Past Newsletters
Vol. 6 No. 8

Member of the Month

Snap those photos of yourself (and friends if you like) enjoying your featured monthly chocolates and e-mail them to us with your name and address to MOM@monthlyclubs.com. Or, if you prefer the lower-tech route, and have a penchant for applying stamps to your mail, we’ve got just the P.O. Box for you (see below). How ever you decide to send us your pics, here’s the deal: if we select your photo, you’ll earn a FREE one-month extension to your club membership! Now that’s a sweet deal!!

Here’s the mailing address for all Member of the Month Photo Submissions (be sure to include a description of the photo (identify yourself) and your name and mailing address):

Member of the Month
P.O. Box 1627
Lake Forest, CA 92609

Creating an Edible Legacy

Many of us can get creative in the kitchen and perhaps we’ve even developed a few culinary treats for family and friends that swiftly became favorites. Whether it’s a special dinner dish or delectable dessert that you’re practically famous for, the feeling is rewarding all the same. Now, imagine developing something that not only your family and friends request, but citizens the world over crave. Picture creating a dessert that becomes a world famous treat for generations to come. A pretty daunting goal to set out to achieve, but that’s exactly what Franz Sacher did in Vienna back in 1832 at the tender age of 16!

“Be sure not to bring shame on me tonight!” These were the words that prefaced the creation of Sacher’s now famous dessert. Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, the Austrian State Chancellor, had invited high-ranking guests and requested that his kitchen staff create a new dessert to honor the occasion. Since the chef had earlier taken ill, this delicate task fell to young Franz Sacher, an apprentice cook serving only his second year of apprenticeship. And he masterfully rose to the occasion. His fluffy chocolate cake with apricot jam was a great success and thus, the Sacher-Torte (pronounced: SAH-kuhr-tohrt) was born.

Sacher took his skills and new found fame to various kitchens in Europe, eventually returning to Vienna in 1849. It was here that Franz Sacher opened a delicatessen shop in the city centre. Soon it became quite fashionable to shop “at Sacher’s”, and customers came from Vienna’s most distinguished families. The Sacher name quickly became associated with top notch culinary and social status. It was with this acclaimed reputation that the Sacher name was elevated even further with the founding of the Hotel Sacher Vienna in 1876 by Franz’s second son, Eduard. Together with Eduard and his daughter-in-law, Anna, Franz Sacher would often retreat to his “laboratory”—his kitchen—to create new recipes that would contribute considerably to the Hotel Sacher’s renown in the years to come.

Under the proprietorship of Eduard Sacher, the luxurious hotels bearing his family’s name were acclaimed for their lavish accommodations and beloved haute cuisine. Among the most popular items on the hotel restaurants’ menu was of course the Sacher torte, a gourmet dessert made with 3 or more layers of chocolate cake filled with apricot jam and enrobed in layers of rich chocolate glaze—according to the original recipe created by Eduard’s father Franz. Soon the desert was well known beyond the confines of the hotel and restaurant walls, and the phrase “Sacher Torte” quickly became part of the vernacular—no longer restricted to the vocabulary of garcons and patrons, but used by thousands around the country and continent. And since its introduction all those years ago, the Sacher torte has risen to become a true Viennese classic, much like the fantastic Sacher Hotels themselves.

Over the years, many companies have taken inspiration from the Sacher-Torte, imparting their own technique and charm to their own versions of the original. To bring this classic in to your home we searched for a chocolatier famous for quality, attention to detail and delicious delectables of refinement. Our search took us to a land long respected for its cultural and culinary contributions to the world: Italy. There we discovered a confectioner famous for literally hundreds of gourmet, skillfully made delights; one of them being a Sacher-style Chocolate Torte. The Flamigni Company, located in Northeastern Italy, continues the tradition started over 170 years ago by Franz Sacher with their rendition of the Sacher torte. This extremely rich chocolate favorite has been expertly crafted and comes in a highly attractive art nouveau decorated package that is nearly as appealing as the gourmet cake it holds.

Another Family’s Delectable Tradition

The origins of the Flamigni Company date back to 1930 when three of the Flamigni brothers opened their first plant in the main square of Forlì, in the center of the region of Romagna—an area to the northeast of Florence that is well regarded as the food capital of Italy. As pastry makers, they owe their initial success to their special Torrone cake. Today the Flamigni Company is a small family owned business. Marco Bull, his wife, a Flamigni by birth, and his daughters have expanded the business and continue its famous tradition of making Torrone (nougat based treats), Baci di Romagna and “the worlds best Panettone.”

Panettone is a sweet yeast bread that, according to legend, originated in Milan, Italy in the fifteenth century. Similar but less sophisticated naturally leavened fruit breads have been made throughout Italy since the days of the Roman Empire. Panettone has been enjoyed throughout the country, particularly at Christmas and other times of celebration, for centuries. Interestingly, as its popularity has grown, legends regarding its origin have developed as well. The most popular story is of a boy who fell in love with the daughter of a baker named Tony. The boy made a kind of bread, which has become known as Pan de Toni, to impress the baker and to win his daughter’s heart.

What Panettone actually means is ‘big’ or ‘strong bread’, referring to the raisins, citron, pine nuts, and anise with which it is flavored. Since 1921, when paper molds that gave the loaf a dome-shaped top were introduced, panettone has been baked in a tall cylindrical shape. A well made panettone will retain its delicious moist texture for several months. Flamigni's dizzying array of panettone is made from natural leaven according to traditional manufacturing techniques. They offer no less than 35 different styles complemented by a highly variegated assortment of charming packaging.

In addition to Panettone, Flamigni makes a variety of gourmet biscotti and cakes, from lemon and orange cream-filled biscotti, to tea biscotti and fruit biscotti as well as cakes that are flavored with anything from almonds to apricots to nougat, hazelnut and of course, our favorite, chocolate (like their delicious take on the traditional Sacher-style Torte). They also make more than 100 additional types of confectionaries—traditional chocolates, cookies, marzipan as well as an impressive assortment of Easter and Christmas specialty items.

Flamigni products are widespread in Italy, thanks to a large and enthusiastic distribution network. Their products are present in over eight thousand specialty stores such as pastry-shops, specialized confectionery shops and wine shops. Their policy of traditional production aimed at “quality over quantity” does not allow their product lines to be present in large supermarkets. Outside of Italy, Flamigni products can be found internationally in the following regions: France, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, as well as the United States and Canada. Considering the limited product quantities that their traditional methods permit, this rather large distribution network is both a testament to their commitment and evidence of the widespread appeal of their creations. For over seventy years they have remained dedicated to using traditional methods, the purest ingredients, and the continued use of traditional recipes and meticulous quality control over the entire production process.

There are so many fine products in Flamigni’s culinary repertoire that selection of just one was a tough task, however, when that particular product is as delicious as the torte we’ve sent you, the decision is made much easier. We think you will agree with us that they make one of the world’s best Sacher-style chocolate tortes—one you won’t soon forget!

Last-Minute Tip for Long-Lasting Savoring

While this chocolate torte is quite heavenly on its own, do not hesitate to try it with generous lashings of unsweetened whipped cream as Mr. Sacher himself would have recommended. We also suggest that you add a cup of coffee and enjoy this delicious treat in true Viennese style.

More About the Sacher Legacy and the Original Sacher Torte

Franz Sacher lived a long life as a very successful businessman. He passed away in 1907 at the age of 91. His son Eduard, born in 1843, even surpassed his father’s success. As the son of the well-to-do creator of the Sacher Torte, Eduard received an excellent education. Having served his apprenticeship in his parents’ delicatessen in Vienna, he went on to gain further practical experience in Paris and London and also established business contacts there. After his return to the Vienna environs he opened a countryside inn in Döbling. Only two years later, in 1866, he rented the ground-floor premises in the elegant Palais Todesco, with the intention of opening a restaurant there. Right across the street, the Court Opera (today’s State Opera) was just being erected.

The excellent food and the fine wines served in Eduard Sacher’s new restaurant soon attracted Vienna’s high society. Of particular interest were the chambres séparées, rooms that were furnished in French style, which were an entirely new advent in Vienna and quickly became the talk of the town. Here, one could have dinner, talk politics or business or—last but not least—enjoy a little flirt in a discreet atmosphere. After the festive opening of the Court Opera with Mozart’s masterpiece “Don Giovanni” it quickly became a habit with opera-goers to have supper at the Sacher Restaurant before performances. Location, location, location!

Of course, one of the most popular dessert items was (and continues to be) the famed Sacher-Torte. Only a very select few of the staff members have ever seen the original recipe which dates back to 1832 and is well hidden in a secret safe. Friedrich Pfliegler, the Sacher’s chief confectioner, who still produces the cake by hand together with a team of 30 members and also takes care of the icing, is one of them. Over a period of 170 years the original recipe created by the young apprentice cook Franz Sacher and the experience in the production of the cake have been handed down from generation to generation—for it is not only the perfect mixture of ingredients, but also their temperature, the temperature and humidity in the bake-house as well as the exact sequence of the 36 individual steps up to the packing of the cake in exclusive wooden boxes which are decisive for the success of an “Original Sacher-Torte”.

Each day there are 800 to 900 cakes produced at the Sacher’s bake-house. At peak times, e.g. before Christmas, when “Original Sacher-Torte” cakes are sent to relatives and friends all over the world, this number rises to an astounding 3,000. Such numbers mandate the use of 1.2 million eggs, 37 million tons of apricot jam exclusively produced for the Hotel Sacher, 80 tons of sugar, 25 tons of butter, 30 tons of flour, and 75 tons of chocolate every year for the production of the “Original Sacher-Torte”. The icing alone requires four different types of chocolate.

On the occasion of the International Economic Forum in Vienna in 1999, Friedrich Pfliegler and a team of fourteen confectioners conjured up an “Original Sacher-Torte” of a very special kind: A cake with a diameter of more than 7.5 feet was produced at the Sacher’s bake-house and subsequently transported to the Vienna City Hall where it was covered with a thin layer of apricot jam and finally iced by a team of no less than eight confectioners. It was this particular cake that gained entry in to the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Sacher-Torte ever created.