Apart from its classical music and musicians, Vienna is also famous for its sweet treats. There a number of them such as the Wiener Schnitzel, the Apfelstrudel and the Sachertorte.
During carnival time, however, there’s also one popular dessert being served to people including visitors. Known as the Sacher-Faschingskrapfen or simply Faschingskrapfen, it is a doughnut with rum-apricot jam filling and dusted with icing sugar. It goes well with wine.
Traditionally, apricot jam is considered the right filling for the carnival doughnut. However, there have been variations such as the vanilla cream filling which is also delicious. Today, anybody is free to use any kind of filling for the doughnut.
History has it that this sweet doughnut was created by Cacile Krapf, a Vienne cook at the court. The dessert was also named after him. It is often referred to as the carnival doughnut because it is mainly served during carnival season.
The carnival season in the Austrian capital is never complete without the Faschingskrapfen. This special doughnut is available in many parts of Austria and is known in different names as well.
Even at the animal carnival at the Schronbrunn zoo, the young participants who come in animal costumes are also served with this popular dessert and a kid-friendly drink.
And here’s a trivia. Did you know that the Danish pastry has a Viennese influence? In fact, Denmark’s bread is called wienerbrod which means Viennese bread. In the olden times, Denmark hired Austrian bakers when its local bakers held a strike in 1850 and since then, the Danish pastry used the Vienne dough.
