Einspänner

Ingredients

Coffee

• 60 mldouble espresso or strong mokka
• sugar, to taste

Cream

• 100 mldouble cream
• 1 tspicing sugar

To finish

• icing sugar, to dust
• a glass of water, to serve

Directions

1. Warm the glass with hot water and pour it away. A cold glass takes the heat straight out of a small quantity of coffee.
2. Whip the cream with the icing sugar until it holds firm peaks, stopping while it is still glossy rather than grainy.
3. Whip it properly stiff. It has to sit as a lid on top of the coffee rather than sinking into it, and that lid is the entire point of the drink.
4. Pull a double espresso, or brew a strong mokka, directly into the warmed glass.
5. Sweeten the coffee now if you want it sweet, because you will not be able to stir it afterwards.
6. Spoon the cream on top in a thick dome, covering the whole surface so that no coffee shows through.
7. Dust the cream with icing sugar.
8. Serve with a glass of water alongside, as any Viennese café would.
9. Drink it through the cream without stirring, which is how it is meant to be taken and why the coffee stays hot underneath.
10. It is named after the one-horse carriage drivers, who could hold the reins in one hand while the cream kept the coffee hot in the other.

Technique

• The glass has a handle for the same reason the carriage drivers wanted one: so it can be held in one hand.
• It is not a cappuccino. There is no milk in it at all, only coffee and whipped cream.
• Unsweetened cream over sweetened coffee is the usual balance, though Vienna will sell you it either way.

Substitutions

• A strong moka pot brew in place of espresso.
• Aerosol cream, which is what many cafés now use and which purists notice.

Variations

• Franziskaner, made with milk as well as cream.
• With a dash of rum, sold as a Fiaker.
• Made with a double portion of coffee for a longer drink.

History

Named after one-horse carriage drivers, who could hold the reins in one hand while the cream kept the coffee hot in the other.

Frequently asked questions

What is Einspänner?

Einspänner is a drink from Austria: strong black coffee in a glass under a thick cap of whipped cream. Named after one-horse carriage drivers, who could hold the reins in one hand while the cream kept the coffee hot in the other.

How long does Einspänner take to make?

Einspänner takes 5 min of preparation and 2 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 glass. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Einspänner?

Yes, within limits. A strong moka pot brew in place of espresso. Aerosol cream, which is what many cafés now use and which purists notice.

What is the most important thing to get right in Einspänner?

Whip the cream with the icing sugar until it holds firm peaks, stopping while it is still glossy rather than grainy.