Viennese Delight

I was fortunate enough to go on a tour of Europe a few weeks ago. I started in Amsterdam, going south to Italy and up north again to London. We didn't really taste a lot of local food because it's a tour and the food are provided for us. And, it's almost always Chinese food. I swear I'm so sick of Chinese food. But it's interesting to me that the Chinese community exists in every country. From Innsbruck to Lucerne and Venice, you'll find a Chinese restaurant. But that's not what I'm talking about. I want to talk about a cake, from Austria.

It is called the Sarcher Torte. Sarcher is a family name who made this cake and torte means tart. It's originally created by accident, when Franz Sarcher needed to step into the chef's place (he was an apprentice) and created this chocolate tart with apricot filling. I was traveling to Innsbruck when our tour guide said this tart is pretty famous in Austria. We headed down to Cafe Sarcher to try this delight.

The Innsbruck Cafe

At first, I didn't feel right walking into the cafe. I'm a tourist, Asian, don't speak the local language. The cafe wasn't busy at the time so I went on and sat waiting to be served. I was immediately struck by the way they presented the menu book. It's hung in a little stick on the center of the table. It also described the story of the Sarcher Torte invention. Thankfully, the waitress understands English as I ordered the famous tart and a cup of hot chocolate.

While I waited, I soaked in the atmosphere. It's bright; they let the sun shines in through a typical European big window. The walls were lined with pictures of the famous people who dined at the place, both at the cafe and the hotel. (There is a Hotel Sarcher in Vienna and Salzburg).

The famous Sarcher Torte and Hot Chocolate

The moment of truth arrived and we were all very excited. It looked so good. I absolutely love the chocolate top. The apricot filling was terrific, if you love that kind of thing in your cake. I personally don't like a fruity ingredient on my chocolate. It is a fine cake, but it didn't make me crave for more. I do crave for more chocolate, which tasted heavenly in a form of my hot chocolate. I could drink that everyday and never get bored. It's rich; not too sweet. Just perfect.

One other thing. It's quite affordable, under 10 euros :)


always,
Hana

photos courtesy of Cafe Sarcher