Worth a Thousand Words...
If a picture truly *is* worth a thousand words, then this one must also be worth about a thousand calories at least!
I was having a Polish evening for a much loved friend whose obsessions include potato salad and chocolate cake. Of course, it had to be done, didn't it? Pierogi fried in bacon and onion, Schnitzel (pork, not veal), Polish potato salad with lots of dill and pickles, Alsace chouxcroute - it was a meal that could only finish one way. If you discount the potential coronary!
Sacher Torte.
The friend in question, like myself, is allergic to apricots, so it meant making a slight twist to the recipe, but as you can see from above, the last of the slices she took home with her, and the fact that I don't have a photo of the original because it was tucked into so heavily, it was *delicious*
I can't claim the recipe, neither the original, nor the one I used, from a lovely person known only as Belgrade on the Nigella Lawson Community section of the website and who claims to have tried them all and finally *perfected* the Sacher Torte recipe. But I *can* claim the variation! Morello Cherry Sacher. This, therefore, is my recipe. And yes, I cheated on the glaze. Mine was from a professional tub of Brilliance Noir, which did a grand job since I didn't sieve the jam! Mine came from Keylink I corrected the English to a (hopefully) readable form, too.
Also - the suggestion on the original of 5 minutes whisking the egg whites on *any* of my mixers other than my arm - which I can no longer manage - would result in concrete. Stiff peak is my suggestion.
SACHER TORTE (Printable Version)
INGREDIENTS
180g unsalted butter
180g white caster sugar
8 egg whites
8 yolks
250g ground walnuts - if not available put 250g of walnuts through a food processor until finely processed
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
180g dark chocolate
450g or a jar of Morello Cherry jam
For the glaze:
200g dark chocolate
100g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon sugar
METHOD
Serves: 12-16 or more. It's *very* rich
Pre-heat the oven at 170 degrees or gas mark 3.
Prepare a 9 or 10 inch (25cm or so) baking tin with butter and paper on sides and base, or use a release compound such as Wilton Cake Release - no paper needed. Available from Lakeland Plastics and many other places.
With a stand mixer on a slow setting, mix together the 180g of butter (room temperature) and 180g of sugar untill creamy. Not just until mixed, but until pale, light and fluffy. Then add the egg yolks one by one while still mixing.
In another bowl, combine the baking powder, flour, cinnamon and walnuts. Add this dry mixture to the stand mixer at the lowest speed possible. I actually found it best to stop the mixer, dump in the dry mix, then set the bowl guard on it and set it going. No flour spillage! No spray!
Melt the 180g of chocolate and add it to the batter while still mixing at a low speed. In another bowl beat the 8 egg whites to firm peak stage with a pinch of salt.
Stop the stand mixer, and raise the head so you can add a third of the egg whites to the batter and mix them in slowly on your lowest setting. Then take your bowl off the stand and fold in the remaining eggs by hand. If you're not sure of the folding technique do look it up on YouTube, because you need to use the right movements to prevent squashing the eggs flat. This is part of your raising agent, the little bubbles of air are needed to help produce a light sponge despite the weight of the ground nuts and egg yolks.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for around 50-60 minutes. Check with a toothpick (it should come out clean from the very centre of the cake) to make sure it's cooked properly. Allow the cake to stand for 15 minutes before taking it out of the pan and cooling.
Meanwhile, sieve the jam to take out the lumps, or not, and heat it with about 2 to 4 tablespoons of water until it becomes a spreadable gell. Allow it to cool until it's gloopy enough to stick to the cake.
Turn the cake upside-down and cut it in half horizontally. Spread a thick layer, at least 2mm, of jam over the middle of the cake and put the other half back on. Now cover the top and sides of cake thickly with the jam. This is to prevent the glaze seeping into the cake.
Before you glaze the cake put it in the freezer for around 15 minutes (yes the freezer not the refrigerator).
TO MAKE THE GLAZE:
in a double boiler or on the stove melt the 200g chocolate+100g butter+1 tablespoon oil+ 1 tablespoon milk, and if you prefer it sweeter use a little sugar, too.
Place the cake on a rack or turntable over paper or a tray with sides and pour the glaze. Starting in the middle of the cake, pour about half the glaze. Using a spatula spread it evenly out to the edges of the cake. If you have a turntable this makes the job a LOT easier. When the top is covered and you are now tipping glaze over the edge of the cake pour over the rest, just over the edges. Then go round again with the spatula, smoothing and flattening the edges by running it round the side of the cake, not up and down. Gravity will do the up and down for you! Just keep the pallet knife or spatula straight and turn the turntable, it'll cover it smoothly for you.
If you wish, when you have finished, you can melt a little dark or white chocolate in a paper piping bag and write the word SACHER on the top, or put a couple of simple decorations on it in white chocolate or gold leaf.
Enjoy! :)
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