Punschkrapfen
A Viennese café classic in a colour nothing else shares: shocking-pink, glossy fondant on a small cube of cake. Beneath it, two layers of sponge sandwiching a paste of crumbs from the same sponge, apricot jam, rum and chocolate. The most important step is pressing overnight under a weight: only then do the layers bind into a solid cube that holds when cut.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Sponge 60 min
- Punch filling 25 min
- Pressing overnight 720 min
- Icing 30 min
- Setting 60 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneBake a sponge in a rectangular tin
Whisk the eggs with the sugar, vanilla and zest for 10 minutes until tripled, fold in the sieved flour, spread in a lined 30 × 40 cm tray and bake about 20 minutes at 175°C, until golden and springy. Cool and cut crosswise into three equal rectangles, each about 13 × 30 cm.
Ingredients: 8 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 200 g plain flour · 1 tsp vanilla sugar · 1 pcs lemon
Crumble the third sheet
Keep two sheets for base and top, and crumble the third finely with your fingers into a bowl. It becomes the filling — traditionally, confectioners used offcuts from other cakes for this.
Ingredients: 8 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 200 g plain flour · 1 tsp vanilla sugar · 1 pcs lemon
Mix crumbs with jam, rum and chocolate
Warm the jam with the sugar, orange juice and zest for 3–4 minutes, until the sugar dissolves, take off the heat, add the rum, melted chocolate and cherry juice, and mix with the crumbs into a compact, moist paste. It should be dark red and sticky, like thick paste.
Ingredients: 250 g apricot jam · 80 ml rum · 1 pcs orange · 60 g dark chocolate · 50 g sugar · 50 ml cherry juice
Dense, sticky, dark red — the heart of the cake.Sandwich the sheets with the filling
Lay the first sheet on a board lined with paper, spread the filling evenly and press it down firmly, then cover with the second sheet. The filling should be about 2 cm and perfectly level, since it is later cut into cubes.
Ingredients: 250 g apricot jam · 80 ml rum · 1 pcs orange · 60 g dark chocolate · 50 g sugar · 50 ml cherry juice
Press overnight under a weight
Cover with paper, lay a board on top and weigh it down with about 2 kg — jars or books — for 12 hours in the fridge. Not excessive: unpressed, the layers separate and the cubes fall apart as they are cut and iced.
Ingredients: 250 g apricot jam · 80 ml rum · 1 pcs orange · 60 g dark chocolate · 50 g sugar · 50 ml cherry juice
Two kilos all night — otherwise the cubes crumble.Brush with jam and cut into cubes
Brush the top thinly with warmed, sieved jam and leave a quarter of an hour. Trim the edges and cut with a sharp knife dipped in hot water into 4 × 4 cm cubes — you will get 21 (3 rows of 7). The jam seals the surface so the icing does not soak into the sponge.
Ingredients: 400 g icing sugar · 2 tbsp rum · 3 tbsp water · 1 pinch pink food colouring · 3 tbsp apricot jam
Mix the icing to a pourable body
Work the icing sugar with the rum, hot water and a touch of colouring into a thick but pourable icing that falls from a spoon in a heavy ribbon. Warm it slightly over steam — warm icing sets glossy, cold sets matt.
Ingredients: 400 g icing sugar · 2 tbsp rum · 3 tbsp water · 1 pinch pink food colouring · 3 tbsp apricot jam
Ice the cubes and leave to set
Stand the cubes on a rack over a tray and pour icing over each so it runs down every side. Do not touch it up — every touch leaves a mark. Leave an hour to set and serve in paper cases.
Ingredients: 400 g icing sugar · 2 tbsp rum · 3 tbsp water · 1 pinch pink food colouring · 3 tbsp apricot jam
One pour, no retouching — every touch shows.
Before you start
Pink is tradition
Shocking-pink icing is the hallmark of punschkrapfen in Austrian pastry shops. To avoid colouring, tint the icing with beetroot or raspberry juice — paler, but natural.
The filling should taste of spirit
The name comes from punch and the rum should be clearly present. For children use orange juice with a drop of rum flavouring, but that is a different, noticeably sweeter cake.
Up to five days in the fridge
They keep up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight box and are best on the second day, as the filling passes moisture to the sponge.
