Sacher Roulade

The sacher torte is Vienna’s most famous dessert. The classic version is a chocolate spongecake covered with a layer of apricot preserves and a rich, candylike chocolate glaze. I tasted 17 different Sachers in a two-week period in Austria, which included a visit to the Austrian National Library in search of the book with “the” original recipe. I missed the copy machine’s office hours, and since I was leaving the city the next morning, I had no choice but to copy the recipe by hand. Have you