… the most famous of Vienna’s culinary specialties …

Well, it is still raining since my last post. And it is set to go on for another day at least. The sun may come out for a minute or two, before big heavy drops are pounding the landscape again. The sound of thunder bounces off the mountains behind us … since four days. 

This is a good time for spending time in the kitchen.

Comfort food …. or rather comfort cake …, Sacher Torte …. the most famous of Vienna’s culinary specialties. This IS as close as it gets to the ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE …. for now. I will not bore you with another recipe. Plenty has been written about this rich, dense and ultimately royal chocolate cake. “Pomiane” has an excellent take on Sacher Torte, including a recipe that’s close to the real thing.

Terri, of Hunger Hunger, also has a take on the cake. She describes her research while in Vienna, and then actually preferring an Applestudel …. now can you believe THAT? But an excellent post never the less.

Now, there are just two sugestions I have, should you give the Sacher Torte a try … and you should give it a try …. :

ONE:

NEVER refrigerate the cake. Chances are you will eat it within 24 hours, or maybe 48 hours. And any cake will survive this unrefrigerated. Just cover it with some sort of plastic film or keep it in a cake box. The cake will stay softer and does not change it’s texture, as it would in the fridge.

TWO:

Use a ganache (is a glaze, icing, or filling for pastries made from chocolate and cream) to cover the cake. It is less sweet than the “Konserve Schokolade“, and you get more chocolate taste, provided you use a good bitter chocolate.

Now, you have everything you need to go for YOUR ultimate chocolate cake.

I’ll have a slice of my chocolate heaven now …

---