Ingredients
Sponge
- 4eggs
- 120 gsugar
- 120 gplain flour
- 30 gbutter, melted
Punsch filling
- 400 gcake offcuts and crumbs
- 100 gapricot jam
- 80 gdark chocolate, melted
- 80 mlrum
- 60 mlorange juice
- 2 tbspicing sugar
- grated zest of 1 orange
To layer
- 150 gapricot jam, warmed and sieved
Fondant
- 500 gfondant icing sugar
- about 80 ml water
- 2 tbsprum
- pink or red food colouring
To finish
- a small piece of candied cherry, optional
Directions
- Whisk the eggs and sugar for 8 to 10 minutes until pale and tripled in volume. Fold in the sifted flour, then the melted butter, and bake in a lined tray at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Cool the sponge completely, then cut two neat thin layers from it and crumble all the rest. The two thin layers become the top and bottom, and the crumbs become the filling.
- Work it together with your hands until it holds like a firm damp paste. It should hold together when squeezed but not be wet, because a soggy filling collapses and leaks through the fondant.
- Add more crumbs if it is wet and a little more juice if it is dry. Taste it, and expect the rum to be clearly present. Lay the first thin sponge layer in the base and brush it with warmed sieved apricot jam. Press the punsch filling evenly on top, firmly, in a layer about 3 cm thick.
- Press it down properly and level it, because any air pockets show as dips when it is cut. Brush the second sponge layer with jam and lay it jam side down on top. Press the whole thing down with a board and refrigerate it overnight. The overnight press and chill is what lets you cut clean cubes, and a warm loose block simply crumbles under the knife.
- Cut it into cubes of about 4 cm. Cut them with a long sharp knife, wiping it between cuts. Brush every face of each cube with a thin layer of warm apricot jam. Let the jam set for 20 minutes. Now make the fondant: warm the fondant icing sugar with the water and rum over a bain-marie until smooth and just pourable.
- Keep the fondant below 37°C. It should coat the back of a spoon and flow slowly. Set the cubes on a rack over a tray and pour the fondant over each one, covering all sides.
- Pour it in one confident movement over each cube rather than dabbing at it, which leaves marks. Let them set at room temperature for an hour. Top each with a small piece of candied cherry if you want.
Technique
- The pink colour is the recognisable signature and it varies from pale to quite vivid between shops.
- They keep three or four days in a tin and the filling stays moist.
- The interior colour comes from chocolate and jam rather than from the fondant.
Substitutions
- Any plain sponge or leftover cake for the crumbs.
- Rum essence for an alcohol-free version, though it is much less good.
Variations
- Made as one large cake, as punschtorte.
- With more chocolate in the filling.
- Made small, as petits fours.
History
An Austrian pastry shop classic built from offcuts, its bright pink fondant a Viennese confectioner’s signature.
Frequently asked questions
What is Punschkrapfen?
Punschkrapfen is a dessert from Austria: pink-glazed cube of cake crumbs soaked in rum, jam and chocolate. An Austrian pastry shop classic built from offcuts, its bright pink fondant a Viennese confectioner’s signature.
How long does Punschkrapfen take to make?
Punschkrapfen takes 1 hr plus overnight chilling of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 16. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Punschkrapfen?
Yes, within limits. Any plain sponge or leftover cake for the crumbs. Rum essence for an alcohol-free version, though it is much less good.
What is the most important thing to get right in Punschkrapfen?
Press it down properly and level it, because any air pockets show as dips when it is cut. Brush the second sponge layer with jam and lay it jam side down on top. Press the whole thing down with a board and refrigerate it overnight. The overnight press and chill is what lets you cut clean cubes, and a warm loose block simply crumbles under the knife.
