Sachertorte is Vienna’s most famous cake: a dark, dense chocolate base with a thin layer of tangy apricot jam and a mirror-glossy chocolate glaze over the top. The recipe dates back to 1832 and has been the benchmark for what a chocolate cake can be ever since. That it can also be baked in an air fryer surprises most people — but the small, closed basket with circulating heat is actually an excellent oven for a cake of that size.
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Here you get the whole method at 160 °C: 25 minutes of preparation, 35 minutes of baking and an hour of cooling before the glaze goes on. Two hours in total from bowl to finished cake, and most of that time looks after itself.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Why I love Sachertorte in the air fryer
The air fryer does something good to a heavy chocolate base. The heat hits from all sides at once in a small space, so the cake sets quickly at the edge and stays put while the middle quietly bakes through. The result is a base with a firm crumb and a slightly moist centre — exactly the texture a Sachertorte needs if the apricot jam is going to sit as a thin, tangy layer without sinking into the batter.
On top of that comes the practical side. I don’t have to heat up a whole oven for one cake in a springform pan, and the kitchen doesn’t get hot along the way. On a summer’s day that alone is reason enough to get the air fryer out.
The difference between air fryer and oven
An air fryer is in practice a small fan oven with a powerful fan, so you work a good way below the temperature you would set a regular oven to. Here the cake bakes at 160 °C, and 35 minutes is enough because the heat sits closer to the pan. The fan is at the same time the only real risk: it can dry out the top long before the middle is done. The answer is low temperature and patience, not more heat.
My kitchen test of Sachertorte
I have baked the cake in my Philips XXL, which has room for a small springform pan in the basket. At 160 °C and 35 minutes the skewer came out with a couple of moist crumbs — and that is exactly when the cake should come out. Bake it completely dry and you lose the very thing that makes a Sachertorte worth baking.
The biggest lesson was the cooling time. The first time, I glazed a cake that had only stood for a short while, and the glaze ran off the sides and settled in a puddle on the plate. The full hour on a wire rack is not a suggestion, it is a condition. The same cake took longer in my oven — the difference in cooking time between air fryer and oven is typically around 20-30 per cent.
Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before the glaze goes on. A warm base turns a glossy glaze into a dull puddle on the plate.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how you avoid them
The first mistake is turning the temperature up to save time. A chocolate base at too high a heat gets a hard crust and a raw centre, so stay at 160 °C even if it feels slow. The second mistake is filling the pan too high: the batter rises up towards the heating element and goes dark on top long before the middle is baked, so stick to about two thirds of the height of the pan. The third is about the jam. If it comes cold and lumpy straight from the jar, it tears the base apart as you spread it. Stir it smooth and warm, and spread it in a thin layer so the glaze afterwards has an even surface to settle on.
How to serve Sachertorte
The cake is rich and sweet, so what you serve alongside can happily pull in the opposite direction:
- Unsweetened whipped cream on the side — that is how they serve it in Vienna
- A cup of black coffee or an espresso
- Fresh raspberries or a spoonful of tangy apricot compote
- A small glass of dessert wine if you have guests
Storage and reheating
Sachertorte only gets better for standing. Store it under a cake dome or in an airtight container at room temperature, where it stays moist for several days. The fridge makes the glaze dull and the crumb dry, so avoid it if you can. If a slice needs freshening up, you put it briefly in the air fryer at 160 °C, just enough for the glaze to go soft again. The cake can also be frozen without the glaze and glazed on the day of serving.
Sachertorte in the air fryer is not a shortcut, but another route to the same cake: two hours, one layer of jam and a glaze that has to be allowed to set. Bake it once, and you will have the hang of the Viennese classic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The cake bakes at 160 °C for 35 minutes in a small springform pan that can stand freely in the basket. The low temperature is crucial, because otherwise the fan dries out the top long before the middle is baked.
Reckon on two hours in total: 25 minutes of preparation, 35 minutes of baking and an hour of cooling before the glaze can go on.
Almost always because the cake is still warm. The glaze needs to go on a completely cooled base, otherwise it melts down the sides and sets dull.
Recipe
Sachertorte in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
Prices may vary depending on where you shop.
Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
All our recipes are tested in a Philips Airfryer 2000 Series NA230/00 – 6.2 L
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Springform pan - 18 cm
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Electric mixer
- 1 Lille gryde
- 1 Offset spatula
- 1 Knife - Long and serrated
Shopping list
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 100 g dark chocolate (70 %) (Chopped)
- 100 g butter (Softened, diced)
- 90 g icing sugar
- 3 pcs eggs (Separated into yolks and whites)
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 100 g plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 40 g sugar (For the meringue)
Apricot filling and chocolate glaze
- 150 g apricot jam
- 1 tbsp water
- 125 g dark chocolate (70 %) (Chopped, for the glaze)
- 100 ml double cream
- 15 g butter (For the glaze)
How to make it
Preparation
- Melt 100 g dark chocolate (70 %) over a bain-marie, then leave the chocolate to cool until it is just warm.
- Grease an 18 cm springform pan and line the base with parchment paper. The pan needs to sit with at least 2 cm of clearance all the way round in the air fryer basket.
- Beat 100 g butter and 90 g icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time along with 1 tsp vanilla sugar, and finally stir in the warm chocolate.
- Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks with 1 pinch salt, then add 40 g sugar a little at a time until the meringue is glossy and holds its shape.
- Fold the meringue into the chocolate batter in three additions, alternating with 100 g plain flour. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the surface.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 160 °C fan.
- Put the pan in the basket and bake the cake at 160 °C for 35 minutes. Lay a piece of parchment paper loosely over the cake after about 20 minutes if the top is taking too much colour. The cake is done when a skewer comes out without any wet batter.
- Leave the cake to rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then release the edge and let the cake cool completely on a wire rack — about 50 minutes. It needs to be cold before you split and glaze it.
Filling and glaze
- Split the cooled cake horizontally into two even layers with a long, serrated knife.
- Heat 150 g apricot jam with 1 tbsp water in a small saucepan until it runs thin. Sieve the jam if it contains large pieces of fruit.
- Spread half the warm jam over the bottom layer, put the top layer back on, and spread the rest in a thin coat over the top and sides. Leave the jam to dry for 10 minutes.
- Heat 100 ml double cream to just below boiling point, then pour it over 125 g dark chocolate (70 %). Stir the glaze smooth from the centre outwards, and finally stir in 15 g butter to make it shine.
- Pour the glaze over the centre of the cake and spread it out over the top and sides with an offset spatula in as few strokes as possible. Leave the glaze to set for 20-30 minutes at room temperature.
Serving
- Serve the cake in thin slices with a dollop of lightly whipped cream without sugar.
Our notes for the recipe
Keep the temperature down at 160 °C. The air fryer’s fan gives you strong heat from above, and a higher temperature burns the top long before the middle is baked through. The chocolate for the batter should be warm and not hot when you stir it into the butter mixture — otherwise it splits. Variation:
Swap the apricot jam for raspberry jam or orange marmalade, or add 1 tsp ground cinnamon to the batter for a warmer flavour. Serving:
Serve the cake in thin slices with lightly whipped cream without sugar — the classic Viennese way. A cup of black coffee belongs with it. Portion size:
The cake is baked in an 18 cm springform pan and gives you 4 generous or 6-8 smaller slices. Measure your air fryer basket before you choose a pan — there should be at least 2 cm of clearance all the way round so the heat can circulate.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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