Austrian & German desserts
Austrian and German desserts sit at the rich centre of European baking: stretched strudels, layered tortes, yeast-raised cakes and the afternoon ritual of coffee and cake. This guide collects every recipe in the tradition on DessertCat, from Apfelstrudel to Black Forest gateau, together with Dutch neighbours that share the same oven.
All 22 Austrian & German desserts
ii. The Austrian and German dessert tradition
The sweet kitchen of Austria and Germany grew up around two institutions: the Viennese coffee house and the German Kaffee und Kuchen, the mid-afternoon pause for coffee and a slice of cake. Both rewarded cakes that could be cut into neat portions and eaten with a fork, which is why so much of the repertoire is made up of tortes, sheet cakes (Blechkuchen) and filled slices (Schnitten).
Key ingredients
Butter, eggs and flour are joined by quark (Topfen in Austria), poppy seeds, hazelnuts and almonds, marzipan, sour cherries, plums, apples and apricots. Poppy seed — ground and cooked with milk and sugar — fills the Mohnkuchen, the poppy seed strudel and the braided Mohnstriezel. Quark gives the German cheesecake, Käsekuchen, its light, slightly tangy texture.
Techniques
Three techniques define the tradition. Strudel dough, an elastic flour-and-oil dough stretched by hand until thin enough to read through, wraps Apfelstrudel and Topfenstrudel. Sweet yeast doughs make Bienenstich, Berliner and Schnecken. And sponge and meringue work builds the layered tortes — the many thin layers of Prinzregententorte, the meringue-and-sponge stripes of Kardinalschnitten, the kirsch-soaked layers of the Black Forest cake.
Regional styles
Vienna gave the world Kaiserschmarrn, the torn, caramelised pancake associated with the Habsburg court, and the rum-soaked Punschkrapfen. Austria's Linzer Torte is often described as one of the oldest named cakes in the world. Bavaria and the south favour fried and yeast sweets, while Schneeballen come from Franconia, around Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This collection also includes Dutch baking — boterkoek, oliebollen and speculaas — because it shares ingredients and festivals with northern Germany.
Occasions
Christmas is the high season: Advent brings stollen, marzipan, spiced biscuits such as speculaas and the Christmas markets' roasted nuts. Carnival (Fasching) is the time for Berliner and other doughnuts, and oliebollen are the traditional Dutch New Year's Eve treat. The rest of the year, a fruit Kuchen in summer and a strudel in autumn follow the seasons.
iii. Common questions
What is the most famous Austrian dessert?
Apfelstrudel and the Sachertorte are the best known internationally, with Kaiserschmarrn, Linzer Torte and Topfenstrudel close behind. On this site, Apfelstrudel and Kaiserschmarrn are good places to start.
What are traditional German desserts?
Traditional German desserts include Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest gateau), Bienenstich, Käsekuchen, Mohnkuchen, Berliner doughnuts and seasonal fruit sheet cakes. Christmas adds stollen, marzipan and spiced biscuits.
What is the difference between a Torte and a Kuchen?
A Kuchen is an everyday cake, often a single layer or a sheet cake topped with fruit or crumble. A Torte is a more elaborate layered cake, usually filled with cream, buttercream or jam and finished with a glaze or decoration.
What is Topfen?
Topfen is the Austrian name for quark, a fresh, soft, mildly sour cheese. In Germany it is called Quark. It is the basis of Topfenstrudel and German cheesecake, and gives them a lighter, tangier texture than cream cheese.
Why is Bienenstich called bee sting cake?
Bienenstich means bee sting. The name is usually explained by the honey-and-almond topping, which is said to attract bees, though several competing stories exist and none is confirmed. The cake itself is a yeast dough with a caramelised almond crust and a cream filling.