Specialty Cakes: White Chocolate Sachertorte

There's a lot to be said for a classic dessert. Sachertortes are often a dark chocolate dessert, but if you change it up a bit and use white chocolate, you can have a delicious and satisfying treat that everyone will love. This is my younger son's favorite dessert, so we make it often.

You can change the jam, if you like. Try strawberry, apricot, blackberry, or even blueberry for an entirely different flavor. If you don't want to make your own icing, you can simply warm up some store bought icing so you can pour it over the cake. It will still taste amazing.

Ingredients

For the Cake

6 oz white chocolate

6 large eggs, separated

⅔ cup sugar

1½ tbsp vanilla sugar

⅔ butter, softened (do not use margarine)

¼ icing sugar

1⅛ cup flour

For the Filling and Icing

⅔ cup raspberry jam

1 sheet gelatine

6 oz milk chocolate

½ cup whipping cream

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spray the inside of an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Alternatively, you can grease the pan with butter and dust with flour to prevent the cake from sticking. Chop the white chocolate and melt it. You can use the microwave or a pan on the stove, but I prefer to use a small chocolate melter or even fondue pot. You can use whatever you like as long as the chocolate is melted until smooth. Be careful with white chocolate. It's easy to overheat it. Warm it until just melted. Set it aside to cool for a moment.

Whisk the egg whites (the yolk should be in a separate bowl) until they are semi-stiff. Add sugar and vanilla sugar and continue to whisk until glossy and stiff peaks form. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the butter and icing sugar until the mixture is creamy. Add the egg yolk and whisk. Now add the white chocolate and whisk until smooth. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Add flour and fold in again. Gently. You don't want to break down the egg whites.

Pour the batter into the springform pan. Smooth the top and bake for 25 minutes, then turn down the oven to 340°F (170°C) and bake for a further 35 minutes. Do not underbake. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Do not try to remove from pan until the cake has cooled completely.

When the cake is cool, cut it in half horizontally. Set the top half aside. Warm the raspberry jam until you can pour it. Spread about a third of the jam on the bottom half of the cake. Place the other half of the cake on top, almost making a jam sandwich. Brush the remaining jam over the rest of the cake. Don't miss any spots. This will keep the cake moist and enhance the flavor.

Now make the icing. Soak the gelatine sheet in cold water. While it's soaking, chop the milk chocolate. Add the chocolate to the cream and heat until the chocolate melts, being careful not to warm it too much. You want it melted enough to pour, but that's it. As soon as the chocolate is melted, remove from heat and take the gelatine sheet out of the water. It should be pliable and soft by now. Add it to the chocolate, whisking it all together. Allow the icing mix to cool for about 20 minutes, then pour it over the cake.

Let the icing set for at least 6 hours. Overnight is better. When the cake is set, you can decorate it if you like, or you can just leave it covered in chocolate. In the pictures here, I have used a set of plastic stencils to make a bunny pattern. My younger son loves bunnies, and this cake was for him.