Viennese Whirls - British Classic Baking
Ultimate guide to making your own Viennese Whirls at home.
Equipment
- Digital scales or measuring cups
- Medium mixing bowl
- Measuring Spoons
- Sieve
- Hand/stand mixer
- Baking/parchment paper
- 2 Baking trays (Cookie sheets)
- Pencil
- Ruler (or measuring tape)
- Coupler/Large Nozzle (round 4½cm (1¾″) wide)
- 2-3 Piping Bags
- Medium Open Star-tipped Nozzle (9mm, 2M)
- Cooling rack
- Medium Bowl (for buttercream)
- Medium Closed Star-tipped Nozzle (for buttercream, optional)
- Extra Fine Sieve (or tea-strainer, for dusting sugar)
Ingredients
For The Biscuits:
- 180 grams Butter (6¼ oz, 1⅔ sticks of unsalted, cubed & softened*)
- 50 grams Icing/Powdered Sugar (1¾ oz, rounder ⅓ cup, sieved)
- ½-1 tsp Vanilla Extract (make your own homemade Vanilla Extract)
- 156 grams Plain Flour (5½ oz, 1¼ cup, All Purpose Flour)
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 25 grams Cornflour (3 rounded tbsp, scant ¼ cup Corn Starch*)
- 2 tbsp Milk (May need little more*)
For The Filling & Decoration:
- 60 grams Butter (2 oz, ¼ cup, unsalted, cubed & softened)
- 185 grams Icing/Powdered Sugar (6½ oz, 1½ cups, sieved)
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract (homemade Vanilla Extract, optional)
- 1-1½ tbsp Milk
- Icing/Powdered Sugar (for dusting)
- 65 grams Raspberry Jam (2½ - 3½ tbsp, jelly/preserve, or strawberry)
* denotes see notes
Instructions
Prepare The Biscuits
- Weigh/measure out 180 grams Butter & cube to roughly 1cm, (⅓”) to soften & come to room temperature quicker.
- Beat the softened butter with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer till relatively smooth, then gradually add in the sieved 50 grams Icing/Powdered Sugar and beat until fully combined.
- Sieve over the 156 grams Plain Flour, ½ tsp Baking Powder & 25 grams Cornflour, briefly mix by hand before adding in the ½-1 tsp Vanilla Extract.
- On low speed to start, gradually add in enough of the 2 tbsp Milk to make a stiff but batter-like dough that you will be able to pipe with some pressure. **Tip - stiffness helps with the classic ridge definition of Viennese Whirls, and should be similar to Choux pastry consistency. But if your environment is cold this can be harder to pipe, so as a last measure, warm the mixture in the microwave for 20 seconds till just a little warm.
- Add the biscuit dough to a piping bag fitted with a 9mm (2M) open-star tipped medium nozzle & leave to the side but not anywhere cold.
- Cut baking/parchment paper to fit 2 baking trays/cookie sheets & use the widest end of a large coupler, large piping nozzle or something round with width 4.5cm (1.75″) to draw circles on the paper. Leave at least 2.5cm/1″ in-between & draw at least 22 circles.
- Grease the paper in place (here I used Frylight cooking spray), making sure to turn the paper over first. Then use the circles as a guide to pipe the whirls. Start from the outer edge & work your way in to the centre. Use a wet finger to press down the end, where you finished piping. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Chill & Bake
- Chill the Viennese Whirl biscuits in the fridge for 45 minutes or freezer for 20 minutes to keep their shape and distinctive definition.
- Preheat the oven to: 190°c/170°c Fan oven/375°f/Gas Mark 5 & to coincide with the end of the chilling time.
- Place in the centre of the oven & bake for 10-15 minutes, until set, beginning to colour at the edges & will move when pushed gently (but don't try to lift).
- Leave to cool as is, on top of a cooling rack for 5 minutes before sliding via the paper, onto the cooling rack & leave to cool completely before filling.
Prepare The Buttercream
- Add the cubed & softened 60 grams Butter to a bowl & beat until paler and no longer cubes. Then gradually add in the sieved 185 grams Icing/Powdered Sugar, the ½ tsp Vanilla Extract & 1-1½ tbsp Milk and beat for 2 - 3 minutes till a slightly firmer buttercream is formed but pipeable. **Add little more milk to get the correct consistency.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with the same nozzle as before, or a large closed star-tipped nozzle, before adding the prepared buttercream.
Fill & Assemble
- When the biscuits are fully cooled, 'pair' them up then separate into 2 rows so you know which is the top & bottom for the sandwich biscuits.
- Take a 'bottom' biscuit & pipe a ring of the buttercream around the edge of the biscuit, leaving about 3mm (1/8″) gap at the end. Release pressure & use a wet finger to push down the end of the buttercream.
- Fill the centre of the buttercream with about ½ tsp of the 65 grams Raspberry Jam , then carefully place the biscuit 'top' for the pairing, on top of the jam & buttercream & gently squeeze a little bit together. Repeat for the rest of the biscuits.
- **You can add melted white chocolate to the inside of one biscuit piece, before the buttercream & jam if the biscuits are not going to be finished quickly but not essential.**
- Sieve over a dusting of Icing/Powdered Sugar & chill the biscuits for 30 minutes, or a few hours if a hot environment.
Serving & Storing
- Serve the biscuits with tea or coffee as they are or enjoy with other tea party or high tea treats.
- Store in a paper lined cake or cookie tin. You can also store or serve, in cupcake cases. These will be fine for up to 1 week1.
- Viennese Whirls can be frozen, preferably unfilled. Simply flash freeze on a tray and then store in a paper lined air-tight container, with paper in-between if stacked and placed at the back of the freezer. These are fine frozen for up to 3 months2. Defrost at room temperature (the number of biscuits you want) for about 1 - 2 hours. Then assemble & consume immediately.
Video
Notes
Butter - always use unsalted butter in baking as salted has higher water content & lower fat content. The amount can vary from brand to brand, so unsalted is much preferred for consistency.
Vanilla Extract - is optional & it is easy to make Vanilla Extract at home.
Cornflour - US name for this is Corn Starch (not flour made from corn).
Milk - in both the biscuits and the buttercream mixture, milk is added to thin down. Both should be stiff but not so much that they can't be piped with a little pressure.
Jam - raspberry jam/jelly/preserve is best, but you can use strawberry or even apricot. See my Plum Orange jam recipe for how to make your own, or try some lemon curd. Traditionally piped in the centre, you can add a layer if you prefer, provided not too runny.
***Please see the step-by-step photo tutorial before this Recipe Card for more details & information. Especially recommended for beginners.
Try some more British biscuits like my popular Traditional Scottish Shortbread, homemade Chocolate Digestives or Air fryer British Scones if having your own afternoon tea or tea party.
Nutritional Information - I am not a qualified nutritionist and all values are approximate. Macros are based on 1 serving, being one Viennese Whirls sandwich biscuit, using all ingredient amounts as listed above. Assumes an average recipe yield of 11 whirls/22 biscuit pieces & using all the jam & buttercream. Make more or less biscuits & these values will change. All details calculated via MyFitnesspal.com.
Vanilla Extract - is optional & it is easy to make Vanilla Extract at home.
Cornflour - US name for this is Corn Starch (not flour made from corn).
Milk - in both the biscuits and the buttercream mixture, milk is added to thin down. Both should be stiff but not so much that they can't be piped with a little pressure.
Jam - raspberry jam/jelly/preserve is best, but you can use strawberry or even apricot. See my Plum Orange jam recipe for how to make your own, or try some lemon curd. Traditionally piped in the centre, you can add a layer if you prefer, provided not too runny.
***Please see the step-by-step photo tutorial before this Recipe Card for more details & information. Especially recommended for beginners.
Try some more British biscuits like my popular Traditional Scottish Shortbread, homemade Chocolate Digestives or Air fryer British Scones if having your own afternoon tea or tea party.
Nutritional Information - I am not a qualified nutritionist and all values are approximate. Macros are based on 1 serving, being one Viennese Whirls sandwich biscuit, using all ingredient amounts as listed above. Assumes an average recipe yield of 11 whirls/22 biscuit pieces & using all the jam & buttercream. Make more or less biscuits & these values will change. All details calculated via MyFitnesspal.com.
Nutrition Facts
Viennese Whirls - British Classic Baking
Serving Size
1 Biscuit
Amount per Serving
Calories
320
% Daily Value*
Fat
18
g
28
%
Saturated Fat
11
g
69
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
5
g
Cholesterol
47
mg
16
%
Sodium
27
mg
1
%
Potassium
14
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
38
g
13
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
22
g
24
%
Protein
2
g
4
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.