Punschkrapfen — Vienna's pink rum-punch cakes

i. Origin & history

Punschkrapfen come from the tradition of the Viennese Konditorei, the pastry shops and confectioners that flourished in the city from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They began, as many great pastries did, as a way to use up leftovers: the trimmings and offcuts of sponge cakes, which were mixed with jam, chocolate and alcohol to make a moist filling and sandwiched between fresh sponge layers. They have no documented inventor, but by the twentieth century they were a fixture of every Austrian pastry counter and remain so today.

The name has two parts. Punsch is punch, the hot or cold drink of rum, citrus, sugar and spice that was fashionable across Europe from the seventeenth century, and whose flavour — rum with orange and lemon — runs through the filling and the glaze. Krapfen in Austria usually means a jam doughnut, the Austrian name for the German Berliner, but historically the word was used more broadly for small round pastries and cakes, and in this case it stuck. The diminutive Punschkrapferl is common in Vienna.

The striking pink glaze, coloured with a little red colouring and flavoured with rum, has given rise to a well-known Viennese saying. A Punschkrapfen is 'pink on the outside, brown on the inside, and always a little bit drunk', and the phrase has long been used as a joking description of people, from politicians to the stereotypical Viennese themselves.

Punschkrapfen are often compared with British French Fancies or with petits fours, which they resemble in size and in their fondant coating. They are richer and boozier, however, and their dense, moist filling is closer to a rum ball than to a light sponge.

ii. How the filling holds together

A Punschkrapfen has three layers: a thin base of sponge, a thick middle of soaked crumbs, and a thin top of sponge, all glazed. The middle layer is the heart of the cake. It is made by crumbling sponge and mixing it with apricot jam, melted chocolate or nougat, rum, orange juice and zest. The jam and chocolate bind the crumbs; the rum and citrus juice moisten and flavour them.

The mixture should be moist enough to press into a firm, cohesive layer but not wet enough to be soggy. It is spread over the base sponge, covered with the top layer and then weighed down — traditionally with a board and a few books — and chilled for several hours or overnight. Pressing compacts the layers so the cake can be cut into neat, sharp-edged cubes.

Glazing is the professional touch. The top is brushed with hot, sieved apricot jam (aprikotieren in Austrian pastry language) before the fondant goes on. The jam seals the sponge so the fondant does not soak in, and gives a smooth surface for a glossy finish. The fondant is warmed gently until it flows, flavoured with rum and tinted pink. Overheated fondant loses its shine and turns dull and crusty when it sets; at the right temperature, around body heat, it sets into a smooth, glassy coat.

In pastry shops, each cube is coated individually on all sides. At home, the simpler approach is to glaze the top of the whole slab and cut it into squares, sometimes called Punschschnitten.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 16 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 130 g caster sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 130 g plain flour
• 150 g apricot jam (filling)
• 60 g dark chocolate or nut nougat, melted
• 4 tbsp dark rum (filling)
• 1 orange, juice and finely grated zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 100 g apricot jam, warmed and sieved, to seal
• 300 g white pouring fondant (or 250 g icing sugar)
• 2 tbsp rum (glaze)
• 1 few drops red food colouring

The sponge is a classic Austrian Biskuit, made from whisked eggs, sugar and flour with no fat; offcuts of any plain sponge or leftover cake can be used for the filling instead. Apricot jam is used throughout Viennese pastry to bind and seal. Dark rum, ideally Austrian Inländerrum, gives the 'punch' flavour; for a child-friendly version, use orange juice and a few drops of rum flavouring. Pouring fondant gives the most authentic glassy glaze; a simple icing of icing sugar mixed with rum and a little hot water is an easier alternative, though less shiny.

iv. Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F), conventional heat. Line the base of a 23 cm square tin with baking paper; do not grease the sides.
2. Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla with an electric mixer for 8–10 minutes, until very thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift over the flour and fold in gently.
3. Pour into the tin and bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden and springy. Cool completely, ideally overnight, then slice horizontally into three even layers.
4. Crumble the middle layer into a bowl. Add the 150 g apricot jam, melted chocolate, rum, orange juice and zest and lemon juice and mix to a moist, cohesive paste.
5. Line the clean tin with cling film. Put the bottom sponge layer in, spread with the filling, pressing it firmly into an even layer, and top with the third layer, cut side down.
6. Cover with cling film, place a board or second tin on top and weigh it down. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
7. Lift the cake out and trim the edges. Brush the top with the warm sieved apricot jam and leave for 10 minutes to set.
8. Warm the fondant gently in a bowl over hot water with the rum and colouring until it is smooth, pourable and pink, at about 37 °C. Pour over the top of the cake and spread quickly with a palette knife. When set, cut into 16 squares with a hot, wet knife.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Bake the sponge a day ahead. A day-old sponge slices into even layers and crumbles easily for the filling.
• Get the filling's consistency right. It should press together like damp sand. Too dry, and the cake falls apart; too wet, and the base turns soggy.
• Press the cake firmly. Weighting the assembled cake overnight is what produces clean, neat cubes.
• Always seal with apricot jam. Without it, the fondant soaks into the sponge and dries dull and patchy.
• Do not overheat the fondant. Above about 40 °C it loses its shine. Warm it just enough to pour.
• Use a hot knife. Dip a sharp knife in hot water and wipe it between cuts so the glaze does not crack.

vi. Variations

Punschschnitten, the slices made in this recipe, are the home-style version; individually glazed Punschkrapfen are coated on all sides with fondant and often topped with a chocolate dot or a candied cherry. Some bakers use nougat instead of chocolate, or add chopped hazelnuts or candied orange peel to the filling. There are also Punschtorte, a whole round cake built the same way, and a chocolate-glazed version.

Punschkrapfen sit in the Viennese pastry case beside the striped Kardinalschnitten, the custard-filled Cremeschnitte and the Bavarian Prinzregententorte. Their boozy cake-crumb filling is close to the rum ball, and their fondant finish relates them to Battenberg and other British teatime cakes.

vii. Serving & storage

Punschkrapfen are served at room temperature, as an afternoon treat with coffee in Vienna's cafés, and they are popular at Christmas and on festive occasions. Because of the rum, they are a cake for adults, though alcohol-free versions are made for children.

They keep well. Stored in an airtight container in a cool place, they last up to a week, and the flavours develop over the first few days; in warm weather, keep them in the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature before serving. They freeze well, unglazed, for up to two months; thaw in the refrigerator and glaze before serving.

ix. More from Austrian & German

• Kardinalschnitten — meringue and sponge slices
• Cremeschnitte — custard slice
• Prinzregententorte — Bavarian layer cake
• Linzer Torte — nut-and-jam lattice tart
• Rum Balls — boozy chocolate truffles
• Battenberg Cake — pink-and-yellow chequered cake