Strawberry Viennese Whirls

These Strawberry Viennese Whirls are made with buttery shortbread biscuits flavoured with strawberries sandwiched with buttercream and jam.

I have to say, these Viennese whirls might just be one of the most elegant biscuits I think I’ve ever made.

They have the most addictive buttery and crumbly texture that makes them a winning treat if you’re looking for an edible gift or a biscuit to impress.

Strawberry Viennese Whirls

These Strawberry Viennese Whirls are basically a biscuit sandwich but way more fancy I’d say. These consist of strawberry shortbread biscuits sandwiched together with vanilla buttercream and strawberry jam.

It’s sweet, buttery, crumbly, and slightly tart from the strawberries. The combination of the vanilla buttercream and jam gives my Victoria sponge vibes, another amazing British classic.

What are Viennese Whirls?

Viennese whirls are these melt-in-the-mouth butter cookies that are sandwiched together with vanilla buttercream and jam. The cookies that make up Viennese whirls are also known as shortbread due to the ‘short’ texture created by the high proportion of butter.

Although they’re called ‘Viennese’, they originated in Britain but were inspired by Austrian pastries. The most popular version in the UK is available in the supermarkets and is made by Mr Kipling.

Different flavour variations exist such as chocolate, raspberry, orange, lemon, and more. There are also non biscuit-sandwich versions which are made in a ‘long finger’ shape and often half dunked in melted chocolate.

We’re flavouring the shortbread biscuits with strawberries!

Usually the traditional Viennese whirls are made with a vanilla shortbread biscuit. But for these we’re switching them up a little bit!

We’re starting off with the traditional Viennese whirl dough but adding freeze dried strawberry powder to flavour it. This will give it a great hit of strawberry flavour and also a super vibrant pink colour.

We’re also using strawberry jam between the biscuits rather than the more traditional raspberry jam. The combination of the freeze dried strawberry powder and the strawberry jam add a a lovely layer of freshness, sweetness, and tartness.

It’s genuinely one of the best Viennese whirl variations I’ve tried so far.

In order to make these STRAWBERRY FLAVOURED you’ll need FREEZE DRIED STRAWBERRIES

These are the ones that I use: Freeze Dried Strawberries

This pack has more than you need so feel free to purchase a smaller one. I do use them fairly often hence I tend to buy the larger bag.

These Strawberry Viennese Whirls only have 3 components

And each component is key for success here!

1. Strawberry shortbread cookies – the buttery shortbread that’s flavoured with freeze dried strawberries. It’s a soft dough that’s piped into swirls before being baked for that classic appearance
2. Vanilla buttercream – a simple vanilla buttercream that is piped between the shortbread biscuits to sandwich them together
3. Strawberry jam – a little spoonful of strawberry jam also goes between the biscuits. I personally like to use (a store bought) strawberry conserve because it’s more chunky than jam with small strawberry bits running through it. And if there’s anything I love, it’s texture!

Viennese Whirls are honestly the most buttery, crumbly, and tender cookies you’ll ever try

Viennese whirls are made with a high-butter dough and this is what makes them incredibly rich. Every mouthful is buttery and so, so more-ish.

The high amount of butter in these is what contributes to the short, crumbly, and tender texture. This happens because the fat in the butter encases the flour which inhibits gluten formation. This creates the classic shortbread texture that we all know and love.

These have an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture that honestly makes these so addictive and really adds to the experience of eating a Viennese whirl.

Let’s talk about some of the main ingredients

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Freeze dried strawberries – these are strawberries that have undergone a freeze drying process which intensifies their flavour. I blitz these during the recipe into a powder. Fresh strawberries WILL NOT work, I have the ones I use linked above in the blog
• Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour
• Cornflour – this is sold as cornflour in the UK and corn starch in the US
• Icing sugar – this is also sold as powdered sugar/confectioners sugar. It sometimes also contains a small amount of starch
• Strawberry jam – I’m using store-bought strawberry conserve here, but feel free to use any strawberry jam/conserve of your choice

The KEY tips for making this recipe

1. Getting the right consistency of the dough – the dough should be soft and pipeable, but not too soft that it doesn’t hold shape. If the dough is too stiff (usually due to over-mixing) it’ll end up being difficult to pipe. Sometimes just holding the filled piping bag in your hand for a couple of minutes can soften the dough enough for smooth piping if you’re finding it slightly stiff
2. Drawing out a guide before piping – I definitely recommend drawing out 2″ circles on your baking sheet, then flip it over and use that as your guide when piping
3. Refrigerate the piped biscuits before baking – after piping them on to your baking sheet, place them into the fridge for 30-40 minutes. This chills the butter in the dough to ensure it holds shape as much as possible once baked
4. Don’t add too much jam – a small dollop in the centre is all you need. We’ll be sandwiching the whirls together which will cause some of the filling to spread

How to make Strawberry Viennese Whirls

Let’s start with the strawberry shortbread biscuits

1) Place softened butter, icing sugar, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl

2) Whisk everything together until well combined, this will take around 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a spatula halfway through whisking to ensure everything is getting combined evenly

3) Place the freeze dried strawberries and cornflour (cornflour for UK readers and corn starch for US readers) into a blender jug

2) Blitz into a fine powder, the cornflour will help to prevent sticking and clumping of the berries

5+6) Then, add the flour, salt, freeze dried strawberry and cornflour to a sieve

7) Sift the dry mixture into the whipped butter and icing sugar

8) Whisk on low to incorporate the dry ingredients, this won’t take long at all. Once the flour and berry powder look well incorporated, stop whisking. Over whisking can create tough and dense biscuits

9) Finish the dough by lightly beating with a spatula, this will help to ensure all the dry ingredients are mixed in. It will also help to remove any pockets of air. This should be quite a soft dough as it needs to be piped

10) Transfer the dough into a piping bag with a 1M nozzle

11) Push the mixture to the end of the bag and press out any air pockets

12) Pipe just under 2″ swirls on to a baking tray lined with baking paper. It’s worth drawing out 2″ guidelines on the underside of the paper to use as a reference

13) Place the tray uncovered into the fridge for 30 minutes/up to 45 minutes

14) Bake until very lightly golden on the outer edge (times and temperature included in the full recipe at the end of the blog)

How to make the vanilla buttercream

1) Place the softened butter, icing sugar, salt, and vanilla into a mixing bowl

2) Whisk everything together on a low speed, and gradually increase the speed to medium once all of the icing sugar has been incorporated

3) You should be left with a light, pale, and fluffy buttercream. It will be slightly softer than a traditional American buttercream as we’re using a lot less sugar here. If it feels too soft, pop it into the fridge for 10 minutes

Now let’s assemble the Strawberry Viennese Whirls

1) Pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside of the cooled strawberry biscuit. Leave a slight border around the outside as well as a small space in the centre (for the jam)

2) Add a small dollop of jam right into the centre. I used strawberry conserve which was more chunky with very small pieces of strawberries running through it (highly recommend!)

3) Place another biscuit on top and very gently press together. The buttercream will spread out slightly, which is why we left a slightly border

4) Finish the Strawberry Viennese Whirls with a light dusting of icing sugar for that classic finish

Frequently asked questions

Can we make the biscuit portion without strawberry powder?

Yes absolutely. Just sift the cornflour (corn starch for US readers) directly into the whipped butter mixture along with the flour and salt. No other substitutions or changes needed.

How long will these Strawberry Viennese Whirls keep? What’s the best way to store them?

They will keep for up to 7 days if refrigerated in an air tight container. Allow them to sit at room temperature for 25 minutes before consuming for best results.

If you enjoyed this recipe

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Until then, happy baking!