The sweetest battle

The Hotel Sacher, on the corner of Philharmonikerstrasse and Karntnerstrasse in the heart of Vienna, is so well known for its namesake chocolate dessert, the Sacher torte, that once some years ago a telegram from an American addressed simply to "Hotel Chocolate Cake, Vienna" was dutifully and without delay delivered to the place.

But the hotel's claim to be the sole purveyor of the "original" Sacher torte has not always gone unchallenged. Indeed, it took a seven-year court battle, dubbed the Sweet Seven Years War, to determine just who had the rights to this most Viennese of all cakes.

It all started back in 1832 when Austria's Prince Metternich ordered his personal chef to create a new dessert for an upcoming bash. Alas, the chef took ill and had to turn the request over to his apprentice, a 16-year-old named Franz Sacher.

The cake he created would ultimately establish his name alongside that of Johann Strauss as a Viennese icon. Embellished with apricot preserves and glossy chocolate frosting, it was a complete success.

Catapulted to fame, Sacher was hired by the royal bakery to the emperor, now Demel's, where his torte became the best seller. Years later his grandson would open the Hotel Sacher and continue the torte tradition there.

Thus it came to pass that two different establishments in what is arguably the torte-making capital of the world each allegedly produced the genuine Sacher torte. Inevitably, they wound up in litigation.

The case occupied the front pages of Austria's newspapers for almost a decade and went all the way to the Supreme Court. It ultimately rested on the question of where the apricot preserves were put in the cakes.

The Sacher slices its cake and puts a layer in the middle. Demel's does not. Determining that Franz Sacher's earliest recipe called for a split layer, the court awarded the hotel that still bears his name the right to adorn its product with a round chocolate seal proclaiming it as the "original."

But though the lawsuit is settled, the question remains: which of the two versions of the torte is superior? As a service to readers I recently journeyed to Vienna to find out.

After carefully controlled, repeated samplings at each of the pastry palaces in question, I've concluded that the court got it right. With its extra apricot filling, the hotel's version is moister. Its chocolate glaze was a bit thicker and richer too, I thought. And most decisively, unlike Demel's, the hotel routinely serves the torte with whipped cream. Case closed!

Sacher Torte

Though the original Sacher torte recipe is still locked up in a safe in the Hotel Sacher, this one, adapted from Rick Rodgers beautiful book, "Kaffeehaus," and based on one in "The Big Sacher Baking Book," is a close approximation.

Ingredients:

10 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, divided

9 tablespoons butter

1 cup powdered sugar

6 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups granulated sugar, divided

1 cup flour

1 1/4 cups apricot preserves

2 tablespoons rum

3/4 cup water

Directions:

Melt 4 and 1/2 ounces of the chocolate and let cool. Cream together butter and powdered sugar. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla. Beat egg whites and 1/2 cup granulated sugar to soft, shiny peaks. Stir one fourth whites into chocolate mixture, then fold in remainder. Fold in flour in two stages. Spread batter in 9-inch greased springform pan lined on the bottom with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees until tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan, then cool completely. Boil rum and preserves over medium heat, stirring often, until very sticky. Strain. Slice cake horizontally into two layers, leveling the top layer if necessary. Brush top of each layer with the apricot glaze, reassemble and brush sides with remaining glaze. Cool until glaze sets. Bring remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, remaining 6 ounces chocolate and water to boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring until mixture reaches 234 degrees. Cool one minute and pour over cake to completely coat. Cool until glaze is barely set and refrigerate at least one hour. Remove cake from refrigerator one hour before serving with whipped cream. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

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