The Cake Wars of Vienna: Sacher Hotel or Cafe Demel?

You may find yourself in Vienna facing one of the most serious pastry dilemmas the city has ever had to deal with: Where does one find the original Sachertorte?

There are a couple of pieces of information necessary for understanding this debate. First, what is a Sachertorte? This cake is a perfectly balanced, not too sweet, light but moist chocolate cake with a thin layer of ganache at its center and a rich layer of chocolate covering it, underneath which lies a thin layer of apricot jam. It is the best of confections, a standard with an elegant twist that takes it up a notch. This begs the next question, where do you find this cake?

If you are in the city center, your choice is clear, but complicated. You have to go to either the Sacher Hotel or Café Demel. Why this is so complicated requires an understanding of the great cake schism of 20^th-century Vienna. It is said in 1832 young Franz Sacher invented the torte in a pinch and his grandson, Eduard, took this recipe to Café Demel in the late 19^th century before moving on to start the Sacher Hotel and serve it there.

Debate regarding who had the rights to the “original” began in the 20^th century after the death of Eduard and his widow. Whether the Hotel Sacher could claim to have the original recipe when Franz Sacher worked at Demel while developing it was unclear. An agreement was finally reached that Hotel Sacher serves “The Original Sachertorte” and Café Demel servers “Eduard-Sacher-Torte.” Though the debate still rages on, it would seem Demel’s employment of the original pastry chef and its legal possession of the original recipe give it an advantage.

Of course, in the end, the best way to determine whose is better is try both!