Vienna's Sacher-Torte - recipe still secret 175 years on

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2007

VIENNA (AFP) — What may be the world's most celebrated chocolate cake, Vienna's Sacher-Torte, is feting 175 years since its creator produced a recipe that still remains as closely guarded as a state secret.

"Aside from me, only my pastry chef and his assistant know the recipe, which is kept in a safe," said Elisabeth Gurtler, the dynamic 57-year-old businesswoman who took over the reins of the Hotel Sacher group in 1990, following the death of her husband.

"All that I can say is that we use butter, sugar, eggs, flour, chocolate and jam," she said coyly, adding that ingredients are "all natural" and all from Austria -- except for the chocolate that comes from Belgium and Germany.

The story started in 1832 when the Austrian chancellor at the time, Count...