SALZBURG
Café Tomaselli
Alter Markt 9; www.tomaselli.at
Austria’s oldest coffeehouse, founded in 1705, was once the haunt of Mozart and prides itself on barely having changed since then. The torten are outstanding, but the place prides itself on its Guglhupf, a simple marble cake.
Below in the picture :Café Tomaselli, Austria’s oldest “Viennese coffee house”; Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte,
or Black Forest gâteau; coffee and the classic Sacher Torte.
Brodgasse 13; www.original-mozartkugel.com
The upmarket coffeehouse opposite Café Tomaselli invented the ubiquitous marzipan “Mozart Ball” in 1890. It has many delicious torten and some lovely outdoor seating on the square outside.
Fingerlos
Franz Josef Strasse 9; +43 662 874 213
This is the locals’ choice for coffee and cake: a little off the beaten path, but well worth the effort for its broad selection of freshly made, high-quality torten and the lively and contemporary atmosphere.
Konditorei Zauner
Pfarrgasse 7, Bad Ischl; www.zauner.at
Located in Salzburg’s hinterland spa town of Bad Ischl, the glittering chandeliers, marble floors, and fantastical confectionery of this patisserie are a draw for the entire region. It began life in the early 19th century as a supplier to the Austrian royal family.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
The Viennese claim that they invented the notion of afternoon coffee and cake, and they certainly have enough venerable cafés and patisseries, or Konditoreien, to help prove it.
Hotel Sacher
Schwarzstrasse 5–7 and Philharmonikerstrasse 4;
www.sacher.com
The Sacher hotel chain is a legacy of the pastry chef who invented the Sacher Torte, and it has branches in Salzburg and Vienna. Both have slightly snooty cafés with deep-red upholstery, liveried tableware, and arguably the best Sacher Torte in the world.
Café Central
Corner of Strauchgasse/Herrengasse;
www.cafecentral-wien.at
The favorite coffeehouse of Sigmund Freud and Leon Trotsky (in exile) is still steeped in Viennese tradition with tuxedoed waiters, extravagant chandeliers, and locals poring over newspapers. The setting, ambience, and unique torten often make it very busy, but it’s spacious enough to cope.
Demel
Kohlmarkt 14; www.demel.at
A fine, long-standing Viennese coffee house that opened as an aristocrats’ playground in 1786. It is best known for its Sacher Torte, which was first made here by Eduard Sacher (son of Franz, its inventor), sparking a legal contest within the family. The café today is more exceptional for its many coffees and extraordinary multicolored torten, which have included waxwork-style recreations of celebrities. It also has branches in Salzburg and New York.
Konditorei Heiner
Wollzeile 9; www.heiner.co.at A popular local café chain with several Viennese branches, including this cozy wood-paneled one on Wollzeile. Reasonable prices belie the superb quality and the pedigree of this bakery, which once supplied the Austrian court. The succulent poppy-seed torte is in a league of its own.
BLACK FOREST, GERMANY
The namesake of the famous Black Forest cake, this region of southwest Germany loves to celebrate fine foods and its heritage, be it in the form of cuckoo clocks, traditional dress, wooden farmhouses, or delicious torten.
Café König
Lichtentaler Strasse 12, Baden-Baden; www.chocolatier.de
This is a stylish throwback to Baden-Baden’s 18th-century heyday, as depicted in the black-andwhite prints that line the café walls. Elderly ladies in extravagant hats adore its famously delicate Black Forest cake; the fruit torten are also superb.
Café Adler
Hauptstrasse 52, Triberg; www.hotel-cafe-adler.de An understated café and patisserie with some of the best cakes in the region, which can be enjoyed in its pastel interiors or outside in a lovely little courtyard. They have a tremendous line in decorative confectionery items that make perfect gifts.
Café Decker
Hauptstrasse 70, Staufen; www.cafe-decker.de The star café of the southwestern Black Forest region has a lovely riverside outdoor terrace and around 40 stunning fresh torten every day. It is also a first-class chocolatier and ice-cream maker, but beware: it gets packed at peak times.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
Chocolate and confectionery are a major export for the Swiss, so it’s no surprise that they take great pride in their cakes too. There is a touch of the French pâtissier in their smaller and more delicate confections.
Confiserie Sprüngli
Bahnhofstrasse 21; www.spruengli.ch
This is run by a world-famous confectioner who’s famed for Luxemburgerli, a sugar-based cookie much like a French macaron. But there are plenty of torten to choose from too and everything is lovingly handmade using the best ingredients – though some might gripe about the high prices.
Café Bauer
Badenerstrasse 355; www.cafe-bauer.ch
This has been a local institution since the 1920s, thanks to its great selection of freshly made torten as well as a fine range of French-style patisserie. It also has delicious versions of everyday bakery products, such as pretzels and croissants.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
As the joint capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Budapest shared much of Vienna’s culture, and the “coffee and cake” tradition took root here at about the same time. The results are almost as venerable.
Café Gerbeaud
Vörösmarty tér 7–8; www.gerbeaud.hu
A large and noble coffeehouse where hanging drapes and extraordinary chandeliers dominate interiors that have barely changed since its foundation in 1858. Despite seating over 300 people, a relaxed atmosphere prevails and the torten are impeccable.
Konditorei Ruszwurm
Szentháromság utca. 7; www.ruszwurm.hu
This tiny and charmingly well-preserved 1820s coffeehouse sits on Budapest’s Castle Hill and has a superb cake selection, including traditional Hungarian favorites such as the Dobos and the walnut Esterházy with its succulent marbled icing.
On the Menu
Torten are rarely labeled and it’s often simply a case of picking something that catches the eye. Even so, it’s worth bearing the classics in mind and seeking them out.
Dobos Torte Simple but elegant five-layered Hungarian chocolate buttercream sponge cake from the 1880s. Often coated with ground nuts and topped with an angled wedge of caramel.
Frankfurter Kranz (Frankfurt wreath) Classic rum-flavored cake with layers of buttercream filling and a single layer of jelly.
Herrentorte (Gentlemen’s cake) A term used for a range of cakes made with large amounts of dark chocolate, particularly in their icing.
Linzer Torte A Christmas favorite from the 17th century with a latticework top and chopped almonds around the edge. The pastry is a crumbly combination of lemon, cinnamon, and ground nuts, and its most common filling is red-currant jelly.
Obsttorte (Fruit torte) Usually the simplestlooking torte, this fruit tart generally uses glazed fruits (often strawberries) and is sometimes decorated with toasted nuts.
Prinzregententorte (Prince Regent Cake) A layered torte with chocolate buttercream and apricot preserve, often dubbed the “Sacher Torte of Bavaria,” where it’s particularly popular.
Sacher Torte This classic, dark chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jelly was invented by 16-year-old apprentice pastry chef Franz Sacher in 1832; the recipe remains a closely guarded secret.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cherry cake) This is probably the most famous cake. Layers of whipped cream and Kirsch-flavored chocolate cake studded with maraschino cherries are topped with dark chocolate curls.
Zuger Kirschtorte (Zug cherry cake) Swiss torte made from ground almonds and hazelnuts, filled with Kirsch and buttercream and topped with a dusting of icing sugar.
Below : A tempting display of torten in a Viennese café with, far right, the tall, ring-shaped Guglhupf; afternoon coffee and cake in Café Gerbeaud in Budapest.
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