do not overbeat.
Stir about a fourth of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it.
Now fold in the remaining whites, leaving a few visible whisps of whites.
Sift half the flour over and fold in with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin and spread it evenly.
Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Remove the sides of the tin and invert the cake onto the wire rack. Remove the baking paper.
Re-invert the cake on another rack to turn it right side up and leave to cool completely.

For the apricot glaze:
Melt the jam in a saucepan over medium heat, add the rum and pass through a sieve.
Set aside to cool slightly.

Trim the top of the cake to make it level. (Optional)
Cut the cake horizontally into 2 equal layers.
Brush the top of one cake layer with a third of the apricot glaze.
Place the second layer on top and brush the top and sides of the cake with the remaining glaze.
Allow to cool until the glaze is set/less sticky. Half an hour in the refrigerator should be sufficient.

For the chocolate glaze:
Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan.
Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the chocolate, remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate has melted and you are left with a smooth, glossy glaze.|Set aside to cool and thicken slightly.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.
Pour the slightly warm chocolate glaze over the cake. Take care to cover the entire cake and the sides.
Allow to cool and set completely – 2 hours minimum.
Trim away any hardened glaze on the bottom of the cake and transfer it to a serving plate.
Serve each slice of sachertorte with a generous dollop of cream so that each bite may be dipped in the cream before eating.