Skip to main content

Not Viennese, but Swiss Cakes for the Weekly Bake Off


One of my strongest childhood memories is the ritual of our family's Sunday Tea, which always took a certain form. My nan would put the kettle on at just before 4pm, and a pot of steaming hot tea would soon be brewed. There were sandwiches, and always, always some form of cake. Quite often, if nan and mum had had a busy weekend, it would be provided by Mr Kipling. My brother and I looked forward to this with some enthusiasm, as there were quite often French Fancies and Vienniese Whirls, which were our hands-down favourites. We could leave the Battenburg Slices, and the jam tarts were often a bit too dry  for us (definitely not as good as homemade). But the soft sweet inside of an iced French Fancy (my favourite being the lemon yellow ones), and the moistness of the Viennese Whirls were something to savour. Of course, you can still buy these. But they just don't seem to taste the same somehow.


So when Amy announced this week's Bake Off challenge as the Apricot Swiss Cakes from Mary Berry's 100 Cakes and Bakes, and I read through the recipe, it reminded me of those Vienniese Whirls. Throughout the week, my fellow bakers began their versions, and the feedback was that they were delicious - their likeness to Viennese Whirls being mentioned every so often. I was really looking forward to this one then, hoping to recreate a little of that magic.

This is a fairly straightforward recipe, but a new method for me of making cakes. The texture is quite short, due to the amount of butter (and no eggs!) and is more of a biscuit than a cake. If I was anticipating something along the lines of a Vienniese Whirl, I was wrong, as I don't think these were quite as soft. They were very delicate and fragile, easily crumbling if cut.
 

You cream softened butter with icing sugar, and then add in self raising flour and a much smaller amount of cornflour. This is beaten together to form a paste.


This is then transferred to a piping bag, and the mixture piped into prepared bun trays lined with fairy cake liners. I used a very large star nozzle for this, which is what MB suggests.


The mixture was very stiff and difficult to pipe, but nearer the end, it seemed to soften slightly, probably from the temperature of my hands on the piping bag.


I then baked them in a 160 fan oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.


MB's instructions then say to add a small amount of jam into the centre and dust with icing sugar - I did it the other way around, dusting first and then adding the jam, as I didn't want the jam to look 'dusty', and it seemed more in keeping with the photo in the book.



Whether it is the recipe itself, or my interpretation of it, I've got to admit that I was a little dissapointed by these. Neither Mike nor I are fans of apricot, so I changed the jam filling to strawberry. Again, referencing the Viennese Whirls. Sadly, all in all, I found these cakes a little too sweet and crumbly. They were, for me, just OK.



Maybe that's a lesson for me though as well. Trying to recreate a fondly held memory doesn't always work out. Maybe it shouldn't. Maybe it's better to leave them to that particular place in time, and simply enjoy them for what they are.

Susie

Comments

  1. Well, even if they couldn't match your childhood memories, they look very pretty and I'm sure would impress if you served them for a tea party.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Choclette, they were nice and did turn out very pretty - definitely impressive on the plate. I think I just probably had unrealistic expectations. :)

      Delete
  2. Wow! Lovely Swiss cakes! Beautifully presented & a great tea time treat indeed! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kit, thanks for your comments. Glad you like them! :)

      Delete
  3. It can be hard to recreate a fond memory as expectations run high! Your swiss cakes look gorgeous and reminded me that I forgot to dust with icing sugar! I did find it a little difficult to pipe but was pleased with the final result. Your piping is excellent!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ros, I am pleased with how they turned out, just have to Realise that not every recipe will work out quite how you'd like it to! :)

      Delete
  4. Everyone seems to be joining in with this one! Yours look perfect! I'd like to try the recipe sometime as it's a little bit unusual with the piping element :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Amy may just have another record number of entries! I did find it a good recipe to try as the methodology is that bit different, so it was good fun in that respect :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Your comments are very much appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Dark Indulgent Chocolate and Walnut Brownies for the Weekly Bake Off

It's been a great couple of weeks in the Bake Off , as Amy has chosen some fantastic chocolate recipes from Mary Berry's 100 Cakes and Bakes . Although I made last week's American Chocolate Ripple Cheesecake, I didn't enter it. Not because it was a disaster (it was incredibly delicious though very rich - Josh has been able to eek it out all week as he only needs a little piece to get his daily chocolate fix!), but I simply ran out of time. So this week, I decided to get my skates on and make the bake early. Particularly as it's brownies. Yes. Brownies. Those dark, fudgey, chocolatey little bites of heaven. But for me, this week was an experiment. You see, I already have a fantastic brownie recipe . It's been made countless times and been played around with to give an endless variety of treats. (Have I ever mentioned Maya Gold in brownies? Yes? Well I'll have to post about them someday soon because they are amazing - like some sort of out of body exp

Limoncello Cake

I really love this cake. I mean really love it. So much so, it's my new best friend. It's like sunshine on a plate. The citrussy aroma tempts you while the sultry lemony pucker hits you full in the mouth. And who can resist anything with 'Limoncello' in the title? The mere mention of the word transports you to to the Sicilian sun. It's one more reason I have to thank Random Recipes for getting me to delve into my cookbooks. This month's challenge had a bit of a twist. Dom, of Belleau Kitchen (who runs the challenge) created a Randometer thingummy-bob to test us. You had to enter how many cookbooks you owned, and then it would generate a random number. You counted along your shelf to that book, and then entered the number of pages, to generate another number and so find your Random Recipe. The gods must have been looking favourably on me this month, as I ended up with this gorgeous lemon cake, from Peggy Porschen's 'Boutique Baking