Sacher Torte

Yes, I know I've published the Sacher Torte recipe before...twice, actually: the classic recipe and the vegan version. But seriously, the Vegan Sacher Torte is so unbelieveably delicious and cute that I had to share some pictures with you.

So technically this is not a recipe post, though it's a good opportunity to let you know that if you try this recipe and want to use a smaller cake pan it will came out equally nice. That proves 'Vegan Chocolate', the book from which I made the recipe, it's one of the best cookbooks I've ever bought: every single recipe is a guaranteed success. Two thumbs up for Fran Costigan and her team!

For the first time I doubled the recipe and used two 8-inch/20 cm round pans and this time I made one recipe and baked my cake in a single 6in x 4in/15cm x 10 cm round cake pan; it's a smaller but taller pan so the Sacher cake looked super cute.

Receta en español aquí

Some people like to bake layer cakes in multiple pans so they don't have to divide and cut the cake but if you let this cake cool completely at room temperature and let it set in the fridge for several hours (I'd recommend overnight) you won't have any problem to cut the cake in two layers.

Only thing to keep in mind is that this cake has a very tender crumb so it's better if you plan ahead and bake the cake the day before assembling and glazing. I know it's pretty tempting to cut the cake once it comes out of the oven cause you can't wait any longer to see how good the inside looks, plus the mesmerizing smell of chocolate that is filling the entire house makes it even harder, but hold your excitement and trust me: chilled cake equals perfectly cut layers.

One more tip, this time about the dark chocolate ganache: miss Costigan suggests to use 2 teaspoons of (mild tasting) extra-virgin olive oil though it's an optional ingredient. Add it! It gives such a great glossy finish to the ganache. I'm sure you won't resist the temptation to dip a spoon into this luscious ganache before you start glazing the cake.

This is mom's favorite chocolate cake ever and obviously I had to bake it for her birthday last week. It was gone in two sittings and everybody wanted a second slice!

Here's to many more years baking Sacher cakes for my mother!!! <3