The pastries and sweets of Vienna are where the sophisticated cooking skills of the area shine most brightly. Some recipes originated centuries ago. Many were created for a special occasion or to honor a special person. There are flaky Strudels filled with fruits, cheese and sour cream, or prunes and poppy seeds. There is Salzburger Nockerl, a delicate lemon tinged puffy omelet and its cousin, Kaiserschumarrn, tasty pieces of rum and raisin pancake. Apple cake is much like a tart with a crust of rich, short dough filled with sugared and spiced apples, raisins and almonds.
Much of the charm of Viennese pastries lies in the use of ground nuts, poppy seeds, bread crumbs, and pureed cooked chestnuts instead of flour. Nut cake, for example, contains only eggs, sugar, a maximum of ground filberts, and a minimum of bread crumbs. Its success lies in the thorough beating of egg yolks and whites. Poppy seed cane contains neither flour nor crumbs. Chestnut cake gets its structure from rice, cooked chestnuts, and well beaten eggs.
Several types of sponge cakes form the bases for different desserts. A basic sponge cake is made for a roll filled with jam or chocolate or lemon cream, but a fine textured, butter sponge cake is preferred for filled tortes. Although the true Gugelhupf is a yeast, bread like cake, sponge cake is also baked in the Turk's cap mold. Ladyfingers, too are made of sponge cake batter, filled and frosted.
By far the most famous of all the pastries are the tortes. Sacher torte, created nearly a century ago by the founder of Vienna's Sacher Hotel, is a rich chocolate sponge cake glazed with ham and topped with chocolate icing. Dobos torte, originated about the same time in Hungary but firmly adopted by Vienna, is made of at least eight thin, crisp sponge cake layers that are put together with chocolate butter cream and topped with a caramel glaze. Equally well know Linzer torte boasts a raspberry filling with a shortbread like bottom and lattice top crust. Rich as all these pastries are, non is finished in Vienna until accompanied by whipped cream.
Viennese cookery covers a wide range of foods, from hearty entries to rich desserts. Judicious sampling of Viennese cooking will make you a convert to this cuisine.
