Sacher Torte

A gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free sacher torte {or sachertorte} has been on my mind for some time now. It just happens to be one of my favorite classic cakes -- chocolate and apricots make one amazing flavor pairing. Someone recently shared an old recipe of theirs for chocolate apricot balls and it seemed like a new and genius idea to combine those two flavors -- it sounded delicious and I was curious why I haven't tried that before. And then I realized I did actually try chocolate and apricots together in sacher torte -- one of my favorite cakes of old. And then I wondered why I haven't made an allergy-friendly one yet for the blog... So it's been on my mind for some time and I just never got around to executing it until recently.

This is one of those recipes I visualized in my mind the moment I thought of making it. In case you're wondering, that's sort of how my creative process works a lot of the time. I see or think of a dessert concept I like and it usually just has to come together in my mind -- I instantly see what ingredients I'll be using, how I'd adapt certain classic things, and how I'd tackle the trickier issues. If I get excited enough, I run to the kitchen and knock out a dessert like that in an instant. That's how some of my best creations get made. In this case, because it involved a longer baking process and I had no access to the kitchen it just sort of got shelved and then forgotten... Well, forgotten it is no longer! :)

This cake turned out to be everything I like about sacher -- a good moist and sturdy chocolate cake, with a nice chocolate apricot frosting, and of course the delicious apricot jam filling. It looks taller than a traditional sacher torte, but that's because I made it as a 6" cake. If you want a more classic look, double the recipe and make in a 9" pan.

My favorite part of this cake though was being able to rebuild the cake from the bottom up into a dessert that is truly gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and completely refined sugar-free without sacrificing the look or flavor. The jam and frosting was perhaps the trickiest part because apricot jam that is not full of sugar is extremely hard to find. That is how this raw apricot jam recipe was born -- make it in just minutes and enjoy it in this cake without worrying about the white sugar overload from the commercial spread options. I also then incorporated it into the frosting, which added in a lot of flavor and cut out on some of the heavier oil ingredients. I'm so pleased with how that aspect turned out all-around.

Sacher Torte

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★★★★★ 4.6 from 11 reviews

• Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: two layer 6" cake
• Category: Cake
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Dessert

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Description

Layers of moist chocolate gluten-free cake with apricot jam sandwiched between. Vegan and refined sugar-free.

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Ingredients

Cake:

• ½ cup brown rice flour
• ½ cup cacao or cocoa powder
• 6 tbsp tapioca starch
• 6 tbsp sweet sticky rice flour {aka glutinous rice flour or mochi/mochiko flour}
• ½ tsp guar gum
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup applesauce
• 1 cup maple syrup {or agave, etc.}
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup olive oil {or melted non-dairy butter or any cooking oil of your choice}
• ½ cup water

Apricot Jam:

• 1 batch of this raw apricot jam

Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 ½ cups of the apricot jam
• ½ cup olive oil {or cooking oil of your choice or melted non-dairy butter}
• ½ cup maple syrup {or agave, etc.}
• ½ cup cacao or cocoa powder
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp salt

Optional Toppings:

• cacao nibs, dried mulberries, chopped or shaved chocolate, etc.

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Mix brown rice flour, cocoa powder, tapioca, sweet sticky rice flour, guar gum, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add in all remaining cake ingredients and and mix with a mixer to combine everything thoroughly.
3. Transfer batter into prepared cake pan. Tap the pan on the counter lightly to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 25 minutes {until a skewer inserted down the center comes out dry}. Remove from oven and chill on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the cake out onto the cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
4. Prepare the apricot jam as according to the directions in this recipe.
5. Once the cake is completely cool, place one of the cake layers on your serving plate. Spread half of the jam mixture on top and cover with the second cake layer.
6. Place remaining apricot jam and all the other chocolate frosting ingredients into a blender and blend into a smooth frosting. This will make a thick chocolate frosting. If you want it runnier, add more oil. Frost the cake and decorate with any desired toppings. Place in the fridge for about an hour to set a little and enjoy!