millivanilli

I would rent a car, instead of training. Public transportation isn't really bad in Austria, but being independent is easier with a car. I grew up close to Salzburg and later in downtown Innsbruck. For an incredible meal, visit Gebrüder Obauer (two master chef brothers) in Werfen, close to Salzburg. The BEST Kaffeehaus, with the most awesome chocolates, is Cafe Braun in Hallein. A must IMO. In Innsbruck I would recommend walking through the old city and you will find quite a few nice restaurants. I haven't been there so long, so giving a true recommendation is hard. Gasthof Löwenbräu has decent food in a great location, with a huge outdoor seating area alongside the river Inn.

Mario Pojer makes outstanding wines, his sparkling wine is very good also. I am fortunate to have a father, who is a close friend of the Pojer family, thus having easy access to all their wines. Definitely NOT throwaway stuff

My German bread baking book has a troubleshoot section, describing everything that could possibly go wrong with the loaves and the reasons. Split sides - according to the Bäckermeister/author - are caused by too little water in the dough (too stiff), underproofing, or too little heat from below. Overproofing would cause the crumb to make irregular, large bubbles or cracks in the crust (also caused by various other reasons) I have been successfully baking rye breads the way I like them for 6 months now, even though I can get decent rye bread in Germany. But I prefer all rye, all sourdough leavening (no yeast!!) and traditional bread spices - caraway, fennel, anise, coriander. I make a fairly wet dough, let it rise until it is about 1 1/2 its original size, which normally takes around 3-4 hours. Then I shape it and let it rise in wooden bread baskets until almost doubled, another 2 hours at room temperature. The wet dough is easier to keep under control shapewise in a form and ensures a higher loaf.

My German bread baking book has a troubleshoot section, describing everything that could possibly go wrong with the loaves and the reasons. Split sides - according to the Bäckermeister/author - are caused by too little water in the dough (too stiff), underproofing, or too little heat from below. Overproofing would cause the crumb to make irregular, large bubbles or cracks in the crust (also caused by various other reasons) I have been successfully baking rye breads the way I like them for 6 months now, even though I can get decent rye bread in Germany. But I prefer all rye, all sourdough leavening (no yeast!!) and traditional bread spices - caraway, fennel, anise, coriander. I make a fairly wet dough, let it rise until it is about 1 1/2 its original size, which normally takes around 3-4 hours. Then I shape it and let it rise in wooden bread baskets until almost doubled, another 2 hours at room temperature. The wet dough is easier to keep under control shapewise in a form and ensures a higher loaf.

I wish I had read all replies before posting ;-) And I wish I could edit my post... Anyway, one of the Cafes slices the cake and adds a layer of apricot jam, the other just covers the cake. I cannot remember from the top of my head, but I believe Demel is the one that doesn't slice, thus claiming to have the older version of Sacher's recipe. There are quite a few legends about how the original recipe ended up with Demel, but a court-ruling had decided that only Sacher may name its torte original.

Here in Germany powdered sugar does NOT have cornstarch. I know you can get that in the States, too, but am not sure about the name, confectioner's sugar maybe? It is different than castor sugar, so I would not sub it, although you could probably melt castor sugar with the melting chocolate, decreasing the amount a little.

ITA on the foot grater, yikes! I have several, courtesy of DH, the gadget guru. He initially - upon my request - brought home one that is like the original one with the round black handle (40000 series, I believe it is). Later he bought several others, wider ones like the 38000. My favorite and thus most used is still the skinny one. I like it because you move the grater over the food and not vice versa, and it is thin enough for even the tiniest limes. I admit that the handle looks very cheap, but it is comfortable to hold.

As Samaki said, I do have a pretty authentic recipe by one of Austria's best-known patissiers from a very traditional Konditorei (Zauner in Bad Ischl, the late Empereor Franz Josef was a regular there). There are no nuts or almonds in Sachertorte, that's for sure. SACHERTORTE (for a 9in pan) 130g Couverture (I would not use anything darker than 55 or 60%) 130g butter 40g powdered sugar 5g vanilla sugar (sub 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 1tsp sugar) 1 pinch salt 6 eggs, separated 180g castor sugar 130g flour Melt the chocolate over a hotwater bath, stirring constantly. Let cool to around 35C. Mix the chocolate with the soft butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Cream until light, then add the yolks, one after the other. Whip the whites with the castor sugar. Fold the whites into the chocolate mix, do not overmix. Very gently fold in the sifted flour. Bake at 375F (190C) for about 60 minutes. Immediately turn the pan upside down onto paper covered with castor sugar and let cool competely. Store in the fridge until the next day. Remove from the pan and - if making the "newer" version, slice the cake horizontally. If sticking to the original recipe skip that step. (Legend has it that this was an emergency measure, because the cake had turned out to be too dry.) 350g apricot jam Brush the apricot jam onto the cut surface. Assemble the cake again. Bring the remaining jam to a boil and thinly coat the entire cake, top and sides. Set the cake onto a wire rack and cover with Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows). Let the glaze harden and clean the bottom edges with a small knife, before setting the Sachertorte on a cake plate. Serve with sweetened, whipped cream on the side. CHOCOLATE GLAZE (covers one 9in cake) 250g sugar 120ml water 300g couverture /chocolate (again, 55-60% works best) Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Add the chopped chocolate and boil til it reaches 110C (or 88R). The mixture will bubble heavily. Now comes the fun part: pour the glaze through a sieve into a clean pot, not too large. Tablier 1/3 of the glaze on a marble board until it lightens in color. While doing this it is crucial that you keep stirring the remaining glaze in the pot to avoid the forming of skin. Add the tableed glaze, and repeat the process until the glaze has the right consistency. It should pour thickly, but smoothly. I have translated this recipe from German and hope to have done it all right. Please excuse me for not converting the measurements. Good luck with the recipe, and let me know about the outcome.