SACHER
TORTE AND THE CAFÉ LIFE
Austria’s Most Famous Sweet Treat
The
Hotel Sacher is the legendary 5-Star hotel of Vienna founded by Eduard
Sacher
in 1876.
Under the management of his wife Anna the Hotel
Sacher became the center of aristocratic international Vienna, housing
world diplomats and royalty. In the depression of the 1930s after the
fortunes of the aristocracy ran dry, the Sacher fell on hard times, acquired
by the Gürtler family. The Sacher was famously featured in post
World War II from of Graham Green’s novel The Third Man, set in
a Vienna divided into occupation control zones in which the Sacher itself
was designated as an international zone (see Third
Man's Giant Ferris Wheel).
Today the Sacher Hotel has returned to its luxurious glory. On the walls
beyond the lobby and opulent lounges can be viewed the photographs of
famous movie stars and world figures who have stayed. You might even
catch a visiting Saudi Prince or nephew on tour of modern Vienna.
But before
the hotel came the cake and the cafe. In 1832, a 16
year old Franz Sacher was working as an apprentice court chef when the
Prince Metternich, holding a party ordered the a special desert be made
for his illustrious guests. The head chef was out sick that day and the
clever young upstart created an iced chocolate cake layered with apricot
jam. The torte was a big success. Franz Sacher went on to finish his
apprenticeship under the Count Esterhazy, then opened his own café,
serving his creation to the public. On the success of his Sacher Torte
cake, he opened several more cafes in Vienna and in Salzburg. His son
Eduard expanded on the success of the cafes and opened the hotel.
The
merely common traveler may not be able to afford to stay at the grand
and
elegant
Sacher Hotel, though a treat for a night or two might
be worth a splurge to stay in a room occupied by the likes of Pavarotti,
Liza Minelli or King Edward the VI, but the “World’s Most
Famous Dessert Cake” is
well worth taking home or enjoying in the elegant surroundings of one
of the traditional Sacher Café coffee houses, either in Vienna
near the grand opera or in Salzburg along the river side. It’s
true, you can now get a “SacherTorte” in almost any café in
Vienna (see Traditional
Cafes of Vienna) but only the Original Sacher
Torte can be had at the Sacher Café or sweet shop located at the
corner of the Vienna Sacher Hotel. Okay, maybe not exactly true. A son
of Eduard Sacher sold the recipe of 
his grandfather’s tart to Demel’s
ZuckerBacker pastry shop. The rivalry came to a court case, ultimately
settled in not quite Soloman-like fashion. Demel’s recipe varies
in the location of the jam, allowing the tastebuds of the beholder to
decide
between
the winner of “Original Sacher Torte” or the “Original
Eduard Sacher Torte” competition. Though Demels provides the entertainment
of a window to watch the chefs creating pastry cakes in the kitchen,
the Sacher Cafes offer the tradition of the Viennese coffee house lifestyle
of the Austrian aristocracy of a century past. And only Sacher’s
Torte is in the Guinness World Record Book for a single cake of about
11 feet in diameters baked at the Vienna Hotel Sacher in 1998.
The traditional
way to enjoy the Original Sacher-Torte is with a dab of unsweetened
whipped
cream, complemented by a “Wiener Melange” coffee
(coffee with milk). The Original Sacher-Torte or the variety of Sacher
sweets and chocolates can be purchased to take home in one of four Sacher
Confiserie shops in Vienna, Salzburg, Graz or Innsbruck, or can be ordered
online and shipped around the world in its presentation wooden gift box
through the Sacher website.
Though
the best place to enjoy the famous treat created on whim of an Austrian
prince is right from a table in
in a Sacher Cafe in the colorful Imperial cities of Vienna or Salzburg,
watching the grand parade of life pass by, perhaps drawn by a liveried
royal horse carriage - or a Sacher
delivery
truck. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Find best hotel and travel deals in Austria on TripAdvisor
Web Info
Original
Sacher-Torte
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission. Courtesy Austria Tourism.
SEE ALSO:
VIENNA'S IMPERIAL BUTTERFLY HOUSE
ZUM
SCHWARZEN KAMEEL
MOZART
HOUSE IN SALZURG
MOZART
MURDER MYSTERY
CAFE
TOMASELLI - SALZBURG
SALZBURG ADVENT CHRISTMAS MARKETS
