Monday 18 October 2010

Coffee, Anyone?
Served with a Selection of Petit Fours
Esterhazyschnitten, Punschkrapfen
and Sachertorte


Ein Kleiner Brauner
Espresso with milk
served the Viennese way

Viennese Petit Fours
Esterhazy Cake, Punch Squares
and Sachertorte

Name That Cake
A play of many acts
and no end
in sight

A Short Introduction

I am always a bit hesitant translating
the names of Austrian pastry.
Each time I try, I get bogged down in details,
matters become instantly complicated,
and by the time every one has been consulted -
the historian, the anthropologist,
the sociologist, the musicologist,
the food scientist, the Professor of Heraldry,
and - let's not forget - the proper authorities
at the Viennese Ministry of Cake,
I am out of breath.

Writing novellas
must be a breeze compared
to explaining the origin and background
of Austrian pastry names.
And we are not even
talking about the subtleties
of language and tongue in cheek
the Viennese like to confuse us Zugereiste* with!

Act I

Esterhazyschnitten
- entering stage left -
Named after the House of Esterhazy,
a Hungarian noble family
that goes back to the Middle Ages
and whose destiny has been intertwined
with the Habsburg Empire for centuries.
It is beyond explanation why they ended up
having a rather humble Schnitte (slice)
and not a whole cake elevated to their peerage!
A Schnitte simply does not reflect adequately
the weight of history this brave family
has helped carry for more than half a Millennium!

Luckily, we are living
in the 21st Century and
in the European Union.
In the good old times,
wars have been started
over less weighty incidences.

You see, nothing is simple,
everything is complex
where Austrian pastry naming
is concerned:
An Austrian pastry chef may well cut
a Stück Torte - slice of cake
(for simplicity's sake,
cake here is a stand-in for Torte,
we don't want to cry into our coffee
over the cake versus Torte question, do we?),
but he will not cut a Torte into Schnitten!


I herewith declare
The End
of Act I


***

Coming soon:

The Punschkrapferl
Losely translated as Punch Squares,
but trust me, there is so much more
to be told about it!

*) Zugereiste:
Newcomers
In Vienna: Anybody who arrived here
since the House of Habsburg collapsed


Photographed
this morning
at the newly reopened
Café Museum
Corner of Operngasse
and Friedrichstrasse,
a stone's throw
from the State Opera

25 comments:

  1. A wonderfully imaginative post Merisi! Bravo!

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  2. Coffee and Petit fours sound perfectly yummy and if my accent isn't great perhaps I could just point and look yearningly at them..when choosing

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  3. Mmm... Petit Fours with marzipan filling... And vanilla tea...

    Sigh!

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  4. Merisi, I have glasses that are very similar to those sparkling in your photos. I do not have such cups of coffees regularly available, and ... there is no way that I could produce a petit four from my tiny kitchen.

    Your photos continue to remind me that such elegant sipping and relishing of perfect pastry might be mine ... only an ocean away.

    xo

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  5. You are fabulous! Although I am disappointed in the photo that accompanies it, I posted about a special place for a coffee break. I hope you check it out and enjoy!

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  6. They're so beautiful...and my my is watering just thinking about how delicious they must be.

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  7. What gorgeous photos--these are all so tempting and dramatic--take me away!

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  8. Dear Readers,

    here is the link D.B. shared with me, sheer pleasure lies in wait for you:

    Penguin's Carte Noire Reader

    Thank you, dear DB,
    a wonderful day to all of you,
    Merisi

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  9. Those petit fours look delicious, strange that they should be in groups of three and not fours!

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  10. Thank you all so much for your kind comments,
    such delightfull excuses for a study break! ;-)

    Acornmoon:
    You made me giggle
    Contrary to popolar myth, the petit fours don't like to show up as a foursome! The little sqare cakes are mighty proud to have made if out of the four, i.e. oven in French), that's all. ;-)

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  11. Bravo to you for trying and getting these all in correct display, form and name, and as for me, they are simply delicious looking little yummy cakes~

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  12. I just gained four pounds reading this delicious post! What a wonderful imaginative person you are. Please come to NZ so I can introduce you to our amazing cafe culture - so very different, but so special.
    I'll be waiting to host you!

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  13. OMG! How i crave for one of those petit fours, , once again I must say: adorable post

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  14. Merisi, what kind of camera do you have?

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  15. How delightful. You certainly have a way with words as well as with the camera.
    Delicious petit fours and coffee. I don't think there is anything better.

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  16. Eliza G:
    I use a Nikon D80.
    I would recommend the newer model, the D90.
    It is several notches better than my almost 3 year old one. Good luck!


    Thank you all for your kind comments!


    My California Girl - and then Geneva - returned home today, with her MBA in her pocket. :-)
    .

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  17. Eliza G:
    I use a Nikon D80.
    I would recommend the newer model, the D90.
    It is several notches better than my almost 3 year old one. Good luck!


    Thank you all for your kind comments!


    My California Girl - and then Geneva - returned home today, with her MBA in her pocket. :-)
    .

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  18. I love this post, Merisi! Such pomp and pastry!

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  19. Can we just eat them and worry about what the name means later?

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  20. Alan,
    of course, go ahead,
    enjoy, forget all worries and names! :-)

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  21. Alan,
    of course, go ahead,
    enjoy, forget all worries and names! :-)

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  22. Alan,
    of course, go ahead,
    enjoy, forget all worries and names! :-)

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  23. Thank you for this post so rich in calories and interest;I don't know if I 'll resist to paint the divine pink Punschkrapferlt!
    There is a real culture of cakes and pastries, I havee to say I don't know very well the etymology of french cakes ,I think it's often reffer to the shape as for "la religieuse" which looks like a big nun, despite of this is not very obvious!

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  24. ..and congratulations to your California Girl!!!!!

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