Viennese Sachertorte

Directions
Preparation:30min  ›  Cook:1hour  ›  Ready in:1hour30min 

1. Cake: Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C. Use a 23cm springform cake tin. Line base of tin with baking paper.
2. Break up chocolate. Melt in a bowl placed over simmering water. Using an electric mixer, beat the chocolate, butter, icing sugar, vanilla essence and egg yolks in a medium bowl until well combined. Sift flour and baking powder then stir into the batter. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff and fold into batter with a metal spoon.
3. Place batter in the prepared cake tin and smooth the top, building the mixture up a little higher towards the edge. Bake for 60–70 minutes. Remove from oven then let stand for 5 minutes. Remove the outer ring of the cake tin.
4. Cover cake with baking paper. Weigh down with a small board and leave to cool completely. Turn onto wire rack and remove tin base.
5. To Serve:Strain jam into a saucepan, add a little water and heat gently. Spread evenly over cake and allow to set.
6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl placed over simmering water and spread over the cake. To prevent cracking, lift the cake onto a serving platter before the chocolate hardens.