Grace – Twitter The Print Makers Bakery
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Word and photos by Grace

After years of always seeing these biscuits in shops and supermarkets, always thinking they look super fancy and elegant. Then suddenly seeing The Big Hairy Bikers on TV making them look so easy, it was the push for me to give them a go. It’s the lovely Viennese Whirls, this are the first biscuits I ever made and I was pretty happy with how they  turned out…along with my family. These delicious biscuits are similar to an extremely short shortbread, their super delicate and crumbly..and the buttercream and jam just add something special. I’ve always been daunted by making these sweet treats, mainly because of how pretty the pipe work is, however if you’re not a piping expert, it doesn’t matter..they always look lovely when they come out of the oven. These biscuits not only work with the classic flavourings of vanilla and a berry jam for the filling, but you can also make a chocolate alternative…for all those chocoholic’s out there. I haven’t quite got around to making this version yet, but I shall share when I do. Viennese Whirls like many of the other sweet treats around, these are perfect with a cuppa..so don’t be put off by the fanciness, give them a go!

Ingredients:
For the biscuits:

• 250g of very soft butter
• 50g of icing sugar, plus extra to decorate
• 250g of plain flour
• 50g of cornflour
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extractFor the filling:
• 100g of soft butter
• 200g of icing sugar, plus ½ tsp for dusting
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 75g of seedless raspberry/strawberry jam 

  
  

  Method:

  1) Preheat the oven to 190C/170C (fan)/Gas 5 and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

  2( Put the butter, icing sugar, plain flour, cornflour and vanilla extract in a food processor and blend until smooth. You can always do this in a large mixing bowl if you do not have a food processor, just be careful of the icing sugar going everywhere. You may need to scrape the mixture down a couple of times with a rubber spatula.

  3)  Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe 16-18 x 6cm/2½in rosettes of the dough, spacing well apart.

  4)  Bake in the centre of the oven for 13-15 minutes or until pale golden-brown and firm. Cool on the baking tray for five minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 32-36 biscuits.

  5) For the filling, put the butter in a bowl and sift the icing sugar on top. Add the vanilla extract and beat with a wooden spoon or an electric whisk until very light and smooth. Spoon into a clean piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.

  6) Put the jam in a bowl and give it a little stir until smooth. Spoon a little onto the flat side of the 16 biscuits and place jam-side up on a cooling rack.

  7) Pipe the buttercream icing onto the remaining biscuits and sandwich with the jam

  8) Place on a serving plate and give them a good dusting of icing sugar, then serve and tuck in with a cuppa tea.