On a recent trip with my daughter to Trieste, the north Italian seaside city on the border with Slovenia, I thought it would be nice to take her to Café Sacher for some sachertorte, which has been in culinary fashion since its creation in 1832. Trieste, once a thriving Austro-Hungarian port, is as reminiscent of Vienna as it is of Italy, and to eat this famous Austrian cake in the establishment of the same name would, I thought, be an experience my chocolate-loving daughter would remember. Sachertorte is nothing fancy compared to other Viennese cakes – merely a dark sponge with some apricot jam filling and coated in a layer of smooth chocolate, but that plainness is part of its charm.
Much of life, perhaps most of it, is a constant cycle of hype and disappointment
In Café Sacher itself, I guessed, it was bound to be rich, moist and, in its own simple way, luxurious.
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