If you read my post about the background of the Sachertorte you know that I am a little bit puzzled over the fame of the Sachertorte. However, after researching the story of the famous Viennese cake I had the urge to make my own Sachertorte. I made several Sachertorten in the past but it was never the Original Sachertorte*. For the icing I just melted chocolate and poured it over the cake. Sometimes I also coated the cake with marzipan before the icing. I know it is such a crime but it is never too late to learn from mistakes. 
Even though I had the urge to make the original Sachertorte I did not had very high expectations.
One Sunday morning I decided to make the Sachertorte for afternoon tea and I got up very early in the morning. I was excited to make the Sachertorte with all my history knowledge in mind but at the same time I was not that enthusiastic about a dry chocolate cake result. However, I also kept in mind that there were some delicious Swedish cinnamon buns in the freezer that I made the other day. If my Sachertorte was a disaster I could always defrost a few cinnamon buns. The afternoon was the moment of truth and something happened that I never ever expected. The Sachertorte was amazing, perfect and looked just as the cake were from the Hotel Sacher or Demel, except it tasted better. The cake was not dry at all (although it is not the moistest cake), not overly sweet, the chocolate icing was perfect and the apricot jam complimented the chocolate cake perfectly [thanks to my mom’s delicious homemade apricot jam]. I was shocked (in a good way) and of course all Sunday I was a very delighted about my Sachertorte result. It was a true bakingwithmarianne cake moment. 
* “Original Sachertorte” is a little bit misleading because the “original” recipe of the Hotel Sacher is still a secret. But I promise you if you make this recipe it taste just as (even better) the Sachertorte you can eat at Hotel Sacher or Café Demel.

Makes one cake (22 cm / 9 inch diamter)

INGREDIENTS

Cake

  • 140 g unsalted butter, soft
  • 110 g powdered sugar
  • ½ of a vanilla bean
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 6 egg whites
  • 130 g dark chocolate
  • 110 g granulated sugar
  • 140 g all-purpose flour

Glaze

  • 200 g apricot jam
  • 200 g fine granulated sugar
  • 125 ml water
  • 150 g dark chocolate (60%)

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 170°C.
  • Line a cake pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the cake pan.
  • Whisk butter and powdered sugar creamy. Add the seeds of the vanilla bean. Add one egg yolk at a time. Mix until everything is well combined
  • Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Pour the melted chocolate into the mixture.
  • Beat the egg whites until the whites form soft peaks. Then add gradually the granulated sugar and beat until stiff.
  • Sift the flour.
  • Fold the egg whites and the sifted flour into the mixture.
  • Pour the batter into the cake pan.
  • Bake the cake for 10 minutes. Leave the door of the oven open a crack. After ten minutes close the door of the oven and bake the cake for another 20 to 25 minutes.
  • If you insert a toothpick and it comes out clear the cake is done. Or you can press gently the surface of the cake and if the cake springs back the cake is ready.
  • Let the cake cool completely.
  • Heat the apricot jam over medium heat [until it is liquidly], then strain the jam through a sieve.
  • Remove cake from the cake pan and cut the cake through the middle.
  • Transfer the upper part of the cake on a plate or cake stand. Prepare a few strips of parchment paper and tuck the strips under the edge of your cake.
  • Spread 2/3 of the apricot jam onto cake half on the plate. Put the other cake half onto the half.
  • Coat the outside with the remaining jam and let the jam dry.
  • In the meantime prepare the chocolate icing.
  • Place sugar and water into a medium saucepan and cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool down for 4 minutes. This step is really important because if the sugar water is too hot you will ruin the chocolate. [I made the mistake].
  • Break the chocolate into pieces and add the chocolate to the sugar water mixture. Stir until it has a smooth texture. If the texture is too thick [mine was really thick] add more water and continue to stir.
  • Pour the icing over the cake and spread all around the cake.
  • Let the icing dry for at least 1 hour. Remove the strips of parchment paper.
The recipe is adapted from the book:  
"Süsses aus dem Sacher" by Christoph Wagner and Hotel Sacher, Pichler Verlag. 
1

While I was doing my research on the origin of the gugelhupf I came across a gugelhupf recipe from the pastry store Zauner in Bad Ischl. This gugelhupf recipe claims to be the gugelhupf that the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria used to have for breakfast. You can read my blog entry about the story behind the gugelhupf here.
The town Bad Ischl (located in Upper Austria) was the summer residence of the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria (1830-1916). Franz Joseph built a villa for his mistress Katharina Schratt (1853-1940) and the villa of his mistress was very close to the residence of Franz Joseph and his wife Empress Elisabeth of Austria (better known as Sisi and they got engaged in Bad Ischl). There was a secret path from his residence to the mansion of his mistress and it is said that he visited his mistress every day while he spent the summer months in Bad Ischl (in fact the relationship between Franz Joseph and Katharina Schratt was supported by Sisi).
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, 1898. His mistress Katharina Schratt.

During Franz Joseph’s daily breakfast visits his mistress made a gugelhupf or she ordered a gugelhupf from the pastry store Zauner. The inhabitants of Bad Ischl used to say after the emperor left the villa of his mistress in the morning time “Now the emperor just had his daily gugelhupf” (“Jetzt hat der Kaiser grad wieder sein’ Steinkogler Gugelhupf verspeist!”)

Bad Ischl during the k. und k. Empire. 
Who knows if this story is true or not and who knows if this is the original gugelhupf recipe of Franz Joseph but who does not like a good story, right?
I tried out the recipe and it turned out that this was one of the best gugelhupf I ever made: so moist and flaky and the right amount of sweetness. It is the perfect Sunday breakfast treat. I will never make another gugelhupf recipe than the Franz Joseph Gugelhupf recipe below. 
 Katharina Schratt and Franz Joseph in 1895.



Makes one gugelhupf

INGREDIENTS

  • 180 ml milk
  • 20 g fresh yeast
  • 350 g all-purpose flour
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 120 g granulated sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • Lemon zest of half of an organic / untreated lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
  • 100 g raisins
  • A handful of almond flakes
  • 1 tablespoon of unsalted melted butter
  • Powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

  • Heat the milk in a small saucepan until lukewarm.
  • Crumble the yeast into a big bowl. Pour the lukewarm into the bowl and stir until the yeast is dissolved in the milk. Add 1/3 of the flour to the yeast mixture and mix well. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm and draft-free place. 
  • In the meantime whisk butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg yolks and whisk for another minute; then add a pinch of a salt and lemon zest to the mixture.
  • Add the yeast mixture and the remaining flour to the egg mixture. Knead the dough with your hands until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too sticky add more flour.
  • Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let the dough risefor 30 minutes in a draft-free and warm place.
  • Butter and flour a gugelhupf mould. Sprinkle the bottom of the moulds with almond flakes.
  • Take the dough out of a bowl and knead on a well-floured surface. 
  • Roll the dough into a square (about 2 cm thick). Sprinkle the square with the raisins and cinnamon. Roll the square into a roll and place the roll into the gugelhupf mould.
  • Brush the surface of the gugelhupf with melted butter. Cover the mould with a kitchen towel and let it rest for about 20 minutes or until the dough has risen to the edge of the gugelhupf mould.
  • Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
  • Bake the gugelhupf for 20 to 25 minutes. After ten minutes baking time, check your gugelhupf. If the top is already golden brown, cover with aluminum foil.
  • Let the gugelhupf cool for 15 minutes. Remove from the mould and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
  • The gugelhupf tastes best while still warm (with butter and homemade jam).

Update: A few days after I wrote this blog entry I went to Baden (a little spa town outside of Vienna). Can you imagine what happened to me? While  I was strolling around the little alleys of the town I suddenly saw a little sign on a run-down building which said:"This is the Schratt House and here the actress Katharina Schratt was born". I was standing in front of the house a few minutes and the people who walked past me must thought I was a little meshuge. But I do not blame them because how could they know that I just wrote an article about the Franz Joseph Gugelhupf and his mistress Katharina Schratt? I did not know that Katharina Schratt was born in Baden and it was purely coincidence that I passed this house. For a moment (or two or until today) I could not believe the coincidence. Those moments make me happy. 
If you ever visit Baden (it used to be a famous spa town in the past, you can visit the Beethoven house where Beethoven wrote his 9th symphony) the "Schratt House" is located in the Theresiengasse (street number 1).
Sources:  
The photographs are taken from here, here, here, here and here. The gugelhupf photos and the photos of the Schratt House in Baden are taken by me. 
The recipe can be found here.
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It is blueberry season and I made a delicious blueberry gugelhupf (and a few jars of blueberry jam).
The main reason for using a bundt pan was to find an excuse to write about the history of the gugelhupf. If you have folowed me on this blog for a while you know about my bundt pan love affair. 
I might become a cake historian sometime in the future and I might be the first cake historian in the history of humanity. I might exaggerate (I am not even sure if the profession of a cake historian exists but do not worry I will invent this new profession). I blame my guglehupf delusion the current heat wave that is haunting Europe. 
If you do not care about cake history  - which I fully understand - jump to the blueberry recipe. It is a simple cake but I promise that you won’t be disappointed of this utterly delicious and moist blueberry cake.
As is often the case in history there are two legends of origins and nobody can really verify the truth.
Regarding the gugelhupf origin there are two stories as well. 
One story of the gugelhupf origin says that the Three Holy Kings were on their way home from Bethlehem and while they were travelling through the Alsace region which is located in Eastern France. The Holy Kings stopped in the little town Ribeauvillé where the residents were so delighted that they made a cake for them. A cake in the shape of a gugelhupf was made in honor of the Three Holy Kings because it should resemble the shape of the kings’ turbans. The French call their gugelhupf le kouglof.
A gugelhupf festival (Fête du kougelhopf) takes places in Ribeauvillé every year on the second Sunday in June in honor of the invention of the gugelhupf. I have to make a note in my cake diary about this special festival and one day I will visit this gugelhupf festival (I visited Colmar a long time ago which is just a few kilometers away from Ribeauvillé).


 The other legend of gugelhupf origin says that Marie-Antoinette brought the cake from Vienna to Paris and introduced the cake to the court of Versailles.
Before Marie-Antoinette brought the gugelhupf to Paris the history of gugelhupf goes back to the Romans. There is evidence that the Romans used gugelhupf pans (although we do not know if the Romans made gugelhupf cakes with yeast or eggs) because gugelhupf pans has been excavated in Carnuntum which was an army camp of the Romans and is located outside of Vienna. I think this is really fascinating that people used the gugelhupf pan 2000 years ago. It is believed that the gugelhupf shape symbolized the rotating sun for the Romans.
Over the years (hundreds of years) the gugelhupf tradition of the Romans got lost and first during the Biedermeier period (1815-1848) (during this time period the Sacher Torte started to become popular) the gugelhupf started to experience a renaissance. It was a cake for the poor people and for the farmers since the gugelhupf contained only ingredients which were available to farmers.
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria (1830-1916) made the gugelhupf socially acceptable for the bourgeoisie in Austria and the cake became even a status symbol of the bourgeoisie.
Franz Joseph of Austria used to visit his mistress Katharina Schratt - who was an actress – while he was at his summer residence in Bad Ischl. His mistress used to make a gugelhupf every day for Franz Joseph and in case her cake failed she ordered every day a gugelhupf from the pastry store Zauner (this pastry store invented the delicate Ischler cookies, my recipe is here).
This is how the gugelhupf became so popular and is still popular until today. Every bakery sells gugelhupfs in Austria and it is a popular treat for a Sunday breakfast.
There was never a single recipe for the gugelhupf. However, the traditional gugelhupf was always made with yeast. Nowadays there are a variety of different gugelhupfs. Yeast is still used for traditional gugelhupfs but nowadays baking powder is used as well. Before baking powder was invented eggs were used as leavening and raising agents. Hence, older recipes contain a lot of eggs. This is an intersting fact (at least I think so).

Makes one bundt cake (diameter 16 cm / 6 inches)

INGREDIENTS

  • 75 g unsalted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 200 g granulated sugar
  • 180 g pastry flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 100 g plain yoghurt
  • 150 g fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 175 °C.
  • Grease and flour a gugelhupf pan.
  • Melt the butter and let it cool.
  • Whisk eggs and sugar until creamy (until it has a pale yellow).
  • Mix flour with the baking powder.
  • Take 2 teaspoons of the flour and coat the blueberries with the flour. This helps that the blueberries spread out evenly in the cake batter and do not sink to the bottom of the cake batter.
  • Add the melted butter and the flour to the sugar-egg mixture.
  • Fold in the blueberries and yoghurt.
  • Pour the batter into the cake pan.
  • Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Put a toothpick in the centre of the cake; when the toothpick comes out clear the cake is done.
  • Let the cake cool completely. Carefully remove the cake pan.
6



Ever since I wrote the article about the Prinzregententorte I was curious about the history of the Sachertorte because I must admit that I did not have any background knowledge of it.
Most people who visit Vienna will most likely eat a slice of Sachertorte which is a chocolate sponge cake with a layer of apricot jam and a coated dark chocolate glaze.
Why is there such hysteria about a chocolate cake which everyone must eat while visiting Vienna because without doubt Vienna has many other delicate cakes to offer? Vienna knows its tourism business very well and knows how to sell the brand Vienna. This certainly had a decisive influence on the fame of the Sachertorte.
I spent quite some time researching about the Sachertorte because as you may know I take the history of cakes very seriously but do not make the mistake and take me too seriously. 
Countless of articles were and are published about the Sachertorte and one can find many blog entries about the Sachertorte but most of them are very superficial or written like a tourism advertisement. I tried my very best with my cake research which was such a pleasure. If you are a nerd like me and are interested in a cake story keep reading and I will let you in the story of the Sachertorte.

In 1832 Prince Metternich placed an order for a special dessert for himself and expecting guests. Unfortunately, the pastry chef of Prince Metternich’s court kitchen got sick and his 16 year old trainee Franz Sacher had to help out his master and took the challenge to create a special dessert for Metternich's guests. According to legend Franz Sacher consulted with his sister Anna and the young Franz Sacher decided to make a chocolate cake. Prince Metternich and his guests were very pleased with the dessert. And this is the beginning of the Sachertorte story.
But if this story is true is another story because Franz Sacher himself never claimed that he made this chocolate cake for the first time for Prince Metternich.
Years later the son of Franz Sacher, Eduard Sacher, became a pastry chef as well and he was trained at the pastry store Demel (k. und k. Hofzuckerbäckerei = imperial and royal pastry store). While Eduard Sacher was working at Demel he refined the chocolate torte of his father and the torte became the Sachertorte that we know today. Demel was also the first pastry store that sold the “Original Sachertorte”.


In 1876 Eduard Sacher opened the hotel Sacher and offered the Sachertorte there, too. Around this time the Sacher torte became more and more popular around Vienna. Eduard Sacher wrote a letter to the editor of the “Wiener Zeitung” (Viennese Newspaper) because he was furious that the Sachertorte was not mentioned in an article about world-famous Viennese cuisine. In the letter to the editor Eduard Sacher stated that the Sachertorte became a staple dessert and was on the everyday menu of the Austrian imperial family. Moreover, Sacher wrote that he has a kitchen with four employed people where the Sachertorte is exclusively made. Up to 400 Sacher torten were sold a day and sent to Paris, Berlin, London and by sea (Sacher probably meant the United States of America). This letter to the editor was published in 1888.

Chocolate seal of Hotel Sacher that is on the 
top of every slice of Sachertorte.
Four decades later - in the meantime Eduard Sacher died in 1892, his wife Anna Sacher was in charge of the hotel after his death, she died in 1930 - in 1934 the Hotel Sacher went out of business and the hotel was sold. The son of Anna and Eduard Sacher, his name was Eduard Sacher (very confusing), - the grandchild of Franz Sacher – found employment at Demel after the bankcruptcy of the Hotel Sacher. Eduard Sacher transferred the sole selling rights for the “Eduard-Sacher-Torte” to Demel. In 1938 the new owner of the Hotel Sacher started to sell the Sachertorte from vendor carts, selling the cake as the "Original Sachertorte" and the torte was registered as “Original Sacher Torte” as a trade mark.

The triangular chocolate seal of
Demel which is on top of each cake:
Eduard Sacher Torte ,
 Erzeugnis Ch. Demel Söhne. 
As you can imagine the pastry store Demel was not amused about it and this was the beginning of a long dispute between the Sacher Hotel and the pastry store Demel.
After World War II, the time period between 1950 and 1957 is referred as the "Seven Year’s Cake War" between Demel and Sacher. Both parties were fighting about the right to use the term “original" Sachertorte, about the second layer of apricot jam in the middle of the cake and the use of margarine instead of butter. In 1965 Sacher and Demel made an out-of-court agreement which resulted that the Hotel Sacher got the exklusive rights to name their cake "original"  Sachertorte.
Demel's Sachertorte received the official titel "Eduard Sacher-Torte". The "original" Sachertorte (from Hotel Sacher) has two layers of apricot jam (in the middle of the cake and between the outer layer of the chocolate glaze), whereas Demel's Eduard Sacher-Torte has only one apricot layer under the chocolate glaze.

 In 1888 between 200 and 400 Sachertorten were sold daily from the Hotel Sacher. Nowadays almost 1000 Sachertorten are produced every single day by the Hotel Sacher which means that more than 300.000 Sachertorten are made every year. To produce so many torten 1.2 Mio eggs, 80 tons of sugar, 70 tons of chocolate, 37 tons of apricot jam, 25 tons of butter and 30 tons of flour are needed. There is one assistant who is just responsible to crack 7500 eggs every single day.
While doing my Sachertorte research I also had a look at the website of the Hotel Sacher and the pastry store Demel. At Demel’s website the history of the Sacher-Torte is not mentioned one single time, as if the pastry store were not involved in the history of the Sacher-Torte (maybe this is part of the agreement  of 1965, who knows).

 You probably won’t be surprised that the Hotel Sacher makes most of their official titel of "Original Sachertorte". I could not help it but I had to smirk a little bit about the advertisement of the Hotel Sacher. The Hotel Sacher praises that they make the “Original Sacher-Torte" since 1832 which is such a lie. Franz Sacher made the Sachertorte for Prince Metternich for the first time in 1832 (if this story is true anyway) but it was his son Eduard Sacher who refined the recipe at Demel. Maybe even the torte that Franz Sacher made for Prince Metternich was just a simple chocolate cake without any apricot layer - which was very common and popular during this time in Vienna.

Sachertorte from Hotel Sacher: in the middle of the 
cake you can see a thin layer of apricot jam
Moreover, the Hotel Sacher added a layer of apricot jam in the middle of the cake. Until the death of Anna Sacher in 1930 there was never a layer of jam in the middle of the cake but according to the Hotel Sacher the "original recipe" is used and the recipe remains a well-kept secret of the hotel.
There is one (or two) more things that I like to mention. While I spent hours reading about the Sacher-Torte I suddenly stumbled upon the fact that Franz Sacher was Jewish. You might wonder why I mention it but I think it is an interesting fact considering the period of time. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century Vienna was one of the most prominent Jewish centers in Europe and affter World War I anti-Semitism got became very prominent in Vienna. I am curious if the Family Sacher was affected by it. This is something that I have yet to find out.

My dear readers, I am sure – no, I am convinced – that all the nonsense that I wrote, all the numbers, year dates and names that I mentioned made you dizzy. I am sorry and I owe you an apology. To make things up I will buy you a slice of Sachertorte (Demel or Sacher, your choice) if you visit Vienna. Just leave me a comment below or write me an Email at (bakingwithmarianne@gmail.com) and I am more than happy to buy you cake. 
Oh, and if you ask me, I think Demel deserve the titel of the "Original Sachetorte". Demel is my favorite pastry store in Vienna but I write about this beautiful pastry store another time. 

At Demel the price of a slice of
Sachertorte is 4,10€; at Hotel Sacher 4,90€
(as of July 2013).
Update: After I finished writing this article about the Sachertorte I went to the Demel pastry store and to the Hotel Sacher in order to buy a slice of Sachertorte. I wanted to take pictures of the cakes for my blog and of course to compare both Sachertorten. I have to confess that there is not a big difference between both cakes. The cake of the Hotel Sacher tastes a little bit better beause of the extra layer of apricot jam in the middle of the cake. All in all, I must confess that I do not think that the Sachertorte is a very spectacular chocolate cake. The cake is more on the dry side. Do not expect a moist chocolate torte. I am a big fan of Demel cakes and I think Demel cakes are very delicious and special but I am afraid to say that the Sachertorte is the weakest cake that Demel offers. 
Sachertorte is a little bit like H.C Andersen's fairy tale "The Emperors New Clothes". No one want to confess that the Sachertorte is just an ordinary chocolate cake. A chocolate cake that you make at home tastes better than an overprized piece of (dry) chocolate cake named Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher or at the pastry store Demel.
7
A slice of Prinzregententorte from Café Erbshäuser.
Growing up my family often went to art museums on Sundays. Sometimes after our museum visits we went to a pastry store and we bought some fancy cake. I always choose the same cake: namely Prinzregententorte and I can’t remember that I ever choose another cake than a slice of Prinzregententorte.
I always associated Prinzregententorte with museums visits, Sunday afternoons and of course the irresistible taste of a sponge cake with layers of chocolate butter cream. But I never asked myself why the torte was called Prinzregententorte, a possible story behind the torte and I did not even know that one can find this cake only in Bavaria. But this changed a few weeks ago when I visited my parents in Munich. While I was riding the subway I was reading a newspaper clipping that my mom gave me. This was the moment where my life changed a little bit. The newspaper was about, can you guess? (of course you know) about the history of Prinzregententorte. After reading the newspaper clipping I felt like I was let in on a secret. This was such a beautiful little moment. My dear readers, welcome to the magic world of the Prinzregententorte.

Yumiko Sasaki
Prinzregententorte is a sponge cake which consists of seven layers of chocolate butter cream, the topmost is covered with apricot jam and the entire torte is covered with a dark chocolate glaze. As I have mentioned above the torte is a Bavarian specialty and the torte is called after the Prince Regent Luitpold who became prince regent in Bavaria in 1866.
The inventor of the Prinzregententorte is in dispute until now but there are three possible inventors of the Prinzregententorte:
Johann Rottenhöfer who was the cook of Maximilan II. But Rottenhöfer died in 1872 and had no contact to the prince regent Luitpold, so it was probably unlikely that Rottenhöfer was the inventor of the cake but who knows. 
The baker Anton Seidl might be the inventor of the Prinzregententorte as well. He was a supplier to the royal court in Bavaria and it is said that he made the Prinzregententorte in 1888. After Prince Regent Luitpold ate the cake he gave Anton Seidl the permission to name the cake Prinzregententorte. However, there is no evidence if this story is true. It is said that some evidences got lost during World War II. 
Another possible inventor of the Prinzregententorte is the bakery of Heinrich Georg Erbshäuser. There is a legend that the bakery Erbshäuser made a special variation of the Prince Regent Leopold’s favorite cake in honor of his 80th birthday in 1906.
We probably will never find out who was the inventor of this delicate cake was but I think it does not matter as long as we can enjoy a slice of Prinzregententorte. Or maybe one day I will have the time to take this serious matter into my own hands and find out the inventor of the Prinzregententorte. 
It is also not an accident that the torte consists of seven layers. The seven layers stands for the seven administrative districts of Bavaria. Originally the torte consisted of eight layers but after World War I Bavaria lost the district Pfalz and the torte was reduced to seven layers. 

Window display at Café Erbshäuser.
The café of the baker Heinrich Georg Erbshäuser still exists and you can buy a slice of Prinzregententorte there. After I read the newspaper clip I went to the café Erbshäuser (of course it was on a Sunday after I visited a museum) and I bought a slice of Prinzregententorte for the very first time and had the most delicious Prinzregententorte in my life. I was born and I grew up in Munich but I did not know anything about this café and the story of the Prinzregententorte until a few weeks ago. I can’t believe that I have to confess this but I think just a few people know this story and this café.If you ever end up in Munich, visit this pastry store and buy a slice of Prinzregententorte. I promise you that you won’t regret eating this delicate torte. The café is located in a little side street near the Odeonsplatz (address and opening hours see below). It is an unimposing café and do not expect a fancy café that you can find in Vienna, Budapest or Paris. Nevertheless, if you want to get to know a little bit of local culture and get literally a taste of Munich, visit the pastry store and eat a slice of Prinzregententorte. Through such little things one get a glimpse into a city and not the town’s landmark that guide books recommend, at least in my opinion. 
Oh and you might wonder who is making the Prinzregententorte at the Café Erbshäuser nowadays? The answer is: the 33 years old Japanese lady, Yumiko Sasaki, who fell in love with the Prinzregententorte and wanted to know the secret of the cake. Yumiko Sasaki decided to take a training course as a pastry chef at the Café Erbshäuser and ever since she is making Prinzregententorte every single day. This is what I call true love.

Address
Café Erbshäuser
Glücksstraße 1
80333 München
~
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 7:30 am – 6 pm
Saturday 11 am – 6 pm
Sunday 12 am – 6 pm
6