Death by chocolate – how good must a dessert be to conjure up such an idea? Truth is, it could really only have been chocolate torte – dark, bittersweet chocolate and cream densely packed into a cake so intense that it’s liable to evoke visions of heaven.
Arguably the most famous one of all is Sacher Torte, pioneered in 1832 Vienna by 16-year-old stand-in chef Franz Sacher, although such is its prestige that a long-running legal battle was fought over its origins between Sacher’s descendants and another local Viennese chocolatier. In keeping with the allure of the treasured confection, its recipe has remained a secret for over 175 years.
The “Guru of Ganache”, chef Marcel Desaulnier, wrote chocolate torte into dessert lore with his prize-winning book named – what else? – Death by Chocolate. Countless others have perpetuated the theme across all walks of life and leisure, but perhaps Simple Minds managed to get closest to the naked truth when they sang: “Once there you can’t come back, Death by chocolate it’s a fact.”
Could you leave chocolate torte off your Timeless 50 list? Vote now if not.