Sachertorte

Sachertorte is a Chocolat cakechocolate, invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 in Vienna, Austria.
It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties.

The Original Sachertorte is only made in Vienna and Salzburg.

The cake consists of two layers of dense, not overly sweet chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle and dark chocolate icing on the top and sides.

It is traditionally served with whipped cream without any sugar in it, as most Viennese consider the Sachertorte too "dry" to be eaten on its own.

You should visit this original Sachertorte site, I am sure gonna try to make them again and again untillmine is looking as/almost good as the one i see in their place.

Some Two weeks back I read a riview in Deeba's blog about the book 'INDULGE - 100 Perfect Desserts' by Claire Clark, it was such a good read that i fell in love with the book and seconds after reading it I ordered the book :-)

And this sachertorte is the first cake I made from that book.

When Deeba got the book her her son 'Now you have 100 more desserts to try Mama'!! her daughter stopped & stared at every page, falling at her feet begging me to bake stuff out of it.

Deepa I am borrowing your kids to my place.

Ingridients:
125 gm/4 1/2 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
125 gm / 4 1/2 oz caster sugar
6 Medium eggs seperated
125 gm/ 4 1/2 oz dark chocolate ( 70% cocoa solids) melted
125 gm / 4 1/2 oz plain flour
a pinch of salt
200 gm apricot preserve ( I used double as hubby likes a lot of preserve in between this particular cake than a very thin layer)

For the glaze

115 gm / 2 oz caster sugar
6 tbsp of water (Next time I might use 4 tbsp of water)
115 gm / 4 oz dark chocolate ( 70% Cacoa solids) finley chopped/

Preheat the oven to 180°c/ 350°F / Gas mark 4. Butter a deep 20 cm/8 inch cake tin and line the base with baking pardchment. Butter the paper , then dust the paper and the sides of the tin with flour.

Cream the butter and three guaters of the sugar together untill light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then stir in the melted chocolate. Sift the flour and gentley fold it in, using a large metal spoon.

In a seperate bowl whisk the eggwhites with the remaining sugar and the salt untill they form a stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the cake batter 2 tbsp at a time. Be carfeull not to over mix, as this will make the cake heavy.

Trabsfer the cake mix into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour., intill a skewer is inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leave the cake in the tin for 15 minutes before turning it upside down on to a wire rack to cool completley.
Leave the cake overnight if is is possible so that the cake is easier to handle.
I didn't do it, i made the cake in the morning and kept made the ganache in the evening and spread it over the cake and then left the cake the whole night to harden it up.

Cut then cake in half horizontally and place the bottom on a half . Bring the apricot preserve to the boil in a small pan and strain it through a fine sieve. Brush a layer of preserve over the bottom half of the cake. Sandwitch the top and bottom half together and preserve down gentley to level the top.
Place the cake on a wire rack and brush the sides and the top with the remaining strained preserve.

To make the glaze.
Put the sugar and the water in a pan and stir well to dissolve the sugar, then bring to boil iver a medium heat. Remove from the heat and immediately add the chocolate. Stri gentley to form a smooth, bubble free glaze.
Fast or heavy mixing will create too many air bubbles and give an unpleseant finish to your torte.
Immediatelt pour the glaze from the cake abnd working quickly, use a paletter knife to push the glaze from the center of the cake over the sides.
To give a smooth finishe try to do this with as few movements of the palette knife as possible.
Leave the glaze to set ( i did overnight) before cutting and serving the cake.
To give a smooth finish
Sending this to Meeta's MM which is hosted at Aparna's , the theme is High Tea this month

Scampi with Linguini

I had plans to post a wonderful yummy cake today, but I have not even starterd writting the post, so I thought why not do this delicous pasta dish which I don't need too much writting.

This is one of thsoe recipe I saw while looking through yummy dishes on the net.
Looks really simple and easy to make but so so falvourful and delicious.
I was not wrong at all, I woudn't mind eating this yummy dish anyday.
The original recipe you can find here

Sending this to Presto Pasta Nights

1 pound linguini ( i used normal pasta)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large shallot, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional ( i used atleast a tsp, we love the heat)
20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined, tail on
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

Directions
For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguini. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.