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I need to tell you about the importance of having cake in the freezer. Especially chocolate cake, if that’s your preferred form of sugary naughtiness. Especially Sachertorte. Ideally cut up into slices already. Luckily, I have the perfect recipe for a gluten-free Sachertorte courtesy of my beloved Auntie Joanna (thank you, Joanna!). However…
Why have Sachertorte in the freezer?
Because there are times, when one is running a busy and boisterous household, that children and parents could do with a treat of a Saturday afternoon or maybe a delicious dessert after lunch on Sunday. Just whip the appropriate amount of cake out in advance or even zap it for a few seconds in the microwave. Job done and joy had by all.
Perchance the King / your mother-in-law / local vicar / friend in a state of great merriment / friend in a state of distress is popping over unexpectedly for a cup of tea and catch up. Get that cake out of the freezer asap. It’s hospitable to offer something to accompany the hot caffeinated beverage, to welcome them in, to create a space of comfort and ease for all.
And by “all”, I also mean you. And by “comfort and ease”, I also mean for you.
The Best Time To Bake
Coming back to Saturday afternoons or Sunday lunchtimes, baking a cake is definitely not at the top of my To Do List. I try to take it a bit easier on a Saturday, to rest and reflect on the week that was and the week that is to come.
Baking chaos is not conducive to that.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s are the busy day of Holiness at Mass (“SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Children! Be Quiet! Jesus is Here! Think Holy Thoughts! Just like your dear Mama is failing to do at this exact moment whilst she hisses at you through gritted teeth!”) followed by a roast lunch, an epic and delicious meal that will guarantee leftovers to feed the 5,000 as well as the associated washing-up.
I don’t especially want to add Baking Chaos to this. “Comfort” and “Ease” would not be the words to define that experience.
But I do like chocolate cake. We all do, in fact.
Ok, I could have a shop-bought pudding. These can be tasty, are often feezerable and would make life a smidge easier.
But they do get costly. Especially good quality, decent cakes and desserts that aren’t chock full of rubbish. And these cakes are usually quite small.
However, I’ve a militia of children to feed. This isn’t going to work.
So, when the stars and planets are in alignment and I find myself with a good half-an-hour of dedicated baking time, I don’t want to go to all that effort of making just one cake. Nope. It’s time to triple, or even quadruple or quintuple a recipe and make a batch, a flock, a herd, a jumble or even…
A Confusion of Cake.*
(*Any thoughts on what the collective noun for cakes is will be gratefully received.)
A Home Educational Aside…
However, this Sachertorte recipe can be so much more than just cake.
If you wanted to make this a Home Educational aside, you could have a quick look at the Wikipedia entry on Sachertorte, and then go off on an academic riff with the various themes that emerge. For example, but not restricted to, you could:
- read up on the context of the Sachertorte’s origins in 19th-century imperial Austria (history)
- recreate a 19th-century Viennese café (business studies, theatre studies and maybe experimental archaeology)
- maybe research a bit about the international trade in luxury foodstuffs of the day, like cocoa and sugar (economics)
- This could then lead you down the path of imperialism, colonialism and the slave trade (how else would a landlocked, mountainous and temperate nation in central Europe have access to tropical products like sugar cane and cacao? How were these products processed and transported? Was this a good thing? Oh, you appear to have covered some more history, a bit of geography and some ethics there)
- Or how about considering what sort of plants make up the ingredients for a cake? (Hooray! That’s biology, botany and ecology you can tick off)
- For the scientifically curious amongst you, just how is a cake actually made? (There you go; chemistry too. Awesome)
- And so on, and so on…
So, my friends, I hope this post not only adds a new family favourite recipe to your repertoire but might also have changed the way you think about cake. Gluten-free Sachertorte or otherwise. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Sachertorte mean in English?
It roughly translates as “Sacher’s Cake”, named after Franz Sacher, the Austrian confectioner / patissier and hotelier, who created it around 1832.
What kind of jam is Sachertorte made of?
Apricot jam is the usual go to as it has a lighter flavour that compliments the rich dark cholocate. I’ve also made Sachertorte with marmalade for a very grown up orange and dark chocolate flavour combination. The bitterness of the orange cuts through the richness of the cake. Wonderful! Have a go with raspberry jam as well. The sharpness will work a treat.
What is the difference between Sachertorte and chocolate cake?
To begin with, there’s no flour and thus no gluten. The recipe involves ground almonds and whipped egg whites so a Sachertorte has a richer and denser consistency than chocolate cake. I’d have the Sachertorte for both dessert and afternoon tea, whilst chocolate cake is more for teatime.
Chocolate Sachertorte Recipe || Gluten-free & Delicious
A delicious and rich chocolate classic: Sachertorte.
Ingredients
- Butter (or dairy-free alternative) for greasing
- 200g (7oz) dark, dairy-free chocolate with minimum 60% cocoa solids
- 6 eggs
- 310g (11oz) granulated sugar
- 150g ground almonds
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground coffee
- 6 or more tablespoons of apricot jam
- 100g (3 ½ oz) dark chocolate
- 40g (1 ½ oz) butter or dairy-free alternative
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C on a fan-forced oven / 350°F / gas mark 4
Grease a 23cm (9 inch) springform cake tin and line with baking parchment
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a saucepan of barely simmering water (known as a bain-marie if you want to sound impressive)
Separate 5 of the eggs and whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add a teaspoon of sugar and mix again.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, the remaining whole egg and the sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy
Add the ground almonds, coffee grounds and the slightly cooled melted chocolate to this egg yolk mixture and stir well. Then fold in the egg white and put the fluffyish batter into the prepared tin
Bake for 1 hour, covering it with foil after 40 minutes to stop the top from burning. Check the cake is ready by stabbing it gently with a skewer or sharp knife and make sure it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the over, release the springform ring and leave to cool on a rack.
Once the cake has cooled for a bit (not too long otherwise it will dry out!), melt the apricot jam over a low heat and spread over the whole cake.
Then… Make the Chocolate Icing.
Melt the chocolate with the butter or dairy-free alternative. Then spread it over the top and sides of the cake. Leave to set and then enjoy!
Notes
The Sachertorte tastes best after a few days stored in an airtight container . You can also freeze it so it's ready for another occasion.
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