31.10.15

NOT SOME SACHER


Just mention chocolaty cake and people think of the much celebrated Sachertorte. The claim is the Sacher is a refined, elegant combination of chocolate flavours. In reality it is a dense, overly rich chocolate cake, heavily coated with chocolate glaze and served with whipped cream. Just thinking about it gives me heartburn.

This cake is not some Sacher. The rich ganache layer perfectly compliments the delicate texture of the cake and the half-sweet apricot jam unifies them. The cake holds its own without enhancements, such as ice cream, whipping cream, sauce or fruity toppings. This is my answer to the Sacher.

Notes:
 Use good quality cocoa and pure chocolate. Use only cake flour.
*Use half-sweet apricot jam. Regular jam is overly sweet and low sugar jams are runny. This pretty much rules out commercial jams. I made apricot jam from CERTO Light Crystals. For 6 cups of prepared apricots only 4-1/2 cups sugar is required. From fresh or frozen apricots, you can also cook up an old-fashioned jam with considerably less sugar.

NOT SOME SACHER
Chocolate Piskóta:
8 eggs separated
8 heaping Tbsp sugar
5 heaping Tbsp cake flour
5 heaping Tbsp cocoa
Filling:
about 1 cup half-sweet apricot jam [do NOT use commercial jam see * notes above]
Chocolate Ganache:
3 oz pure bittersweet chocolate
6 oz pure semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup salted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces

To Make The Chocolate Piskóta
  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and lemon coloured.
  • Whisk in the cake flour and the cocoa.
  • Stir the flour mixture into the cake batter.
  • Wash the beaters and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  • Gently fold egg whites into the mixture.
  • Line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
  • Lightly spray with cooking spray.
  • Divide the batter between the prepared pans and gently level the tops.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the middle springs back.
  • Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
  • Remove cakes from cake pan and peel off the parchment paper.
 To Make The Chocolate Ganache
  • Chop the chocolate into small, matchstick-size pieces and place in a large stainless steel or heat-resistant bowl.
  • Bring the cream to a rising boil and pour, all at once, over the chopped chocolate.
  • Stir until the chocolate is melted and completely smooth with no lumps.
  • Quickly stir in the softened butter, until completely dissolved.
  • Set aside to thicken to a spreadable consistency.
To Assemble The Cake
  • Piskóta is a foam cake and the top is rounded. Either trim off the top or trim off the rounded edge on the side. It is easier to trim the top flat.
  • Place one cake on a platter.
  • Spread the top with half-sweet apricot jam.
  • Position the second cake on the top.
  • Spread a thin layer of half-sweet apricot jam on the top and the sides.
  • Spread the top and the sides with 1/3 of the chocolate ganache and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  • Spread half of the remaining ganache on the top and the sides and return to the fridge to for 15 minutes.
  • Spread the remaining ganache on the cake, smoothing out the impefections.
  • Chill for 15 minutes, slice and serve.

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It began with posting a few recipes on line for the family. "zsuzsa is in the kitchen" has more than 1000 Hungarian and International recipes. What started out as a private project turned into a well visited blog. The number of visitors long passed the two million mark. I organized the recipes into an on-line cookbook. On top of the page click on "ZSUZSA'S COOKBOOK". From there click on any of the chapters to access the recipes. For the archive just scroll to the bottom of the page. I am not profiting from my blog, so visitors are not harassed with advertising or flashy gadgets. The recipes are not broken up with photos at every step. Where needed the photos are placed following the recipe. Feel free to cut and paste my recipes for your own use. Publication is permitted as long as it is in your own words and with your own photographs. However, I would ask you for an acknowledgement and link-back to my blog. Happy cooking!