Viennese Whirl
These classic Viennese Whirls are buttery, delicate and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Two light, crumbly biscuits are sandwiched together with smooth vanilla buttercream and raspberry jam for the perfect combination of buttery, sweet and fruity.
They’re such a nostalgic British bake and one I grew up eating. They look fancy with their pretty piped swirls, but they’re surprisingly simple to make once you get the consistency of the dough just right.
Yields: 18–20 sandwich biscuits
Ingredients
For the Viennese Biscuits
250 g unsalted butter, softened
100 g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
250 g plain flour
30 g cornflour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp milk, plus a little extra if needed
For the Vanilla Buttercream
75 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
175 g icing sugar, sifted
Icing sugar, for dusting
5 tbsp shop-bought raspberry jam or jam of your preference
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan. Line 2–3 large baking trays with baking paper. Fit a large piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle.
Add the softened butter and icing sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat for 2–3 minutes until very pale, light and creamy. Add the vanilla and mix again until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on a low speed until just combined. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix again.
The dough should be soft enough to pipe smoothly but still firm enough to hold the ridges from the star nozzle. If it feels too stiff, add a little more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach the right consistency. Avoid adding too much, as a very soft dough can spread in the oven.
Transfer the dough to the prepared piping bag. Pipe approximately 36–40 small swirls, around 4–5 cm in diameter, onto the lined baking trays, leaving a little space between each biscuit. Try to keep them as even in size as possible so they pair together neatly.
If you want perfect sized cookies I used a macaron slipmat and placed the parchment paper ontop as a piping guide or alternatively use a cookie cutter to draw circles as a template.
Bake one tray at a time for approximately 10–12 minutes, or until the biscuits are lightly golden around the edges.
Leave the biscuits on the baking tray for around 5 minutes as they will be very delicate when first baked. Carefully transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
To make the buttercream, beat the softened butter for 2–3 minutes until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla, then gradually add the sifted icing sugar, beating until light, smooth and fluffy.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
Pair up biscuits of a similar size. Turn half of the biscuits upside down and pipe a swirl of vanilla buttercream onto the flat side.
Add a small spoonful of jam of your choice to the centre of the buttercream.
Gently sandwich with a second biscuit, taking care not to press too firmly as the biscuits are delicate and crumbly.
Finish with a light dusting of icing sugar before serving.