White Chocolate Sacher Torte

White Chocolate Sacher Torte is an inventive riff on the classic European cake. White chocolate sponge cake is layered with rum-spiked apricot preserves and iced with a silky white chocolate glaze. Decorate the cake with white chocolate shavings for a beautiful presentation.

I had the idea to make a White Chocolate Sacher Torte kicking around for quite a while. I thought the combination of white chocolate and apricot would be tasty. But, for some reason, the recipe was languishing on my list of post ideas. I just kept putting it off.

Well, I guess I must have had some intuition of how difficult it would be to get the recipe right. I had to bake the white chocolate cake 5 times before I finally got a result I was happy with.

Of course the basis for this recipe is the my classic Sacher Torte. I knew that I couldn’t simply switch out the dark chocolate with white chocolate and call it a day. White chocolate is quite different than dark chocolate and it behaves differently in recipes.

How to make Sacher Torte with white chocolate:

• Relative to dark chocolate, white chocolate has more fat and sugar.  So, I reduced the amount of butter and sugar in the recipe to offset the white chocolate.
• Unlike dark chocolate, white chocolate is not acidic. In cake batter, an acidic ingredient will help the proteins to set more quickly. My first few test takes had the batter separating into 2 layers before the cake was baked.
• I reduced the number of eggs in the white chocolate batter. Fewer eggs means less liquid and protein in the batter.
• I also slightly increased the amount of flour (more starch) to help the batter gel before it could separate. 
• The cake layers are moist and tender with a distinctly white chocolate flavor.

Recipe Ingredients

• Cake flour
• Baking powder
• Table salt
• Unsalted butter 
• Granulated sugar 
• Eggs 
• Vanilla
• White chocolate 
• Apricot preserves 
• Dark rum
• Hot water
• Corn syrup

How to make a White Chocolate Sacher Torte:

• Allow the cakes to cool completely.
• Trim the browned edges off the cake for a nice presentation.

• Spread apricot preserves between the layers.
• Strain the preserves to remove the large chunks of fruit.
• Ice the cake with the strained apricot preserves.
• Freeze the cake for 30 minutes to set the preserves before glazing the cake.

• Make the white chocolate glaze.
• Set the cake on a baking rack over a clean sheetpan.
• Pour the glaze over the cake all at once and use an offset spatula to spread the glaze over the sides of the cake.
• Let the glaze set before moving the cake to a serving platter.

• Use a piping bag with white chocolate to pipe the traditional “Sacher” on the cake.

• Use a potato peeler to make white chocolate shavings to decorate the cake.

It only took about 3 pounds of white chocolate, several dozen eggs and many, many hours, but I can finally cross White Chocolate Sacher Torte off my “to do” list. 

If you love this recipe, I bet you’ll love my “White” Forest Cake too.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

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5 from 6 reviews

White Chocolate Sacher Torte Recipe

By: Eileen Gray

White Chocolate Sacher Torte is an inventive riff on the classic European cake. A light white chocolate sponge cake is layered with rum-spiked apricot preserves and iced with a sweet white chocolate glaze. Decorate the cake with white chocolate shavings for a beautiful dessert.

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Bake Time20 minutes mins

Chilling & Setting Time1 hour hr

Total Time2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

12 servings

US CustomaryMetric

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Ingredients

Cake Batter

• 6 ¾ ounces cake flour (1 ½ cups, see note)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 6 ounces unsalted butter (¾ cup, room temperature)
• 8 ounces granulated sugar (1 cup, divided)
• 6 large eggs (separated, room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 6 ounces white chocolate (melted)

Assembly

• 18 ounces apricot preserves (1 ½ cups)
• 2 ounces dark rum (¼ cup)
• 8 ounces white chocolate (chopped)
• 4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 ounce hot water (2 tablespoons)
• 1 ½ ounces corn syrup (2 tablespoons)
• White chocolate for decoration

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line the bottom of two 9"x3" cake pan with parchment paper, or butter and flour the bottom of the pans. You don't need to butter/flour the sides of the pans.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
  6 ¾ ounces cake flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon table salt
• Cream the butter and ¾ cup of the granulated sugar until light and aerated. Add the egg yolks and vanilla, mix until combined. Mix in the sifted dry ingredients, don't over mix. Whisk the white chocolate into the batter.
  6 ounces unsalted butter, 8 ounces granulated sugar, 6 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 6 ounces white chocolate
• Whip the egg whites to soft peak. Slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and whip to full peak. Fold the egg whites into the batter in 3rds, mixing until there are no streaks of egg white visible.
  6 large eggs
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until the middle of the cake springs back when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
• Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a cooling rack until completely cooled (see note).

Assembly

• Stir the rum into the apricot preserves.
  18 ounces apricot preserves, 2 ounces dark rum
• Using a serrated knife trim the top of the cakes so they are flat. Place one layer onto a cardboard cake round (it makes handling the cake easier). Spread 3/4 of the apricot mixture onto the bottom layer and place the other layer onto the cake.
• Strain the remaining apricot preserves into a clean bowl to remove the chunky bits of fruit. Ice the top and sides of the cake with the remaining apricot preserves. Place the cake in the freezer for at least 30 minutes while you make the glaze.
• Microwave the white chocolate in 15 second increments until melted. In a separate bowl, melt the butter with the hot water and corn syrup. Stir the warm butter mixture into the melted white chocolate until it's smooth.
  8 ounces white chocolate, 4 ounces unsalted butter, 1 ounce hot water, 1 ½ ounces corn syrup
• Remove the cake from the freezer and set it on a cooling rack set over a clean sheet pan. (If you are using a cardboard cake circle trim the excess so the board is the same size as the cake.) Starting at the center of the cake, pour the glaze all at once over the cold cake. Use a small spatula to spread the glaze over the top and let it fall over the sides of the cake. Use the spatula to fill in any gaps on the sides. You must work quickly before the glaze begins to set.
• For the traditional design, pipe the word "Sacher" onto the cake using melted white chocolate. Use a potato peeler to make shavings from a bar of white chocolate. Sprinkle the shavings around the top edge of the cake. Allow the glaze to set completely before moving the cake to a serving platter.
  White chocolate for decoration
• Store and serve at room temperature. The assembled cake will improve for a day or two after being iced as the apricot preserves absorb into the cake.

Equipment

My Book

KA Stand Mixer

9″ Cake Pan

Cooling Rack

serrated knife

Offset Spatula

Cake Boards

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Notes

If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.

The layers can be baked a day or two before assembly, or can be made several weeks ahead and frozen.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 589kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 133mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 719IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 1mg

Have you tried this recipe?Mention @eileen.bakingsense or tag #bakingsense!