Vegan Viennese Whirls! These delicious and beautiful biscuits are super easy to make with only 4 ingredients and take 12 minutes to bake!
If you guys are familiar with my blog you’ll know I love to challenge myself in the kitchen. I love baking meringues, dacquoise, layered cakes, and macarons, just to name a few! However… I appreciate that this isn’t home baker-friendly and y’all really just want some easy and delicious treats!! So here you go! These vegan Viennese Whirls can actually be made with various combinations of ingredients but I’ve made a super home-baker friendly version with just 4 ingredients!
Anyone who tries them won’t be able to tell they’re vegan. I love to give to them to non-vegans and watch their faces when I reveal they’re completely plant-based!
Interestingly, Viennese Whirls are pretty much already vegan provided you use a vegan “butter” which is what I’ve done here! When looking for a vegan butter I always recommend choosing one with at least 75% fat. When it has less than 75% fat, it typically has a higher water content which can disrupt the baking process. Please do read the below baking notes to make sure you get the best result possible!
Baking Notes
The main challenge with these biscuits is getting the right consistency to pipe them. In my core recipe for the biscuits, I don’t add any liquids or flavourings. In order to pipe this batter without added liquids you must warm it up with your hands in the piping bag. It can be extremely difficult to pipe if the mixture is too cold, it’ll be like trying to pipe cookie dough! Optionally, feel free to add a small amount of plant milk or vanilla extract which will loosen up the batter. However, this will make the biscuits spread in the oven and lose a bit of their shape.
I recommend using a vegan block butter with around 75% (I use Naturli vegan block butter) but you can absolutely use a “spreadable” butter with a lower fat and it’ll be a lot easier to pipe. As mentioned above, it’ll just make the biscuits spread a little in the oven (due to the higher water content).
If you want your buttercream to appear whiter you can use vegan hi ratio shortening instead which is generally a lot more pale and whips up to a white colour.
How long do Viennese Whirls last?
If you are planning to store these biscuits for a while I would keep the biscuits separate from the jam and buttercream until you’re ready to serve. The biscuits can last for up to 2 weeks kept in an airtight container but once they come into contact with the jam and buttercream they start to moisten up and become crumbly. It’s best to eat them on the day or next day.
How do you know when the cookies are done?
These vegan Viennese Whirls only take 12 minutes to bake so you might as well sit around and watch them bake! They are ready when the edges start to turn a subtle golden brown colour. It is possible your oven might have heat spots and they will cook unevenly so don’t be afraid to rotate the tray half way through.
While you’re here, feel free to check out all my biscuit recipes !!
For this recipe you’ll need:
- piping bag with 1cm open star nozzle
- electric whisk (or stand mixer with paddle attachment)
- baking tray with parchment
Vegan Viennese Whirls
These delicious vegan Viennese Whirls are utterly irresistible. They are buttery, soft and simply melt-in-the-mouth.
Ingredients
- Biscuits:
- 200g vegan butter, softened
- 230g plain flour
- 50g icing sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- pinch of salt (optional)
- Buttercream:
- 120g vegan butter, softened
- 200g icing sugar
- 1-2 tsp plant milk (if needed)
- 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
- 200g seedless jam (I like cherry or raspberry)
Directions
- Step 1 Pre-heat the oven to 190C (170C fan oven or 375 F).
- Step 2 Line a baking tray with parchment. Optionally, mark out 2-inch circles for where the whirls will be piped.
- Step 3 Place the vegan butter in a large mixing bowl with the icing sugar and beat with an electric whisk for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Sift in half the flour and use a spoon to gently mix the flour in. Once fully incorporated, sift in the 2nd batch and repeat.
- Step 4 The final texture should be thick but malleable/pipeable. If your dough is too thick then use vanilla extract or a teaspoon of plant milk to thin it out. (Note: the more liquids you add to the batter, the less the biscuits will hold their shape in the oven.)
- Step 5 Scoop the batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm open star tip. If the batter is too stiff to pipe, warm it up with your hands. Pipe 20-24 rose-shaped whirls on the baking tray. I like to start in the centre of the circle and carefully pipe outwards, creating an elegant spiral.
- Step 6 Put the tray in the oven and bake for 12 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- Step 7 Take them out of the oven and set aside to cool while you work on the fillings.
- Step 8 Buttercream: Use an electric whisk (or stand mixer) to cream the vegan butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
- Step 9 Sieve in the icing sugar and cream together until fully incorporated. Add a small amount of plant milk if the buttercream is too thick.
- Step 10 Prepare a piping bag with an open star nozzle and scoop the buttercream into the piping bag.
- Step 11 Take a cooled biscuit and pipe a swirl of buttercream on the bottom of the biscuit. Take another biscuit and spoon a small amount of jam into the centre and then sandwich both biscuits together.
- Step 12 Do this for all the Viennese Whirls and serve!
