The Sachertorte: A Chocolate Cake with Stories

What comes to your mind when you hear about Austria? For me, it’s the movie “Sissi” where I acquire my first initial knowledge about the Royal family and Austria. Empress Elisabeth of Austria, (also called Sissi), enjoyed an informal upbringing before marrying Emperor Franz Joseph I at the age of sixteen. The marriage thrust her into a far more formal Habsburg court life, leaving her both ill-prepared and catapulted away from her comfort zone.

Although Sissi’s life in Vienna did not plan out as expected, she did enjoy one Austrian dessert from the heavens: the Sachertorte. It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties, invented by Austrian Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Wenzel von Metternich in Vienna. The cake is made up of a dense dark chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam on top, with a dark chocolate icing coat. The cake is also served with unsweetened whipped cream on the side.

The Café Sacher in the Sacher Hotel was the place where the Sachertorte was first sold to the public, it is often regarded as the most original and tasty one in Vienna. The Original Sacher Torte is still made almost entirely by hand using Franz Sacher's recipe and is a closely guarded secret. It is said that Sissi fell in love with the Sachertorte upon her first bite, she consequently made a regular excursion to the Hotel in order to satisfy her tastebud cravings. More than 360,000 cakes a year are made in the Café Sacher by its 41 employees, many of which are shipped all over the world, allowing a "taste of Vienna" to be delivered to many doorsteps far and wide. If you are planning to visit Vienna, the Original Sacher Torte served in the Café Sacher should definitely be a priority on your bucket list!

Today, we proudly announce that you can taste the traditional Austrian Sachertorte here, in Cardiff! Check out our website to make your order, or simply message us on twitter.