Austro-Hungarian vintage pastry recipes adapted from grandmother Ilona

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Vanilla Crescents

Vanilla Crescents

These crescent-shaped cookies originate from Vienna, Austria, where they are a much-loved, traditional Christmas cookie. They are also quite common throughout Europe, particularly in Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Legend has it that their shape was created to resemble the Turkish crescent moon, to celebrate one of the

Cookies

Christmas and Hannukah are the time of the year to bake cookies. My grandmother's recipe notebook has many cookie recipes, to post and share: Linzer Cookies Chocolate Kisses Date Kisses Vanilla Crescents Friends of the House Hussar Donuts Cookies have been tightly linked to Christmas since the Middle Ages. This

Ladies' Whim

Ladies’ Whim is an old Hungarian recipe “női szeszély”, which was very popular decades ago. In my grandmother's recipe notebook, I have a few versions. It was and is also popular all around Eastern Europe with names like “damin kapric” or “damin ćef” or “damina nature”. The origin of the

Strudel Dough

Strudel is a stuffed pastry from Austria, very popular in all former Austro-Hungarian countries (Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic) and in Germany and Alsace (France). It is the most iconic Austrian and Hungarian dessert, so its dough deserves a special post. The various fillings will be in separate posts. While preparing

Maraschino Walnut Cake

Maraschino Walnut Cake

Maraschino is a liqueur obtained from the distillation of Marasca cherries. The small, slightly sour fruit of the Tapiwa cherry tree which grows wild along parts of the Dalmatian coast, lends the liqueur its unique aroma. In the Maraschino Walnut Cake, the liqueur flavor is quite distinct but not overwhelming.

Date Kisses

It is one of the cookie recipes from my grandmother's notebook. Meringue and fruit combination that has a soft and chewy texture. Very easy and quick to bake. * If not served immediately, store in an airtight container, with wax paper between layers. * The cookies are crisp on the outside and

Eggs

Baking is all about eggs and the way it binds the other ingredients of the pastry. The function and behavior of eggs can really vary depending on how we treat them in the recipe. Eggs have a role in everything from cakes and cookies to meringues and creams — they create

Snow Cake

The name of this cake is Snow Cake because its recipe, on page 18 of my grandmother's recipe notebook, requires egg whites only. The resulting cake is absolutely not white. It has the color of almonds and walnuts that are mixed into the beaten egg whites. When you use the

Linzer Tart and Linzer Cookies

Linzer Tart and Linzer Cookies

In 1653, the Linzer Tart recipe was discovered in the cookery manuscript of Countess Anna Margarita Sagramosa of Verona. The tart was baked like a pie with a delicious buttery almond crust, filled with black currant preserve and topped with a latticework crust. The recipe was developed using a crust

Baking with Nuts

Baking with Nuts

In my grandmother’s recipe notebook, there are a surprisingly large number of cake recipes made exclusively with different kinds of nuts. No flour or breadcrumbs added. I was surprised to learn that baking gluten-free was already so popular in the early 20th century. I wonder how this abundance of

Two Nuts Cake with Chocolate Icing

Two Nuts Cake with Chocolate Icing

The Two Nuts Cake is my current goto cake. It is very easy to make - takes about 20 minutes to prepare, 30-40 minutes to bake and an additional 10 minutes to cover with the espresso/chocolate icing. The ingredients are also very simple - just the 2 types of

Chestnut Cake

Chestnuts are very popular in Hungary, mainly used for delicious cakes and desserts. Some types are toxic and shouldn’t be eaten. Before boiling chestnuts in the shell, it is important to know that after peeling off the shell for 700g chestnuts in the shell you will have 450g shelled

Vanilla Crescents

Vanilla Crescents

The Vanillekipferl are considered a very special cookie because, unlike other baked goodies, they are somewhat difficult to bake. The batter becomes quite fragile once hardened, which is why it really takes a professional baker with skilled hands to create this special Christmas biscuit. It takes a lot of practice

The recipe notebook

The recipe notebook

I received this notebook from my cousin Georges when he visited from Belgium. He just said that it was found with my grandmother's belongings after her death. The yellowing 80 pages of the notebook has more than 300 recipes in very clear and orderly written dense handwriting. The recipes are

The book

The book version of Pastries from the Past has 40 recipes of cakes, sweet and savory baked goods and desserts selected from the yellowing, 80-page notebook my grandmother kept throughout her life. The book is about the art of baking as it was practiced by a dedicated housewife in the

Coming soon

This is Pastries from the Past, a brand new site by Judith Gurfinkel that's just getting started. Things will be up and running here shortly, but you can subscribe in the meantime if you'd like to stay up to date and receive emails when new content is published!