Vegan Viennese whirls - this vegan version of the classic British sandwich biscuits are rich, delicate, crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth.
Piped shortbread biscuit swirls are filled with raspberry jam and a light vanilla buttercream; these pretty cookies are perfect for afternoon tea!
What Are Viennese Whirls?:
Contrary to the name, Viennese whirls do not originate from Austria; rather they are a classic British biscuit which may have been inspired by Austrian pastries.
They consist of buttery, shortbread style biscuits which are piped in a swirl shape and are usually filled with jam and vanilla buttercream. In the UK the most popular brand of Viennese whirl is Mr Kipling. They are traditionally made with butter, so shop-bought ones are not vegan friendly; they are simpler to make than they might look however so you can easily make your own using vegan butter block rather than dairy butter.
Ingredient Details:
Vegan block butter: Please, for the love of holy baking, use a block butter/margarine to make these cookies, not the spreadable kind in a tub.
Spreadable will likely make the dough too soft, and the biscuits may be more tough as it contains more water. I recommend Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best here. I haven't tried making these gluten-free.
Cornflour (cornstarch): This helps to give the viennese whirls a lovely light, melt-in-the mouth texture. You can swap it for more plain flour if you wish.
Vanilla extract: Use a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavour. If you have it then vanilla bean paste would be amazing instead.
Icing (powdered) sugar: Using icing sugar rather than caster or granulated gives the biscuits a lighter texture. I don't recommend swapping it for another type.
Jam: Strawberry or raspberry would be most traditional, but you can use any kind you like.
How To Make Vegan Viennese Whirls:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Step 1: Whisk the vegan butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract together until smooth.
Step 2: Sift in the flour and cornflour and mix until well combined.
Step 3: Transfer the dough to a strong piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle.
Step 4: Pipe about 20 swirls of the dough onto a couple of lined baking sheets, well spaced apart. (Pipe them a bit smaller than I did!)
Step 5: Bake the biscuits for 15-18 minutes until pale golden.
Step 6: To make the buttercream, whisk the butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whisk for a good few minutes until it is very light and fluffy.
Step 7: Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large star or rose nozzle. Pipe swirls of buttercream on the underside of half of the biscuits. Spread a little jam on the underside of the other half. Sandwich them together and serve.
Top Tips:
As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Take the butter out of the fridge at least a couple of hours before baking. It needs to be extremely soft, otherwise your dough will be too stiff to pipe.
The dough needs to be soft enough to pipe, a thick buttercream consistency. If you are struggling to pipe it, warm the piping bag up in your hands.
You will need a large open star piping nozzle and a piping bag. I strongly recommend using a fabric piping bag NOT a disposable plastic one. The dough is quite stiff to pipe and plastic piping bags are prone to splitting.
If you want to make sure that all of your biscuits are evenly sized, use a 5 cm/2 inch cookie cutter as a guide to draw circles spaced apart on the back of the sheet of baking paper.
FAQ's:
The unfilled vegan Viennese whirls will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature. Once filled, they will start to soften after a day so I recommend filling them on the day you wish to serve them and eating them within a couple of days. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge if it is hot out.
I think that the unfilled biscuits should freeze fine in an airtight container, I wouldn't recommend freezing them once filled however.
More Vegan British Biscuits:
- Vegan custard creams
- Vegan coffee kisses
- Vegan Empire biscuits
- Vegan soul cakes
- Chocolate orange Viennese fingers
- Spiced oat biscuits
- Chocolate Viennese whirls
- Vegan Easter biscuits
- Vegan shortbread fingers
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Vegan Viennese Whirls
Equipment
- fabric piping bag
Ingredients
Biscuits:
- 200 g (7 oz) vegan block butter very soft
- 70 g (⅔ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 45 g (⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
Buttercream:
- 75 g (5 Tablespoons) vegan block butter softened
- 140 g (1 cup + 3 Tablespoons) icing (powdered) sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- about 10 heaped teaspoons raspberry or strawberry jam
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160℃ fan/350°F/gas mark 4 and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
- Whisk the vegan butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract together with an electric mixer until smooth.200 g (7 oz) vegan block butter, 70 g (⅔ cup) icing (powdered) sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Sift in the flour and cornflour and mix until well combined. The dough should be stiff but malleable and pipeable, like a stiff buttercream consistency.200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, 45 g (⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- Fit a strong fabric piping bag with a large open star nozzle and spoon the dough into the bag.
- Pipe swirls of the dough spaced apart on the baking sheets. I start in the centre of the circle and work outwards. They should be about 5 cm/2 in in diameter and you should get about 20-24 of them. It takes quite a bit of firm pressure to pipe the dough, but if it is too stiff to pipe, warm the piping bag up with your hands. Place the trays in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Bake the biscuits for 15-18 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool (the biscuits are very delicate and break easily).
- Once the biscuits have cooled make the buttercream. Whisk the butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whisk for a good few minutes until it is very light and fluffy.75 g (5 Tablespoons) vegan block butter, 140 g (1 cup + 3 Tablespoons) icing (powdered) sugar, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large star or rose nozzle. Pipe swirls of buttercream on the underside of half of the biscuits. Spread a little jam on the underside of the other half. Sandwich them together and serve. Best eaten on the day they are assembled.about 10 heaped teaspoons raspberry or strawberry jam
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- Take the butter out of the fridge at least a couple of hours before baking. It needs to be extremely soft, otherwise your dough will be too stiff to pipe.
- If you are struggling to pipe the dough it usually means that it is too cold, NOT that it needs more liquid. If it is too stiff, pop the bowl in a warm spot for a few minutes, or use the warmth of your hands to warm up the piping bag.
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