My favourite show, The Great British Bake Off is back and I’m beyond excited! Have you started watching the new series?
Last year, I half attempted to do a vegan bake along and it was my intention to do the same this year. But committing to a blog-worthy bake once a week is a little unrealistic for me so I’m just going to play it by ear this time…
When I saw a clip of this week’s episode (biscuit week) I caught a glimpse of some Viennese Whirls. I’ve been wanting to make a vegan version of these for so long so it was the perfect opportunity!
What are Viennese Whirls?
Vienesse Whirls are a delicious but preposterous creation, originating from Britain. They’re said to be inspired by Austrian Pastries but are completely unrelated. They consist of two butter biscuits, sandwiched together with jam and buttercream.
For the biscuit, I used my Vegan Danish Butter Cookie recipe because I wanted that same buttery, light texture and it worked wonderfully!
The really important thing with this recipe is to use a good-tasting vegan butter. Unfortunately, some don’t taste nice at all and since it’s a big part of the recipe, it can strongly effect the overall outcome. My favourite vegan butters to bake with (in the UK) are Vitalite and Flora’s new dairy-free butter. I’ve heard Earth Balance Buttery is a great option for those in the US.
So how do these compare to classic Viennese Whirls? You’d be hard pushed to tell the difference. They’re DELICIOUS!
The only issue is that the buttercream doesn’t stay firm for long, so if you’re leaving it at room temperature for more than a couple of hours, the two halves don’t stay together very well. However, you can just get around this by keeping them refrigerated.
Another tip: Keep the whirls smaller than you think they should be as they will expand ever so slightly in the oven. Plus, they’re much easier to eat when they’re small. I like to make a circle, starting from the outside, swirling inwards to create the “whirl” shape.
These Viennese Whirls are:
- 200g / ¾ cup + 2 tbsp dairy-free butter (choose a good-tasting one!)
- 125g / 1 cup icing sugar
- 310g / 2¾ cup plain flour
- 1 tbsp corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)
- 1 tbsp dairy-free milk (if needed)
- 75g / ⅓ cup dairy-free butter
- 125g / 1 cup icing sugar
- Seedless raspberry jam
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Mix the dairy-free butter and icing sugar together in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the dairy-free milk.
- If the mixture is too stiff/thick, add the dairy-free milk to help thin it out until you have a soft but firm mixture.
- Transfer to a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Pipe the mixture into small circular spirals. Starting from the outside, working your way in. Try and keep them all the same size!
- Bake for approx 12-15 minutes until lightly golden.
- Leave to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the buttercream by simply whisking the dairy-free butter and icing sugar together until sweet and thick.
- Spread about a tablespoon of the buttercream onto half of the cookies. Dollop a teaspoon of rapsberry jam onto the other half and sandwich together.
- Serve or keep refrigerated for up to 2 days!
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