Baking

Sacher Torte Created in 1832, the Sacher Torte must be the most famous chocolate cake in the world today.

Ingredients: 150 g (5.2 oz./ ¾ cup) butter 150 g (5.2 oz./ ¾ cup) sugar 150 g (5.2 oz./ ¾ cup) chocolate, melted in a double-boiler 8 eggs, separated 120 g (4.2 oz./ ¾ cup) flour butter dry bread crumbs apricot jam Icing: 150 g (5.2 oz.) chocolate 1 tablespoon oil 200 g (7 oz./ 1 cup) sugar, divided 1/8 litre (½ cup) water How to make it: Beat the butter together with half of the sugar and the melted chocolate, adding the egg yolks one at a time, until thick and foamy. Sift the flour over the mixture. Beat together the egg whites and remaining sugar until stiff and mound on top of the flour. Fold everything together carefully. Pour the mixture into a springform pan that has been buttered and coated with bread crumbs and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about an hour. To cool the cake, turn it upside down onto a wire rack. After about 2 hours, remove it from the pan (you may want to cut the top side to make it level) and place it on a platter with the smooth torte base on top. Spread with a very thin layer of apricot jam and glaze with a chocolate icing. For a special treat, serve the Sacher Torte with whipped cream! Chocolate icing: Melt the chocolate in bain-marie or double boiler and stir in the oil. Bring the sugar and water to a boil. A spoonful at a time, stir the cooled sugar solution into the melted chocolate until

you have a smooth mixture. Sacher Cake á la Sacher

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140 g Butter (room temperature) 110 g Icing sugar 1/2 pod Vanilla (pulp) 6 pieces Egg yolks 6 pieces Egg whites 130 g Eating chocolate 110 g Sugar 140 g Flour (fine) 200 g Apricot jam Butter (and flour for the cake form) Cream (whipped)

for the frosting:   

200 g Sugar 125 ml Water 150 g Chocolate

Zubereitung: For the Sacher Cake á la Sacher, whip the butter, icing sugar and vanilla pulp in a bowl until it is creamy. Gradually add the egg yolks and continue beating until the mixture is thick and creamy. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (double boiler). When completely melted, fold into the mass. Beat the egg white until stiff, sprinkling in the sugar and continue to beat until the mass is stiff and glossy. Heap the beaten eggwhite onto the egg yolk mixture, sift over the flour and carefully fold with a cooking spoon. Line the bottom of a spring-clip cake form with baking paper and grease the sides of the form with butter. Sift over some flour. Fill the

spring form with the mixture and spread evenly. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 °C for 55– 60 minutes, leaving the door slightly ajar during the first 10–15minutes. (You can test the cake to see if it’s done by pressing lightly on it with your finger. There should be slight resistance). Still in the cake form, turn the cake upside down on a cake rack and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Open up the spring formand peel off the paper. Put the form back on the cake, then turn the cake over, and allow to fully cool in the form so that all the unevenness can settle and smooth out on the surface. Remove the cake form and cut the cake in half horizontally with a sharp knife. Warm up the jam, stir until smooth and spread on to both cake halves, then put back together again. Spread the jam all over the cake and allow to dry a little. For the frosting, bring the water and sugar to boil so that it bubbles for about 5– 6minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and, stirring, gradually add the sugar until it becomes a thick glaze. (See ‘Tips’). Quickly pour the slightly warm frosting over the cake and, with a spatula, spread the frosting smoothly over the surface of the cake. Allow to dry for a few hours, until the icing is hard. Serve with whipped cream.

Tipp: To test the correct consistency of the frosting, pour some over a wooden cooking spoon. A layer of icing about 4 cmthick should stick to the spoon. Should the icing be too thick, it can be thinned by adding a few drops of sugar water (use what is left from the water-sugar mix and dissolve with a little water). Also, make sure that the icing doesn’t get too hot, otherwise it will be matt when it dries, and not glossy.

Wolfgang's Sachertorte Total Time: 1 hr 42 min Prep 20 min Inactive 2 min Cook 1 hr 20 min Yield: 8 to 10 servings Level: Intermediate

Ingredients Cake:       

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces 3 ounces butter 4 egg yolks 1 ounce sugar, plus 3 ounces 5 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup flour, sifted

Apricot Filling:  

1 1/2 cups apricot preserves 1 tablespoon apricot brandy

Glaze:    

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces 1 ounce butter 2 ounces heavy cream Schlagobers, or whipped cream

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch cake pan. In a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter and melt over a double boiler. Set aside to cool. In a mixer, using a wire whisk, whip the egg yolks with 1 ounce sugar until light and ribbony. Beat in the chocolate mixture. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 3 ounces of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Fold in the flour and then fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites, gently but thoroughly. Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until done. To check for doneness, insert a paring knife in center of cake. It should come out dry. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. To make the apricot filling: puree the apricot preserves. Stir in brandy. Slice the cake into 3 equal layers. Spread half of the apricot filling on the bottom layer. Top with a second layer of cake. Spread the remaining apricot filling and top with the last layer of cake. Chill for at least 30 minutes. To make the glaze: in a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Melt over a double-boiler. Bring the cream to a boil. Stir into the melted chocolate. Cool until it reaches glazing

consistency. Spread over and around the cake. Chill for another 30 minutes before serving. Serve a slice with Schlagobers or whipped cream. ©Television Food Network G.P. All Rights Reserved.

Ingredients Cake:       

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces 3 ounces butter 4 egg yolks 1 ounce sugar, plus 3 ounces 5 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup flour, sifted

Apricot Filling:  

1 1/2 cups apricot preserves 1 tablespoon apricot brandy

Glaze:    

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces 1 ounce butter 2 ounces heavy cream Schlagobers, or whipped cream

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch cake pan. In a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter and melt over a double boiler. Set aside to cool. In a mixer, using a wire whisk, whip the egg yolks with 1 ounce sugar until light and ribbony. Beat in the chocolate mixture. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 3 ounces of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Fold in the flour and then fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites, gently but thoroughly. Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until done. To check for doneness, insert a paring knife in center of cake. It should come out dry. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. To make the apricot filling: puree the apricot preserves. Stir in brandy.

Slice the cake into 3 equal layers. Spread half of the apricot filling on the bottom layer. Top with a second layer of cake. Spread the remaining apricot filling and top with the last layer of cake. Chill for at least 30 minutes. To make the glaze: in a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Melt over a double-boiler. Bring the cream to a boil. Stir into the melted chocolate. Cool until it reaches glazing consistency. Spread over and around the cake. Chill for another 30 minutes before serving. Serve a slice with Schlagobers or whipped cream.

Chai cupcakes with marshmallow frosting Makes 12 125g Stork Bake 150g castor sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 cup self-raising flour 1/2 cup milk 1 tsp chai spice* Marshmallow frosting 2 egg whites 1/2 cup castor sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Cream the margarine, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Sift over the flour and spices and beat again. Spoon into a muffin tin lined with cupcake wrappers and bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Make the frosting by whisking the egg whites in a heatproof bowl until soft peak stage. Add castor sugar and whisk over simmering water until the meringue is hot to the touch. Remove from the heat and beat on high with a hand mixer until cool. Whip in the vanilla. Place in a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes immediately. *TIP: To make the chai spice mix, combine 1 tsp each of ground cinnamon and cardamom then add 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves, ground nutmeg and ground white pepper. Store in a sealed jar. I like to grind the whole spices myself in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar as the flavour is far more punchy than the store-bought ground stuff.

Kaiserschmarren á la Sacher (Shredded Pancakes with plum sauce)

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250 ml Milk 6 pieces Egg whites 6 pieces Egg yolks 130 g Flour (fine) 2 tbsps Sugar 1 shot Rum 1 tbsp Vanilla sugar Lemon juice 2 tbsps Raisins 1 pinch Salt Normal sugar (and icing sugar for dusting) Butter (for baking)

plum sauce:      

500 g Plums (small and firm) 100 g Sugar 100 ml Red wine 1 pinch Cinnamon 1/2 piece Orange (peel) 1 piece Lemon (juice)

Zubereitung: Beat the egg whites and sugar in a bowl until stiff. In another bowl, combine the milk, flour, egg yolks, lemon juice, rum, vanilla sugar and salt. Stir until batter is smooth. Fold in the egg whites. In a large ovenproof pan, heat some butter and pour in the batter. First brown on the stove, then turn over and bake both sides until brown in a preheated oven at 180 °C. Take the pan out of the oven and, using 2 forks, break the mass into small pieces.Mix in the raisins, sprinkle with sugar and put into the oven again until the sugar is caramelized. Serve with icing sugar.