Торта Сахер / Sachertorte

The beginning of the story for the Sachertorte

Going to Vienna without to taste Sachertorte is the same like going to Rome and not seeing the pope… I didn’t see him, but let this remain between us. So… the cake is one of the most famous desserts in Vienna! The history dates from 1832, when it was created by 16 years old apprentice in the kitchen of Foreign Minister Klemens von Metternich Franz Sacher. The minister ordered a dessert, so delicious to satisfy the needs of his royal guests. The pastry chef in the kitchen was sick and the infant apprentice assumed this responsibility. He did not just fulfill the condition, but created a dessert that remained forever in the history of Austrian culinary… After he finished his teaching, Franz worked a few years in other countries before to return to Vienna in 1848 and to open a shop for delicacy. You guess, that the most intriguing product in the assortment was the Sachertorte…

Hotel Sacher

In 1876 Eduard Sacher , Franz’s oldest son, opened the hotel Sacher… the place where you can nowadays enjoy the original taste of the Sachertorte. But first I will tell you one more curious story… The hotel was kept up and developed mainly by Eduard’s wife-Anna. Its bloom is impressive in the early 20th century! You guess that it didn’t attract the guests only with the elegant halls, there was served the famous Sachertorte. But with Anna’s death the hotel bankrupted in 1934 and it was owned by the Gurtler family. It is so popular that during the year among the famous guests were Queen Elizabeth II, Indira Gandhi, John Kennedy, Leonard Bernstein and other…

The dispute for the original Sachertorte

One of the legends tells that their son was left without inheritance and sold the original recipe of the cake to Christoph Demel (an authoritative Viennese pastry chef, who taught the young Eduard Sacher). This has bred not just a conflict but a real war between Demel and hotel “Sacher” about who bakes the original Sachertorte. After all, after many cases, the court ruled in favor of the hotel. It had the right to name its cake “Original Sachertorte” and Demel’s – Demel’s Sachertorte.

A bite of delight

Today on every piece of cake is printed a chocolate seal of hotel Sacher Wien and it is added a certificate for the originality of the cake. The hotel is located in the center of the city, behind the opera-house and you can easily orientate to it or use Café Sacher Wien as a navigation reference. The queue in front of the confectionery is not small… we got one… All people were waiting calm for their turn to enter the famous confectionery. At the next entrance is the shop to the hotel from where you can buy sweeties in wooden boxes. The queues there are smaller. I personally recommend you to wait and enjoy the wonderful opportunity to eat an original Sachertorte in a traditional Viennese atmosphere in  the most suitable place for that… Bourgeoisie!