Wiener Punschkraphfen arrived home! J secretly ordered it online and utterly surprised me! First of all my question was, what's Wiener Punschkraphen?
The name can be translated to "Viennese punch doughnuts" in English although these Wiener Punschkrapfen didn't look or taste like typical doughnuts that are made from leavened fried dough. Wiener Punschkrapfen are an Austrian, more precisely a Viennese specialty. It's been around for many centuries while the inventor is unknown. Some believe a baker of the royal Austrian family created it and others think the Ottomans brought to Vienna during the sieges. This fancy wooden box of 9 Wiener Punschkrapfen that J bought was from a company who creates the Original Wiener Punschkrapfen in Vienna!
The Original version is filled with creamy dough flavored with rum and Cointreau, covered with fondant icing. The chocolate-signature "WP" on its surface is a proof of the Original. Each piece was handmade "with lots of love by master confectioners according to a secret recipe,” the company said. It contains only natural ingredients, no preservatives, no flavor enhancers and no artificial colors. I guess beetroot could be used for the vibrant rosy 'Punch' color of the icing. Also based on some recipes for classic Wiener Punschkrapfen that I found online, the creamy dough would be probably made of sponge cake, apricot and/or plum jam and chocolate and/or cocoa power in addition to rum and Cointreau. The dough was lovely moist, flavorful and boozy. I loved it!
Recently we bought a slice of cake at a traditional pastry shop in the town center of Wiesbaden and learned it was named Punschtorte. Then J looked into it and reached the Original Wiener Punschkrapfen. I appreciate his curiosity and thank him for sharing the finding with me!
