Foodie Friday: Sachertorte

When I was in Austria, there were two desserts I was dead-set on trying: Sachertorte and Salzburger Nockerl. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try the latter because I thought the restaurant in which I was dining was closing and the nockerl takes about 15-20 minutes to prepare. (After I ordered apfelstrudel, in came a huge group of people, which left me feeling deflated for not having ordered the nockerl. But oh well, another excuse to head back to Austria, right?)

I successfully ordered and enjoyed the Sachertorte at the famous Hotel Sacher. A bit of background about the Sachertorte–in 1832, Prince Wenzel von Metternich was entertaining guests and tasked his head chef with creating a dessert to delight the bunch. The head chef fell ill and passed his duties along to 16-year-old Franz Sacher, who was pretty early on in his culinary training. But Franz did what he was asked, and created a dessert that pleased the guests. Years later, his son, Eduard, perfected the recipe to its current-day form: two delectable layers of chocolate sponge cake with a small layer of apricot jam between, coated with dark chocolate and served with a side of whipped cream. I’m not sure about you, but not much sounds better to me.

So after my (fabulous) meal at Hotel Sacher in Salzburg, I dutifully ordered what they were most famous for and gleefully indulged in its chocolatey goodness. I loved the hint of fruit and the stamped chocolate medallion on top of the torte. If you’re ever in Austria, be sure to try this culinary speciality.