Can a homemade version of this fancy chocolate and apricot-flavored Viennese cake compete with the real deal? We say, unequivocably, yes it can.
Sacher torte—a chocolate cake layered with apricot jam and coated with a thin, glossy sheet of chocolate icing—presents several challenges. The cake can be dry and spongy, and the chocolate icing is often grainy.
We needed a great-tasting, firm-textured cake as well as a tangy fruit jam filling that could cut the richness from the chocolate.
American-style cakes like devil’s food or butter cakes proved unsuitable, but a sponge cake with cocoa added gave us a light cake that still had a rich flavor and sturdy construction. For the apricot jam, we achieved the right consistency by reducing the chunks of store-bought jam with a quick spin in the food processor, but just applying it between the layers left the fruit flavor lacking. So we broke with tradition, putting a thin jam layer both on top and in between the layers. All that was left was to choose the right chocolate glaze, one that wasn’t too thick or creamy. A combination of chocolate, corn syrup, and cream gave the glaze a sleek, shiny texture and a smooth, pourable consistency.
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