Vienna's Iconic Chocolate Cake 

For another Chocolate cake recipe and the history of Birthday cake check out this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ENJbVgjFwF0.htmlsi=qzjY4cYtGCD2GAqI Don't forget to Like and Subscribe, and see some of you at the next Book Tour stop! LINKS TO THE TOUR (Reservations required at some events) Oct 19, 7pm ET -- Atlanta/Decatur, GA Eagle Eye Bookshop eagleeyebooks.com/event/2023-10-19 Oct 23, 6:30pm CT -- Chicago/Evanston, IL Bookends and Beginnings www.bookendsandbeginnings.com/event/tasting-history-max-miller

Gotta love Max visiting Vienna and putting on his best social graces, only to return home and casually mention he cooked a better Sacher cake than the two cafes that claim the original recipe, thus unwittingly declaring war on the Republic of Austria

If you go to Vienna and don't order 4 pastries every meal, you are doing it wrong.

I made a Sachertorte once for my ex husband's grandfather, who was originally from Vienna and came over during the war. It was one of my greatest compliments as a cook to hear him say, "Mr. Sacher himself couldn't have made such a delicious cake!" I always think of him when I see this scrumptious treat.

Max, thank you for your selfless sacrifices in the pursuit of knowledge. Ordering four desserts per meal in Austria must have been a terrible fate to endure. I am glad you survived the ordeal! I appreciated the history lesson as well. The Austrian Supreme Court Sacher case was the first attempt at true torte reform.

Man, the photo of all the people gathered around the book and translating it is so wholesome.

OMG This is my grandmother lost recipe down to the jam. I have been looking for it for years. Thank you Max.

I wanted to make the recipe and transcribed it in a google doc so I decided to add it to comments to make it a bit easier if anybody else wanted to try it out too. :) Cake: 150g (10 ½ tbsp, about 5.3oz) bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao) 2 tsp vanilla 150g (10 ½ tbsp) unsalted butter ½ tsp salt 150g (¾ cup) sugar 6 egg yolks 6 egg whites 150g (1 ¼ cups) sifted flour Glaze: 80g (about 3 oz) chocolate* 150g (¾ cup) sugar 115g water (½ cup) Other: About 1 cup (roughly 340g) apricot jam Directions for the cake: 1) Melt chocolate over double boiler 2) Cool slightly, beat in butter until smooth 3) Add egg yolks and beat until combined 4) Add the sugar in thirds and beat for 4-5 minutes once fully added until smooth and light 5) In a separate bowl whip egg whites to stiff peaks 6) Gently and gradually fold in the whipped egg whites until almost no streaks remain 7) Gently fold in the flour about a third at a time until just fully combined 8) Pour batter in a 9” springform pan that has been lined with parchment paper and smooth the top 9) Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit (175 degrees celsius) for 30 minutes 10) Let cake cool for 10 minutes in pan before inverting on a rack to finish cooling completely Directions for glaze: 1) Melt chocolate the same as before 2) In a separate pot dissolve 150g sugar in ½ cup or about 115 grams of water and bring it to a simmer 3) Add the chocolate to the pot of simmering sugar water and mix until smooth (about 5 minutes). It will separate at first but will eventually come together with enough stirring Directions for Assembly: 1) Warm the apricot jam and pass it through a sieve to ensure it is smooth and spreadable 2) Slice the cake in half and spread half the jam on one of the halves before stacking the other half on top 3) Spread the remaining jam on the top layer of the cake 4) Pour over and carefully spread the chocolate glaze on top of the layered cake after it comes together Serve with unsweetened whipped cream and enjoy :) * I couldn't find an equivalent for tablespoons of chocolate that made sense, so instead I opted to add ounces as many baking chocolate bars are sold in amounts listed in ounces

I also heard rumours, that they kept the typical dryness until today - which could be easily be overcome with modern ingredients - was because of the worldwide shipping. Since they mostly ship der cakes, they had to make sure, they arrive well and in a similar condition as in the Cafe. By keeping it dry, it took much longer to get rotten and arrived in a more "fresh" condition. And after living in vienna for about five years, I can say: the best Sacher cakes are the ones, that don´t claim to be the original. Also for another austrian themed dessert-video: Salzburger Nockerl.

“Always have more chocolate than you think you need” -Max Miller This is the most important life advice in history

Congratulations on approaching two million subscribers! It's been so great to watch your channel grow.

Honestly - Austria deserves its own series of videos. There are so many delicious cakes and cookies, not to mention the soups and boiled dishes with meat. Amazing video, thanks for the info!

The best Sachertorte, I have eaten is handmade by my mother. And the cake is never dry, but deliciously soft. The combination of chocolate, apricote jam and cake is pure heaven. Advise from an Austrian, make yourself a Sachertorte, you won’t regret it. Greetings from Vienna 🇦🇹😊

unsweetened whipped cream with pastries and cakes is so underrated

My grandparents brought us a sacher torte one year for the holidays when I was maybe 8. The leftover box became 8 yo mes treasure box and still holds all my tiny treasures. Since then, my grandma made it every year (a version with toasted ground hazelnuts) she passed on Friday so this video was a nice little surprise.

Every time Max Miller smiles... an angel gets his wings.

What a lovely episode, and a YES to the "great Prato" every time! As an Austrian: I hardly know people who really like the "original" Demel or Sacher Sacher Torte, usually the recipe is tweaked to get a less sweet, less dry version. Yours looks perfect, I definitely have to make it with the Prato recipe soon. PS: Congratulations on your pronunciation, the hints of Austrian German put a smile on my face. PPS: By definition, a Viennese waiter is annoyed, no matter what or how much you order.

Thank you Max for having the valentry to put yourself in the line of duty and trying all those cakes for us in Vienna.

As a poor student in uni, a colleague, who had rich parents, would come to mine once a week and bring two slices of sachertorte and I'd make some strong coffee. It was one of my rare treats which I am reminded of every time I see this in a cafe.

I have been living in Vienna for well over a decade now, and I learned quite a lot! Also, your German pronunciation of all the terms is pretty much spot on, with one exception: we actually do pronounce the final e in Sachertorte.

This is hands down the best channel about the history of food I've ever seen, I'm glad to live in a timeline where this exists. Your work is simply impecable, Max! Love it with all my heart!!

As a viennese person I don’t like Sachertorte that much, because like you said it’s often just too dry. However my grandma makes the best Sacherschnitten! So basically Sachertorte in the shape of brownies. I believe she adds some ground hazelnuts to the dough and a lot of selfmade jam under the chocolate glaze, which makes it juicer. I love her variation, she must use a similar recipe to yours because it’s not dry at all. And for Easter she makes Sachertorte in the shape of a lamb :)

My best friend, who is a professional pastry chef, made me a Sacher cake on my birthday some years ago, she knows I'm an absolute fan of chocolate and she made it all from scratch for me, it still to this day THE BEST CAKE I'VE EVER HAD, Thank you so much for remind me of it!

For the yolk pronunciation-I think either is fine, it just depends on your region/accent. Imo one of the hardest aspects of English is not just how inconsistent our pronunciation rules are, but how much they can vary from place to place. I imagine it’s especially tricky for a German speaker, since it’s one of those languages where every single letter gets pronounced

as a Dutch person my dad used to make this every single birthday, with layers of whip cream (and very Dutch chocolate sprinkles) and also apricot brandy and apricot spread. It was by far my favourite cake ever and never knew it was from Vienna till a year or so ago, no idea why my dad or his mom started making it so often but its a lovely cake for sure

I am Austrian and while I don't live in Vienna, I had many Sachertorten in my life bacause you can get it pretty much at every cafe. Your description of the Hotel Sacher Sachertorte sounded exactly how I would describe the typical "bad" Sachertorte.

Desperate to remove the taste of liver, Max chose a chocolate cake for his next piece! 😂

You know what, I am a HUGE, lifelong Beatles nerd, It is a rare moment when I actually learn something new… and I was not expecting to have a new piece of trivia under my belt, from a RU-vid cooking channel of all places, but here we are! So THIS was the chocolate cake in a bag! Now I have to try it.

I am 81years old. My grandmother was born in Vienna in 1882 and died at the age of 96. She bequeathed me her recipe for sachertorte. Ground almonds and breadcrumbs. NO FLOUR!! I tried the Sachertorte at Sacher 's in 2008. My Granny's was infinitely better!!

I graduated as a pastry chef in Budapest in 2021, and Sachertorte was one of the things we had to bake during the final exams. We only applied one layer of jam and the chocolate glaze had a slightly different composition, but otherwise it was the same recipe. Fascinating to see how history carries on. Great video as always!

fun fact: Schlagobers is just the normal Austrian word for whipped cream, it's not unique to the Sachertorte but rather the general term for whipped cream

Fun fact: I'm a descendant of Demel family which I learned a few years ago, visited Vienna and went to cafe Demel where staff was very nice and let me see their museum part, also I ate some amazing pastries there 😋

Fun fact! There is an area in Austria called the Wachau where, in summer, apricots grow in huge quantities and are used for wonderful dumplings, liqueurs, schnapps and more.

If you're ever in Poland for a food history investigation reason (or just visiting), go to restaurant called Epoka. The owner/main chef is a food history buff and the restaurant is themed around old Polish recipes (though with a modern twist).

I absolutely love the idea that max collects viewers all over the world and can go on exploration tours all over the world always having translators...

I am Viennese and I absolutely love Sachertorte! (which is more pronounced tor-tay rather than tort btw). But the sort-of-too-hard glacing has a charme of its own - it's a nice counter texture to the soft (and ideally not too dry) inside of the cake - it's like having a cake and a piece of chocolate at the same time. and the Marillenmarmelade (apricot jam) is the extra beauty, like the third corner in the the triangle of cake-glacing-jam. slightly less sweet / more acidic apricot jam works best! edit: this is more a general view on how and why I like Sachertorte and not to defend the Sacher-Sachertorte (which doesn't really suck, but there are much better - but also worse - ones to be found).

Getting to have dinner with a bunch of fans, and then getting their help in translating an old language in a cookbook is SO COOL

Thank you for dedicating a whole video to one of our staple desserts here in Austria

I am from Vienna, and while I certainly prefer getting this cake from other cafes in the city than from the house Sacher, it is important to keep in mind that their claimed "original" recipe is created for preservation I am sure. The super thick chocolate crust rather than a traditional smooth coating gives stability, and the cake itself is rather dry so it doesn't become soggy. I am not sure if this is for accommodating the tourists taking the Sacher OG cakes as a souvenir to their homecountry, but I remember that they preserve for quite long. I don't think this has been confirmed by Sacher itself, but my social circle agrees that there must be a reason that their cake version is so different from other Austrian establishments. So, I am sure your home-baked version is very enjoyable! :) Love your videos

And Max is now on Austria’s Most Wanted List!😲

I had this as a wedding cake decorated with fresh flowers. The wedding was at an exclusive boutique hotel with a ridiculously luxurious restaurant, and they provided all of the catering. I asked if they could do the cake too. The pastry chef was right on the edge of an “absolutely not” until he heard what we wanted. Turns out his grandmother in Austria sent them an authentic Sacher Torte every Christmas when he lived in Germany. He was so touched and happy. The guy absolutely went to town on that cake and it was so beautiful.

First time I'm commenting here, with a tale about my mother's experience with this delicious cake. My mum and dad were in Austria in 1971, years before I was born. My dad was from Austria so he wanted to show his Swedish girlfriend to his parents. Among the things she got to eat was this cake from the hotel where it was baked. My mum wanted a slice to bring home to her parents so they made a little packet for her. All went well as they made their way back to Sweden, until they came to the Swedish border customs. You see, the Swedish board for agriculture at the time wanted to know ALL ingredients in the cake, and Hotel Sacher has a recipe which is top secret. They went back and forth on this matter for four weeks, with the poor cake frozen at the customs. When they got to bring it home it was stale and old, but still rather tasty.

Living in Vienna, the best Sacher Torte you can get is in the small bakeries, where they use their own (usually great-grandma's) recipe. As you noticed yourself by making your own 🙂At the Cafe Sacher the Torte is seldom fresh these days - they freeze it - and that makes it dry and the coverture hard.

I love that you had to be in Vienna to find the antique bookstore, to find the recipe, to tell us the history. That is dedication beyond compare! And much more interesting too!

My grandmother made these all the time at expert level. It‘s a unique treat.

Being from a country in Scandinavia, it is very common to have unsweetened whipped cream with Chocolate cake, it adds to the flavour makes it richer.

Made a more modern version for my German class in college for extra credit and it is really good, especially when u mix in a peach/apricot brandy

This episode brings back such sweet memories for me. When I was a child in the late 60’s - early ‘70’s my parents took us (5 kids) on a few trips to Europe. We traveled around in a VW van they purchased and stopped in Vienna for hot chocolate at Demels. Thank you for the reminder. Lovely episode.

Max, I absolutely love that you found a 19th century cookbook and then had a group of people translate it for you, over dinner. I would be so happy to find such a book and then be a part of such an activity- such a nerd! Also, having a few cakes with every meal, perfect! Will definitely take note. And finally, I am going to make this cake, using your recipe, because I am not a fan of dry cakes, nor with chocolate that is hard to cut.

Man, I almost want to shed a tear at how good at cooking you've become. I remember in the early days you seemed a little lost around the kitchen. Now you're hitting perfect 10s on pastries? Well done Max, you've done me proud.

I genuinely gave a Ric Flair "WOOOO" when Max's cake was better than the more genuine (and probably extremely expensive) versions from Vienna. 👏👏👏

I used to work at a cafe baking cakes from scratch and there was this book that was gifted to me "cakes from scratch" and I haven't been able to find the book again but I remember my favorite cake recipe because it was a huge hit at the cafe it's the exact same as this recipe except it has ten egg whites and six yolks and 1/4 cup of espresso and one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and one teaspoon of cinnamon. The name of the cake was Aztec chocolate cake . I used chocolate gnoche for the topping sometimes or just powdered sugar with cinnamon in it. The cake always came out creamy and decadent with the espresso.

You could make an episode on Linzer Torte next if you developed a taste for Austrian cakes! 🤤

That smile and little finger he puts up when he declares his cake the best absolutely warms my heart. Like he's whispering a secret, but to all the viewers.

When I was in Vienna, I made a point to try as many different kinds of Sachertorte possible. Some had more layers of cake, some had fewer. Others used a slightly tartar jam. It was a lot of fun :-) The book “The Discovery of Chocolate“ gives an imagined story for how it was invented: The protagonist uses apricot jam to cover up a less-than-desirable chocolate cake, but it’s a hit, and Herr Sacher runs with the idea.

If anyone is interested in the recipe in writing form (like I did): Venetian chocolate cake Cake: 10 ½ Tbsp (150g) bittersweet chocolate (> 60%) 2 Tsp vanilla 10 ½ Tbsp unsalted butter ½ Tsp salt ¾ cup (150g) sugar 6 egg yolks 6 egg whites 1 ¼ cup (150g) sifted flour 1 cup apricot jam Chocolate glaze: 80g chocolate ¾ cup (150g) sugar To do: 1. Melt chocolate over double boiler 2. Once melted, take off and whisk in the butter 3. Whisk in egg yolks until combined 4. Whisk in the salt & vanilla 5. Whisk in the sugar, in about ⅓ at a time. Mix for 4~5 minutes 6. Separately, whisk egg whites until fairly stiff peaks are formed 7. Add egg whites, about ⅓ at a time, and fold in using a spatula. Keep doing until no white streaks remain, but gently, preserving the air in the mixture 8. Add in flour, about ⅓ at a time, and fold until no flour clumps are seen 9. Line a 9" spring form pan at the base with parchment paper. Pour in the batter, smooth the top 10. Place into a 350F oven for 30 minutes 11. Once done, allow to cool inside the pan for 10 minutes 12. Remove the ring, flip the cake, remove the base pan and allow the cake to cool completely. Jam: 1. Smoothen the jam by warming it up on the stove, pass it through a sieve, and allow to cool Glaze: 1. Melt chocolate over double boiler 2. Mix 150g of sugar with ½ cup of water and bring to a simmer 3. Add the chocolate, and keep stirring over a medium-low heat until fully combined (about 5 minutes) and smooth Assembly 1. Cut the cake into 2 pieces 2. Apply ½ the jam on each layer 3. Apply the glaze, allowing it to drip down the side

As a Viennese person, I actually found this super interesting. I can't really eat jam because of texture but Sachertorte is one of the times where it doesn't bother me. I prefer to eat it with whipped cream, if possible unsweetened - it really balances out the density and sugary glaze. Did you try any Punschkrapfen while you were there? They're kind of a seasonal staple in Austria and shops will often change the iconic pink icing to other colours to match the season - orange for Halloween, white for Christmas, pastels for easter - and pipe little decoration on top.

As a lifelong Viennese, for me this video is by far the most personal of yours yet! I'm glad you seem to have enjoyed your trip, and all things considered you did great on your pronunciation! I was especially impressed with Schlagobers and Metternich's name! Just a small tip for the future, since you seem to be trying to get things as correct as possible: A more accurate pronunciation of Torte would be "tor-teh" in Hochdeutsch, with the Ts morphing more into Ds the more Viennese you get. They're two distinct syllables. I hope this helps in case you cover any more Torten in the future! Regardless of my nitpicking, I loved the video and I agree with your assessment that Original Sachertorte doesn't hold a candle to a great homemade one, or ones made by smaller bakeries/confectioneries!

The cream you always get with it is rather important. The classic way of eating the cake is having some cream on every bite you eat. That compensates for the dryness and is basically the intended experience. At least I've never seen anybody eat Sacher Torte in Vienna without doing that, including myself.

I just followed this exact recipe and it turned out AMAZING. I did get some complaints about the cake being too dense, but I guess it's because I was clumsy with the egg whites and ended up beating all the air out. The chocolate glaze method works surprisingly well, I was skeptical about mixing water with chocolate at first, but it turned out better than any chocolate glaze that I've ever made😂 will be using this glaze for my other cakes

Describing unsweetened whipped cream as something unique has to be the most American thing I've ever heard

I've had the privilege of eating one of these actually in Austria, albeit nowhere near Vienna, and I can say Max, definitely nailed it. From side project for covids sake for a Disney employee, to two mil subs. What an amazing journey you are on man. Proud of you 😎

Sacherica is my father's favourite cake, and my mother always makes it for his birthday. It's NOT dry. And based on this old recipe (kudos for all the work done!) it is not meant to be (I knew it!). The balancing of layers and apricot jam is perfect and nothing extra is needed. Now, I admit I have never tried it in Vienna, but I heard three or four accounts of people who did, and they were all very unimpressed.

It's always nice to see my country represented in these videos, glad you like the pastry/cakes :D If you ever make it to Austria again, I can highly recommend you try a 'Linzer Torte' if you haven't had one yet^^ It has a recipe from the mid 17th century and is a bit more complex to make than Sacher Torte, but it's such an amazing cake in my opinion :D Greetings from Austria (Linz)!

Great video as always. Besides being a lover of historical recipes, I happen to also be a linguist, and regarding your comments at 5:00- the English word "yolk" is (in the General American dialect) traditionally pronounced /joʊk/ (and is therefore homophonous with the unrelated word "yoke"). With that being said, a pronunciation of the word as /joʊlk/ or /jɔlk/ (i.e. saying the 'l' sound) is possible in some dialects/sociolects. It tends to be common only among younger speakers (and by "younger" I mean people under 40 years old or so). This is actually an example of a gradual trend that can be observed in the evolution of our language- orthographic/etymological pronunciation slowly becoming common (that is, saying a word the way it is written, even though the spelling may only indicate the way the word was pronounced in a previous historical stage of the language). The same phenomenon can be observed/heard with the similar word "folk" which is traditionally pronounced /foʊk/ (as if it were spelled "foke"), and should therefore rhyme with "yolk." Indeed, with "folk," the trend has already spread further than with "yolk"- more and more speakers (even older people) now say it as /foʊlk/ or /fɔlk/, even though this pronunciation was only common several centuries ago- in the Old English and Middle English eras- when English pronunciation was closer to its Germanic roots. (compare to modern German "Volk," with a similar pronunciation and meaning). Another example (which, being a food is also particularly relevant to you, Max) is "almond," which is traditionally pronounced /'ɑ.mənd/ (without the 'l' sound), but is often now pronounced as /'ɑl.mənd/ (with the 'l' sound) by a great many speakers (and not at all considered strange). Another which I believe is still in the initial stages of change is "salmon," traditionally pronounced /'sæ.mən/, but now just beginning to be pronounced as /'sæl.mən/ by some speakers (mostly young people), but this one is sometimes considered "odd" when heard by others who are not accustomed to the orthographic pronunciation. The list can go on and on, but it is a natural part of language- all languages evolve and change over time- so who knows? Maybe some day in the near or distant future people will start saying the word "walk" as /wɑlk/ and "talk" as /tɑlk/.

And that actually is the sad thing about Sacher torte, that the one you make at home often times is better than the more "official" ones you get at some bakery... or in your case even compared to the really really official ones from Vienna!

I feel like every waking moment Max isn't cooking must be spent working out, or he's got the greatest metabolism ever.

I like that you cultivated such a wholesome community.

My dad has diabetes and this is his favourite cake. I'm gonna try and make it with sweetener, see how it goes. Thanks for the amazing video, Max- you are great, as always. I'm getting your cook book for Christmas and also buying it for my mom ❤❤❤❤

Love the dedication to research, Max! Buying an antique book in a language you don't even speak just to make a cake is real dedication. Also I never heard about using stiff egg whites as a rising agent so that's cool to know.

I grew up eating Sachertorte from Bavarian World in Reno (my mom is German), and the cake there was so moist and dense, and delicious, that I've been deeply disappointed with the "official" recipes, which I have tried to make twice now. I will have to try this variation! Thank you for having done this video!

I'm relieved to know it's not just me. I also tried the Sachertort at the Hotel Sacher and found it very dry and hard to swallow without the cream and coffee. Thanks to your excellent video, I now understand that the cake is dry by nature and not due to over-baking 👍😅

Thank you for sharing the original recipe! We have a favourite family cake that we make for every birthday and other such occasions. It looks like a bit of a twist on the Sachertorte. The sugar, egg yolks, beaten egg whites are the same, but instead of the chocolate there is cocoa, instead of flour there is semolina, and to make it less dry there are apples (very finely grated). We use red currant jam instead of apricot, the chocolate icing is made by melting dark chocolate and butter, sometimes also with heavy cream, that depends on the mood. We put the "Schlagobers" directly on the cake, a lot of it. It's so good and light that it instantly disappears as soon as it appears on the table :D

Ok. I ordered a sachertorte for my family to be served for my mom’s birthday (one can schedule the shipping date online), but I’m now tempted to make this recipe to serve alongside the “original Sachertorte” to see which everyone likes better. Considering you noted how dry the hotel’s cake is, and how tough the chocolate glaze, I’m guessing your recipe would be the better of the two.

One of my favourite cakes! Seeing you do a video about the cake which dominated the Hungarian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Dobos torte, would be super interesting!

Love this channel! So professionally done! Entertaining and humorous while educational at the same time. Deserves to be on PBS!

Max, here a recipe by Mary Hahn from 1912: "Echte Wiener Sachertorte" (True Viennese Sacher Cake) 150 g butter plus 150 g sugar, beat fluffy 150 g bitter chocolade molten with 1 spoonfull of warm water, add cautiously 9 egg yolks added beat 9 egg whites and add cautiously sieve 150 g flour and add bake 30-40 minutes at 160 °C. (practically a mousse au chocolat with added flour, baked instead of cooled) when cooled remove it from the form and let it rest for 2 days (will render the cake less dry inside) In this recipe the cake is covered with hot apricot marmelade only on the outside and then, when the apricot glazing is dry, the final chocolade glazing is performed: an alternative chocolade glazing: 140 g bitter chocolade molten on a steam bath without added water add 80 g sieved icing sugar plus 2-3 egg whites to a thick consistency cover the cake let it dry in the oven at 60°C for a little while.

I like to think of English as the “close enough” language when it comes to pronunciation because there are just so many different places where it’s spoken.

19:00 the reason the one you have is softer is because it is fresh. In my experience all of these places that have a reputation for some iconic dish can't handle the scale of the popularity of the dish. So they make in very large batches and store in freezers. They then thaw this out to serve. This means they always have a large ready supply that is resilient to seasonal demand. What it also means is that you always get an old, dry, hard cake, I've seen this all over the world. So yeah, its good to know that its a good cake made fresh, and that may be the most fresh it will ever be eaten.

AHHHHHH!! I studied abroad in Vienna during college and I’ve never forgotten it!! I so wish I could return! I’m ready to be hit with all the feels in this video 🥹🥹

Have you read A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles? An historical foodies delight! The entire story takes place in the Metropol Hotel spanning decades, including WWI. The hotel has 3 restaurants. The book has a recipe for Latvian stew! Love the book, the history, and THE FOOD 💚👌💚

I'm so proud of Max for being so proud of himself. 😂❤ Ya done good, kid!

My mom always put apricot jam in the middle of her chocolate cake. She also made her frosting with less butter and some water. I wonder if she ever knew about this cake or how this habit got into our family. 🤫

Man I love your channel, thank you for being so normal and a genuine dude on camera Max

I just love Mozart’s piano concerto in d minor at the part when you are tasting your cake.

We as a family ordered a slice of alot of the gorgeous cakes, accompanied by all the different types of hot chocolate and coffee drinks. The waiter was absolutely enchanted with us and we with him and all of the bakers who prepare this delicious fare. Going to Vienna was well worth it.

My godfather that lived in Austria actually sent me one of these cakes as a wedding present. I was neet to remember him today when watching this episode! Thank you!

I've been doing this exact recipe for years and it's always delicious 😍

I lived in Germany in the ‘80s. I had my share of Sachertorte. I don’t remember it ever being dry.

My grandparents retired to Vienna and I grew up eating sacher torte there... or my mom would make it at home. Like you, my grandmother also swore that both Demel's and the Hotel Sacher weren't that good. She preferred the recipe my mom used (which I still have in a cookbook called "The Cooking of Vienna's Empire" by Joseph Wechsberg-a Time-Life book, lol).

Anyone else hoping to see this recipe in Max’s next book??

The sachertorte is my all time favorite cake! Thank you for covering it

I like how there's a Manner wafer bar casually sitting there in the background - a popular Austrian confection, also from Vienna.

This is why I love Tasting History. Some videos you’ll get the history of a very specific food that I’ve never even heard of and others you’ll get the history of the Olympics it’s awesome!

This brought back memories! I am not a cake person, but when I was younger, I would make cakes if pressed hard. And my grandmother loved Sachertorte. Her first husband was Austrian, and she had feelings for a lot of traditional Austrian food. Not for that guy at all. So I made her the Sachertorte. Back then, I preferred to just coat it with pure dark chocolate, but I feel it has become harder to find the quality of chocolate needed for that, so it may make sense with the approach you used here. It's as if the current trend is for very bitter and texturally softer chocolates has eliminated the light, crispy type of dark chocolate I could find 30 years ago. Demel used to have some of the best. Maybe I should make a Sachertorte. Recently, I've made mousse au chocolat a couple of times, to my childrens' huge surprise, I stopped doing sweets when no. 1 was born. They would love a cake!

This cake is so rich in its history and how it became a cake.I’d love to try this cake ever.It’s so fascinating to know that it’s based upon a hotel in Vienna and originated from there and it’s a famous dessert from that country too.

My absolute favorite. Takes me back to my days in Trento Cafes. Had to visit the Sacher Cafe during my stay in Viena

Hey it is a video about the city I work in and live a few km from. But the Sachertorte may be the mainstay there are other deserts in Austria that you can't overlook. The Esterhazy-Schnitte, Apfelkuchen, Apfelstrudel, Annatorte, Ribiselschaumschnitte, Schomlauer Nockerl, Cremeschnitten, Schoko-Moussetorte von Oberlaa, Zitronentarte and many many more. Also there are some fun sweet main dishes in Austria like Kletzennudel, Kaiserschmarren and other fun stuff.

"Always have more chocolate than you need." Words to live by.

Schlagobers!! We all need more schlagobers.