Cafe Kultur

The Kaffeehaus is a particular Viennese tradition that locals and tourists - despite their differences - can both get behind. I have a review of cafes in Vienna on this page.

Since the Turks left behind bags of coffee beans after the Siege of Vienna in 1529, coffee has become an integral part of the Viennese lifestyle, the Austrian Way, if you will - also cakes to go with the coffee. What Austrian doesn't like a good Jause - Kaffeepause ?

Here is a list of coffee drinks and cakes you would typically find in a Viennese cafe - by no means an exhaustive list (I did try to be thorough) - I hope you find it informative.  I've included my opinion to keep things interesting. As my mother always says, there's no accounting for taste. I'd say that rings doubly true for desserts!

Coffee Drinks in Vienna
1. Amadeus - espresso with Mozart liqueur (marzipan flavored) and whipped cream
2. Biedermeier - espresso with whipped cream and apricot liqueur
3. Einspänner - espresso with cream
4. Eiskaffee - iced coffee with lots of milk and sugar; sometimes coffee with ice cream
5. Grosser Brauner - large espresso
6. Kleiner Brauner - small espresso
7. Maria Theresia - espresso with whipped cream and orange liqueur

8. Melange - half espresso, half milk with whipped cream; sometimes served like a Cappuccino

9. Mokka - another name for a Kleiner Brauner

10. Pharisäer - large espresso with rum and whipped cream; also called a Fiaker

11. Verlängerter - espresso in a large cup, topped off with hot water; sometimes called an Americano

Viennese Cakes
1. Apfelstrudel - apple strudel; basically like apple pie, it's considered by some the national dish of Austria.
2. Baumkuchen - sort of like a funnel cake; baked on a spit, and marketed at the Naschmarkt as "typically Hungarian."
3. Biedermeier Torte - chocolate cake with whipped cream, cherries and apricot jam.
4. Esterhazytorte - layered almond-flavored meringue and butter cream frosting cake; about 1/2 cake, 1/2 frosting.
5. Gugelhupf - basically a bundt cake; often marbled, but it comes in many flavors; very moist for an Austrian cake.
6. Himbeer Torte - white cake with a gelée of raspberry preserves on top; sometimes also with whipped cream or butter cream frosting.
7. Kaiserschmarrn - crepes which are cut up in the pan, served with nuts, raisins soaked in rum, and a fruit sauce (apple, lingonberry, Powidl) and often served as a main meal, though it is sweet.
8. Krapfen - basically a jelly doughnut filled with apricot jam. In Poland, they are called pączki and made with rose hip jam (and they're much better).
9. Linzer Torte - almond and hazelnut cake with red current jam on top, and (often) a meringue lattice crust (my personal favorite).
10. Marillenkuchen - apricot cake; sheet cake with apricots baked on top; any fruit can be substituted (see Zwetchkenkuchen).
11. Punschkrapfen - filled cake like a petit four with nougat and apricot, and a punch (tutti-frutti?) flavored icing. (I don't like these at all.)
12. Sachertorte - chocolate layer cake with apricot jam and a chocolate glacé icing. Caveat emptor: a slice of Sacehrtorte at the Sacher Hotel is dry, nine times out of ten.
13. Stollen - served around Christmas; basically a fruit cake; not very sweet, but good with coffee.
14. Topfenstrudel - a cream cheese version of the apple strudel; I prefer apple.
15. Zwetschkenkuchen - plum cake, known as Pflaumenkuchen in Germany; sheet cake with plums baked on top (my second favorite).