Vienna is for dessert

Of course I can't travel to Vienna, the land of sugar and tortes, without reporting back as to what I indulged in! Here is a snapshot of all the sugary goodness I consumed in less than 30 hours...

Sacher Torte and coffee

My first Vienna sugar high occurred at the Demel Bakery, home of the Sacher Torte. The Sacher Torte is the most famous and controversial torte in all of Austria. Invented in 1832 and later made famous at the Demel Bakery, the torte is only available in Vienna, Salzberg and Bolzano, Italy. Don't be fooled by the "Original Sacher Torte" at Hotel Sacher, their torte is in fact not the original. (If  you click here, you'll see there is an extra layer of marmalade in the middle of the Hotel Sacher torte. This is what separates the two versions.)

The real Sacher Torte is incredibly delicious! A perfectly thin layer of marmalade lies under the top layer of fudge frosting. The chocolate cake is not too rich and combined with the unsweetened creme, it is a delight to eat! I was pleased with this visit, but had two more dessert missions to attend to.

The Imperial Torte and it's many layers 

We didn't have to go far for the next sugar fix, the Imperial Torte. This famous torte was invented right at our hotel in honor of the Emperor Franz Joseph I at the opening of the Hotel Imperial. This torte was very different from the Sacher Torte as it had several wafer like layers separating the milk chocolate cake, sort of like a Kit Kat. It was iced with a chocolate fondant and served with whipped creme and berries. Mmm, I could have eaten it all night!

Sunday morning we stopped at Tichy for "the most famous ice cream in all of Europe," or so they claim. (And who says ice cream isn't for breakfast?) The crowd at Tichy was out of hand, and I felt overwhelmed when it came time to order. Unable to read the German menu, I selected the chocolate powder covered ice cream ball and luckily for me, it was one of their specialties, the tartufo eis-busserl.

Justin's Tichy raspberry ice cream and my tartufo ball 

Ok, this ice cream ball was really delicious and all, but I've had some steller ice cream over here. Weather or not it was the best ice cream shoppe in Europe is up for debate, but I enjoyed every bite of my multi layered, hazelnut cream centered, chocolaty treat.

The hazelnut center of my ice cream ball

Vienna definitely has a handle on dessert!