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Kaffeehaus

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Typical Austrian coffee service
(photo courtesy europeforvisitors.com)

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"Through his collection of outstanding recipes, evocative vignettes, splendid photographs, and a wealth of historical information and anecdotes, Rick
Rodgers brings to life the glories of the Austro-Hungarian Kaffeehaus and
it rich culture. At last, the legendary pastries of Vienna, Budapest and
Prague are given the attention they deserve."
~ Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking with Julia

KaffeeHaus:
Exquisite Desserts
from the Classic Cafes of
Vienna, Budapest, and Prague

by Rick Rodgers, 2002, Clarkson Potter

The most challenging aspect of writing this feature for you is choosing which commentary and recipes to present. This is a marvelous book! It seems a shame
not to be able to just sit down with you and show you exactly how marvelous. Obviously, I can offer you only the tip of the iceberg here. Recognizing that,
perhaps it would be best to rely on the publisher’s expertise to make the introduction, lest I get carried away…

“At Sacher, Demel, Gerbeaud, and other legendary cafes of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague, a rich tapestry of culture is still celebrated, and not just through the dark brew served on a silver tray but in exquisite, masterful desserts. Writers, painters, philosophers, and poets have gathered for centuries around Kaffeehaus tables, in lively conversation, sampling desserts that have set these institutions apart from their counterparts throughout the world…
In Kaffeehaus, author Rick Rodgers has collected the best classic Austro-Hungarian pastries, and expertly shows how to create these glorious treats in
your own home. Using his celebrated skill as a teacher to present the recipes to bakers of all levels, Rodgers complements the fare with astute observations of Kaffeehaus culture and its three-hundred-year-old traditions, customs so entrenched they are almost choreographed…
No matter the country, ‘rich’ and ‘sweet’ translate into any language, and Kaffeehaus beautifully captures the tastes and the elegance of these cafes, commemorating their culture and history and the delectable legacy of their desserts.”

All I can say to that is, “Amen!”

 Europeans take their coffeehouses very seriously. My personal Kaffeehaus experience is limited to Germany, Austria, France, Belgium and Switzerland
 but I daresay that if I singled out a handful of countries I would be in trouble.
So. We shall just say European, which seems to be a sign of the times anyway.
How serious are the Viennese? This serious:

 When a Coffeehouse Is Not a Coffeehouse

“Not every place that serves coffee is a coffeehouse. In Vienna, coffeehouses
are strictly licensed according to what they serve, although there is some
blurring of boundaries.
In 1999, there were 2,635 Viennese ‘coffeehouses’ in operation in six
categories [as opposed to 11 in operation in 1729]:

• 564 Kaffeehaeuser (coffeehouses), safes with seating serving only cold food, especially desserts, which may or may not be baked on the premises. Typical coffeehouse cold plates include sausages and cheese platters.

• 611 Kaffee-Restaurants (café-restaurants), establishments that serve hot food as well as cold. The exact menu varies, but you can usually dig into a bowl of goulash, and hot sandwiches are very popular.

• 911 Espressos, places serving a quick cup of espresso. They usually don’t serve liquor, pastry, or food – just espresso, and no other coffee-based beverages. There may be a few stools and counters for basic seating.

• 133 Kaffee-Konditoreien (café-bakeries), which are full-scale bakeries with seating. Some of the most famous names in Viennese pastry, such as Demel, Oberlaa, Heiner, Gerstner, and Lehmann, are actually Konditoreien and not coffeehouses. Even though both words can be translated as ‘bakery’, Konditorei is different from Baeckerei. A Konditorei specializes in sweet baked goods (not necessarily made with yeast) and confections, but a Baeckerei produces yeasted baked goods, especially the household daily bread. A Kurkonditorei is a bakery that has set very high standards.

• 35 Stehkaffee (‘standing coffee’), a stall serving coffee and rolls, found at train stations and the like.

• The balance consisted of 381 Nichtbetriebe, places that were holding
  licenses but not using them.

These figures are very revealing. For all of the nervousness concerning the rise of the impersonal espresso bar, if the figures for classic establishments are added up (including coffeehouses, café-restaurants, and bakeries with seating), they prove that the traditional settings remain to serve their customers in style.”

 Wonderful. Interesting, to be sure. But where are the RECIPES? Coming right up, folks. Just a bit more background. As Rick Rodgers says, “Coffee’s origins are appropriately dark and murky.” We won’t go there. Highlights only. Okay? And
why don’t you freshen up your coffee in the meantime…

•  1554 – The first coffeehouse opened in Constantinople. [Istanbul]

• Late 1500s – Coffee began making appearances in Europe.

• 1598 – Pope Clement III sipped his first cup of coffee and
  proclaimed it ‘a truly Christian beverage’.

• [circa] 1645 – Venice

• 1652 – London (“A few years later, Edward Lloyd opened a café
  where he printed a newsletter with shipping industry news. This
  practice was the start of Lloyd’s of London insurance company.”

• 1671 – Hamburg

• 1672 – Paris

But what about Vienna? There is a very interesting story/legend here having to
do with "the terrible 1683 siege of Vienna", a Polish war hero called Georg Franz Kolschitzky and his establishment of the first Viennese coffee business. History shows, however, that as early as 1665 the Turkish Grand Ambassador "had planted the seeds for Vienna's love affair with coffee" by serving both brewed coffee and coffee sherbet in the salon of his embassy. Let us just say that coffee has had a loyal following in Vienna for a very long time.

Okay. Bring on the recipes! We shall begin with a very famous and beloved Viennese Kaffeehaus beverage:
 

Hot Coffee with Orange Liqueur
Maria Theresia

Makes 1 serving

“Any time a food is named for the beloved empress Maria Theresia, you can be
sure it includes the most refined blend of ingredients. (Chicken Maria Theresia
has poached chicken breasts with sliced ox tongue masked with a creamy poultry
sauce – over the top to some tastes, but the height of luxury cooking in earlier
times.) You’ll find this hot coffee drink on almost every Viennese coffeehouse
menu. It’s often made with a clear orange liqueur like Triple Sec or Curaçao,
but Cognac-based Grand Marnier stands up to the strong coffee with more
authority. By substituting rum for the orange liqueur, you’ll get a Fiaker,
named for the horse-carriage drivers, who needed something warming to keep
themselves going. Fiaker is traditionally served in a glass with a handle, as
carriage drivers would need to keep one hand free for holding the reins.”

Boiling water, for heating the glass
3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 cup hot, brewed coffee, preferably Vienna roast
A dollop of Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipe follows)
Freshly grated orange zest, to taste, for garnish

Fill a coffee cup with boiling water and let stand for 1 minute to heat
the glass. Pour out the water. Pour the liqueur into the cup and stir in
the sugar. Add the coffee. Top with the whipped cream, then grate
the orange zest over the top. Serve immediately.

Fiaker

Substitute golden rum for the liqueur, and omit the orange zest.

Sweetened Whipped Cream
Schlagobers

Makes 2 cups

“Throughout the rest of the German-speaking world, whipped cream is called Schlagsahne, but the Viennese call it Schlagobers, which translates into some-thing like ‘very-well whipped’. Whipped cream is a very important ingredient
in the daily life of a Viennese; a dab goes on top of coffee or tea, or alongside
the afternoon snack, or, unsweetened, as a garnish for soup.
First, use high-quality cream (pasteurized, rather than ultra-pasteurized) with
a high butterfat content (36 to 40 percent), which whips up thick and fluffy and
has better flavor. Your natural food stores might carry such a cream, or look at
old-fashioned dairies.
Room-temperature cream won’t incorporate air, so use well-chilled cream
straight from the refrigerator. Use a chilled metal bowl or place the bowl
in a larger bowl of iced water.
For sweetening, confectioners’ sugar is preferred to granulated sugar because
the small amount of cornstarch in the former discourages the weeping that
occurs when whipped cream stands for longer than a few hours. A hint of
vanilla is imperative.
Learn to distinguish between the stages of whipped cream; it doesn’t always
have to be stiff. As a garnish for a dessert, the goal is softly beaten Schlagobers
that barely mounds. When used for piping, cream should be whipped to the stiff
stage. Of course there is an in-between stage, too, used for when cream is the
base for a torte filling. Take care not to overwhip the cream, at which point it
has a coarse, grainy texture and is well on its way to becoming butter.
A balloon whisk will give you the most control over the whipping process, but
most people prefer an electric mixer. A hand mixer is best, because the strong
motor of a standing mixer makes it difficult to gauge the whipping progress
and can quickly overwhip the cream.”

1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour the cream into a well-chilled bowl and add the sugar and vanilla. Using an electric hand mixer or balloon whisk, beat the cream to the desired consistency. For soft peaks, the cream will be just thick enough to hold its shape in soft billows. For stiffly beaten cream, the beaters or whisk wires will leave distinct traces in the cream and stand in firm peaks when the beaters are lifted.
Make ahead:
The cream can be whipped up to 1 day ahead, covered tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerated. If liquid separated from the cream, whip it again to incorporate the liquid.
 

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