C hocolate, jam, flour, eggs and but- ter. The ingredients are common, but the way they are fused is not. It must be perfect. And that choc- olate glazing must shine, glistening. No matter how much the cynic within you insists it’s just an ordinary cake, the Sa- chertorte is much more than that: a cult brand and 200-year-old recipe, currently locked in the safe of Vienna’s Hotel Sacher. It all started in 1832, after the Con- gress of Vienna, when Prince Metternich, the imperial chancellor, ordered the prepa- ration of a feast to remember, emphasis- ing that the desserts should be particular- ly exceptional. The head chef fell ill and all responsibility fell on his assistant, the then 16-year-old Franz Sacher. Sacher coped skil- fully, using ingredients that were already available in the kitchen. When his choco- late cake with apricot jam and whipped cream was served at the banquet, it proved an unprecedented success, the creation of something new and unexpected on the map of Viennese desserts, which had until then only featured creations made of mar- zipan. Four years later, Franz’s cake began being served in the imperial court. In the years that followed, there was everything – from a war that was not at all sweet be-
sions of taste in Vienna, is her majesty the Wiener Schnitzel! In this city of history and culture, there is even a story behind this breaded cutlet which, as with the Sachertorte, grew into a debate about its origins. The most com- monly mentioned version is that this veal cutlet is actually a Milanese dish that orig- inated in Italy (known by the name ‘Coto- letta alla Milanese’) due to a need for osten- tation. Namely, in the 16 th century a need emerged to make savings, leading to gold- flaked gourmet food being banned. Chefs – still wanting to conjure up the impres- sion of gold – decided that from then on meat would shine with breadcrumbs, in- stead of gold. This recipe was brought to Austria by Field Marshal Radetzky, where meat from the shoulder was cut into thin slices and breaded, and in the year 1900 it gained its official name – the Wiener Schnit- zel. The fame of the Wiener Schnitzel is on- ly matched by that of Figlmüller Restau- rant, where they serve schnitzels so large that they literally extend beyond the edg- es of the plate. Sachertorte and Wiener Schnitzel are just the start of Vienna’s gastronomic story, which also includes apple strudel, Mozart- kugel balls, wurst sausages etc.
tween the Demel pastry shop and the Sa- cher Hotel about the ownership rights of the name ‘Original Sachertorte’, to an al- most 20-year-long debate over whether the proper version of the cake is made with jam in the middle or under the glaze. The court eventually ruled that only the Ho- tel Sacher was permitted to use the name ‘Original Sachertorte’. The biggest challenge is said to be making the chocolate glaze, which is cre- ated using three types of chocolate, while the finished cake should never be kept in a fridge and should always be served with unsweetened whipped cream, traditional- ly alongside “Wiener Melange” (Viennese Blend), the city’s famous coffee with milk. Another everyday dish that you shouldn’t miss in Vienna, and which is al- so prepared in many Serbian houses and bars, but has a completely new dimen-
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