Reader Peter T. wrote in overnight with the observation that most of the Sacher torte recipes he’s seen call for couverture chocolate, but the one I put up doesn’t. What’s the deal with that? he asks. It’s a good question, and he is quite correct, most of the better Sacher torte formulas do indeed call […]
READ ONReader Natasha writes: I just had to mention to you how amusing I find it that one can order an “original” Sacher torte directly from the Sacher Hotel in Vienna, from just about anywhere in the world! And the confection is quite refined and elegant as well. It comes in a nice hand made wooden […]
READ ONSo what are some of the ways in which pastry chefs have attempted to “improve” Sacher torte? Firstly, by adding more apricot jam. A Sacher Hotel-style Sacher torte has one layer of filling in the middle. Demel’s modification is a full glazing of jam over the entire exterior. Most of the Sacher torte recipes you […]
READ ONThe complaint that pastry lovers most often levy again Sacher torte is that it’s dry. You hear that a lot from people returning from trips to Vienna: I went to the Sacher hotel and ordered Sacher torte and I was so disappointed…it was so dry. Is that true? No and yes. Defenders of Sacher torte […]
READ ONOther than its flavor, texture, and historical and cultural pedigree, Sacher torte is notable in that it is the only pastry ever to be the subject of a nearly decade-long lawsuit. It seems that Franz, the son of Eduard the Inept Innkeeper (grandson of Franz Sacher, the inventor of Sacher torte) was himself a bit […]
READ ONOther than the man for whom the first Sacher torte was made you mean? He was the most powerful statesman of his time, the so-called “arbiter of Europe” who oversaw the joint effort to redraw the map after the 25 years of turmoil that began with the French Revolution in 1789 and finished with the […]
READ ONWell, at least in the world of baking and pastry they do. I know what some of you are thinking: is this going to be another trip to the year 1683 and the Battle of Vienna — the most baking-intensive conflict in the history of man? This is one time when the answer is no. […]
READ ONYes, if couverture is for coating things, then why does the Sacher Torte recipe call for it in the sponge? The only reason I can think is because it contains quite a lot of fat, and fat creates the sensation of moisture — necessary in a cake that’s known for being a bit on the […]
READ ONHow could I be? But then I should probably talk about cookies at least a little. The funny thing is, a lot of what I’ve been saying about corn cakes also applies to cookies…except of course the part about Europeans not caring for them. As anyone who’s been to Europe can attest, there’s nothing that […]
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