Tortes of Austria

Cakes are a big deal in Austria. There are konditoreis (pastry shops) everywhere. And it would've been a shame to leave all those cakes uneaten at the end of a meal, wouldn't it?

Cakes at the Cafe Dommeyer:

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A particularly appetizing Erdbeer (strawberry)-Souffle Torte:

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The cake we actually ate at Dommeyer. It was a nutty chocolate layer cake. I can't remember the name though:

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Cakes at the Cafe Demel:

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The last one is not a cake, but marzipan.

The official cake of Vienna is the Sachertoarte, which is this amazingly rich and dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam. It turns out that a while back there was an issue about its origins. Both the Hotel Sacher and the Cafe Demel claim to have invented it. So Sacher wanted it to be called the Sachertorte while the Deme wanted to call it the Demeltorte. Obviously Hotel Sacher won the lawsuit. Now Hotel Sacher now proudly drives their Sachertorte Van all over Vienna to deliver these delicious cakes:

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And yes, there are Sachertorte Vans. Apparently the tortes can be delivered all over the world. Best present ever? Perhaps.

And now Cafe Demel has to call their cake Demels Sachertorte. Sad.

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On my last day there, Chris and I finally shared a piece:

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It was amazingly delicious. The chocolate layer cake's texture was less moist than the conventional American chocolate cake and more crumbly. But the flavor was rich and chocolate-y but not overly sweet. The layer of apricot worked perfectly with the dark chocolate flavor despite my initial doubts about the flavor combination (I'm usually not a huge fan of fruit preserves with chocolate).

PS Let it be known that I will happily provide my mailing address should you feel the inclination to send me a Sachertorte.