Sacher Torte

100 g Cadbury Old Gold dark chocolate
50 g Lindt Excellence milk chocolate
1 tbs water
155 g unsalted butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
Extra 2 tbs caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 cup plain flour, sifted
2/3 cup apricot jam

Icing
100 g Cadbury Old Gold dark chocolate
25 g Lindt Excellence milk chocolate
125 g unsalted butter

Grease a round non-stick cake pan (I use a flexible sillicone pan). Preheat oven to 200°C.

Chop or break chocolate; melt over a double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, until smooth. Stir in water and allow to cool to room temperature. The chocolate will have a paste-like consistency.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Stir in the chocolate mixture, and then the sifted flour.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the electric mixer, until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the extra caster sugar, beating until dissolved after each addition. Fold gently into the cake mix.

Spread half of the cake mix into the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow the cake to stand for 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the other half of the cake mix.

While the cakes are cooling, heat up the apricot jam in a double boiler, until liquid. Strain the jam (if you like the jam with some chunks, just remove the bigger pieces). Once the cakes are completely cooled, overturn one of the cakes and spread hot jam over the top surface. Place the second cake on top and brush the top and sides with the remaining jam. Allow the jam to set. To finish the cake, decorate with icing (see below) and allow to set at room temperature. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream.

Icing

In a double boiler, slowly melt the chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a spreadable consistency (this may take 1-2 hours). This icing can be piped.


Additional notes

I use a combination of dark and milk chocolate, although pure dark chocolate was used in the original recipe. If you're willing to splurge on the chocolate, Valrhona is an excellent brand to use, as the chocolate is of a high quality and has subtle fruity notes. The cake is meant to be rather dry, which is why it is served with whipped cream, but if you want it a little more moist, heat it up before serving.

This cake recipe was originally published in The Australian Women's Weekly, i.e. it works perfectly if your kitchen is in Australia, less so elsewhere in the world. You may have to refrigerate or heat things up to get the recipe right.

This was the first cake I ever tried making - wasn't I an ambitious child? Needless to say, it didn't go so well, so I'm pretty pumped about getting it right this time.

Next challenge: griddle scones!