1. Sachertorte by Herr Johannes

The Viennese classic in Herr Johannes’s handwriting

The world’s most famous cake, created in 1832 by the baker’s apprentice Franz Sacher. At Vollpension, Herr Johannes bakes the Sachertorte. He worked as executive chef in five top Viennese hotels and refined his recipe over decades. Chocolate cake with apricot jam and chocolate glaze, served with whipped cream. His recipe with all the techniques for preparing the Sacher mass, cutting and filling the base, and applying the glaze is here:

See Sachertorte recipe by Herr Johannes

2. Apple strudel by Frau Maria

The paper-thin dough that everything hinges on

The definitive Viennese pastry. Frau Maria spent her entire working life in gastronomy and has pulled strudel dough countless times. The trick: the dough must be so thin you can read a newspaper through it. Her recipe includes all the details: why the water must be lukewarm, why it takes at least ten minutes of kneading, and why the dough rests, but not in the fridge.

See apple strudel recipe by Frau Maria

3. Buchteln from Vollpension

Fluffy yeast dough, filled with Powidl

Sweet yeast dough, placed close together so that the rolls grow into each other as they rise. Classically filled with Powidl (thick plum jam), or with apricot jam. The smell while baking is indescribable. Our baking grandmothers and grandfathers have been making Buchteln for decades. The recipe shows why the dough needs to rest, how to seal the filling and when the Buchteln are perfect.

See Buchteln recipe

4. Kardinalschnitte by Herr Gerhard

The most elegant Viennese pastry

A strip of baked meringue with a sponge edge, a strip of sponge, filled with coffee cream and lingonberry jam. The yellow-and-white colour scheme references the Vatican colours, hence the name. Created in 1933 for the Catholic Congress by Viennese confectioner Ludwig Heiner. Herr Gerhard’s recipe shows how to get the meringue strips to the right consistency.

See Kardinalschnitte recipe

5. Kaiserschmarrn by Mutter Mayr

The Imperial classic in the family version

Torn pancake with raisins, dusted with icing sugar, served with plum compote or applesauce. Kaiserschmarrn is one of the most popular Austrian desserts and, according to our own survey, was the country’s favourite dessert overall. Mutter Mayr’s recipe is the classic family version.

See Kaiserschmarrn recipe

6. Gugelhupf by Frau Christine I.

The family classic in its characteristic ring shape

A simple cake in the characteristic ring shape with a hole in the middle. A Viennese family classic in countless variations: with poppy seeds, nuts, chocolate or lemon. Frau Christine I.’s version is the classic basic recipe you can use as a starting point.

See Gugelhupf recipe

7. Punschschnitte by Frau Christine I.

The larger sibling of the Punschkrapferl

Like the Punschkrapferl, but as a slice. Sponge cake filled with a mixture of rum, jam, nuts and cake crumbs, covered in pink sugar icing on the outside. Traditionally made from leftovers of other pastries, the result is nevertheless — or precisely because of it — a cult classic.

See Punschschnitte recipe

8. Linzerschnitte by Mutter Mayr

The smaller sibling of the Linzer torte

The Linzer baking tradition is probably even older than the Sachertorte. Nutty shortcrust pastry with redcurrant jam, classically with a lattice top. The Linzerschnitte is the practical everyday version of the Linzer torte: same dough, same filling, just cut into slices. Mutter Mayr’s recipe brings the Viennese kitchen together with the Upper Austrian baking tradition.

See Linzerschnitte recipe

9. Milchrahmstrudel by Frau Maria

The underrated strudel classic

„Milirahm”, as it’s also called in Vienna. Like the apple strudel, but with a creamy filling of milk cream and breadcrumbs. Frau Maria’s second contribution to the topic of using up leftovers: traditionally, Milchrahmstrudel was made from old white bread. A strudel that surprises many people who thought they already knew all the Viennese pastries.

See Milchrahmstrudel recipe

10. Kipferlkoch from Vollpension

The forgotten Viennese pastry

Kipferlkoch is one of the classic Viennese leftover pastries: stale Kipferl soaked in milk, mixed with sugar, egg and raisins, baked into a sweet pudding. Kipferlkoch was a Sunday classic in many Viennese households and is now almost forgotten. Our recipe is an invitation to rediscover it.

See Kipferlkoch recipe on the Backademie

These ten recipes are a starting point. Our Backademie recipe collection contains over 150 authentic family recipes from our grandmothers and grandfathers: from classic Viennese pastries to vegan cake versions to Christmas cookies. Every recipe carries a name and is attributed to a specific person.

All recipes are freely accessible and free of charge. For those who want to dive deeper, we also offer OMAsterclasses: video courses in which the grandmothers and grandfathers show step by step how a specific pastry succeeds, including recipes for download. The current OMAsterclass „Perlen der Wiener Mehlspeiskunst” (Pearls of Viennese Pastry Art) covers the classic pastries in video format.

If you want to learn from the grandmothers and grandfathers in person rather than just read, you can find us in the baking courses at the Vollpension Studio in Vienna. Buchteln, apple strudel, Sachertorte, Kardinalschnitte, Punschkrapferl: five courses, always with a grandmother or grandfather, from €129,90 per person, 3.5 hours including a shared meal. The small techniques that only people who have baked something thousands of times can show you.

As an award-winning intergenerational café and social business, we stand for a modern reinterpretation of the Viennese coffee house. If you’d like to have the pastries from our recipes fresh from the cake counter, you’ll find us at Johannesgasse 4A in the 1st district (daily 08:00-18:00) and Schleifmühlgasse 16 in the 4th district (daily 08:00-20:00). If you want to meet the people who pass on these recipes, we introduce our grandmothers and grandfathers here.