Vienna’s “Fächertorte”—Jewish Budapest’s “Flódni” Layer Cake in Disguise. #RachelRaj #Demel

The fantastic Fächertort, or "fan-cake", a flódni in disguise.
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Vienna’s fächertorte recipe.

UPDATE:
Since I wrote this post, it gained a lot of traction, I guess also because it is the last possibility to get to an authentic gourmet Viennese fächertorte. Why? Well, first of all, Demel restructured its business since COVID and stopped being the torte museum it used to be: Though on my last visit, they did sell fächertorte again! Secondly, sadly, Rachel Raj closed her terrific flodni and torte business.

“FÄCHERTORTE,” says the white-aproned waitress at Vienna’s Demel Konditorei (German for pastry shop) from behind the magnificent display case of one of the world’s best Viennese cake and torte selections.

“Fächertorte, which translates as ‘fan-cake,’ is a house specialty,” she explains, while pointing at the little sign in front of one of the famous creations. She repeats the word fächertorte several times, in a purposefully exaggerated voice, for the benefit of giggling American tourists who are busy taking pictures.

“What is she saying? F*cker-tarte? Are you serious?”

Well, certainly the sound is close, but only close, and probably reveals more about the folks’ mindset—and mine—than anything about the delicious layer cake itself.

The formidable vitrine is seldom free of people devouring the cakes with their eyes. Early in the morning, you can have a glimpse a the "museum of Viennese tortes and pastries" main display. And if you are lucky, there's even a pastry chef in the picture!
Demel’s formidable vitrine is seldom free of people devouring cakes with their eyes. Early in the morning, you can have a glimpse of the main display, a veritable museum of Viennese tortes and pastries. (And if you’re lucky, you might even catch a pastry chef in your photo!)

This old world Viennese specialty—not the same as sachertorte,  another historic Demel house creation which is a chocolate cake with apricot jam—is comprised of four separately-made fillings piled on top of one another. The bottom layer is comprised of ground poppy seeds covered with a shimmery layer of walnut purée. Next comes a fruity layer of thin apple slices topped with a black dollop of powidl jam (thick plum stew). Finally, everything is wrapped in a thin crust of cookie dough and dusted with confectioner’s sugar.

My wife's and my Fächertorte. We like to bake together. Results are generally worthwhile ;-)
This is my wife’s and my fächertorte. We like to bake together. Results are generally worthwhile.

Today, even though the recipe for fächertorte can be found in one of the most popular cookbooks about Viennese cuisine Die Gute Küche by Ewald Plachutta and Christoph Wagner, the cake is very difficult to find in pastry shops. (In her book Koschere Köstlichkeiten, Salcia Landmann lists it too, though with a yeast dough.)

The cake has relatively expensive ingredients and needs quite a few steps in its preparation. Two facts which may likely explain its rarity in Vienna’s pastry shops…well, this and the fact that it’s so Jewish, and that the Viennese did murder or chase away all the Jewish customers.

But Demel comes to the rescue. The establishment continues to honor its unofficial title as Vienna’s cake “museum,” and regularly features the cake in its repertoire.

At this level we can see the Fächer-torte's short pastry's crust encasing the marvelous fillings, Prune jam, apple, walnut and poppy seed.
At this level, we can see the fächertorte’s short pastry’s crust encasing the marvelous fillings, plum jam, apple, walnut and poppy seed.

During world war two, when part of the management of the Demel, this former purveyor of the Imperial court, preferred to leave the country, the other part continued to serve high-ranking Nazi dignitaries. One of these dignitaries was Baldur von Schirach, the German Nazi Party’s national youth leader, head of the Hitler Youth, and later, Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter of Vienna.

But reportedly, the Demel continued to serve their delicacies to quite a different sort of crowd, tucked away in a hidden hallway: former regulars. Why do we know this? Austrian historians like to quote Viennese journalist and diplomat Milan Dubrović from his book Misguided Story—The Viennese Salons and Literary Cafés:

In a narrow, dimly-lit corridor between the kitchen and the loo, the concealed guests sat like stringed, chair next to chair: the U-boats [note: Hidden Jews], the persecuted, the political defamers, who ate Schirach’s leftovers, pies and creams out of his plate while discussing the daily news that they had listened to on an illegal broadcast.”

It may sound unbelievable that, in world war two Vienna, the head of the Germans would not have checked the places where leading Nazi figures ate.

But then, who knows—it’s that sort of thing that saved people, too.

The three fillings of the Fächertorte: apple, walnut, and poppy-seed. The latter two are not very tasty before they are baked together with the other fillings in the oven. Not shown here, is the fourth filling called powidl, the local specialty plum jam.
The three fillings of the fächertorte: apple, walnut, and poppy seed. The latter two may not sound very appealing upon reading the recipe, but they are particularly tasty baked with the other fillings in the oven. (Not shown here is the fourth filling called powidl, the local specialty plum jam.)

Anyway, I’d like to spin on that story myself by imagining how those hidden Jews would have wanted to continue eating their beloved cakes, including the fächertorte, which was, before the extermination of Europe’s Jewry, a Yom Kippur treat in Vienna.

As Susanne Zahradnik, a Viennese Jew born in 1920, recollects in her 2003 Centropa interview:

“I remember that once on the Day of Atonement [note: Yom Kippur] we had to restrain ourselves in the garden to eat no nuts, because then we had to fast. After sunset, there was always a big dinner with goose and fächertorte, which was prepared with jam, Applesauce, nut and poppy seeds.”

In many families, fächertorte was a traditional treat for Yom Kippur. And because of the presence of poppy seeds—which is Mohn in German and mon in Yiddish, and a sound similar to Haman, the villain of the Purim story—it was also a Purim treat, just like its Hungarian counterpart, the flódni cake.

As a Jewish food maven probably would have noticed right from the beginning, there’s a striking similarity between fächertorte and what has become in the last decades the symbol of Jewish Budapest’s art of baking, the flódni.

Incidentally, in Andràs Koerner’s book A Taste of the Past- The Daily Life and Cooking of a Nineteenth-Century Hungarian Jewish Homemaker, Riza Néni, who lived almost at equidistance between Budapest and Vienna, has a recipe that seems to be the precursor to both the flódni and the fächertorte.

My daughter eating her second portion of Rachel Rajs delicious flódni.
My daughter eating her second portion of Rachel Raj’s delicious flódni.

Though the difference between the two pastries from the two neighboring metropolia of the former Habsburg empire is minor, it exists and is defining.

The individual layers of the flódni, contrary to those in the fächertorte, are separated by layers of dough. When baking the fächertorte, the juice of the apples seeps through the nuts slowly into the ground poppy seeds. But in the flódni, the different fillings need to already be close to the jam-like final product upon assembly, as they are separated by a layer of pastry dough, which prevents the different juices and flavors from mingling together and seeping downwards.

In a flódni the four different layers are separated by a thin layer of dough.
In a flódni the four different layers are separated by a thin layer of dough.

Flódni is a sort of sheet cake, which makes sense as it is sometimes also called fládni and seems to come from the German for “flat cake.” It is a little bit more rural, or informal than Fächertorte. The latter, is a torte, thus a bit more stately, elegant, or let’s say conservative, Viennese in other words. But also, it is very little known. Sadly, we know why. Again, the public for such Jewish cakes has been murder and chased.

Flódni in Hungary, on the contrary, became a star lately with the help of Budapest’s Rachel Raj. With her Café Noé next to her mother’s Judaica store in the vicinity of Budapest’s Tabak shul, the great Neolog Synagogue, and her appearances on TV, she is almost as famous in Hungary as Rachel Ray is in the US. The comparison may sound a little over the top but has obviously already been made because of the similarity of their names—for instance, in a 2015 article in Tablet magazine “Budapest’s Top Pastry Chef Gives Christmas a Jewish Flavor,” where they also show Rachel Raj’s flódni recipe. (Another detailed recipe I particularly like can be found in Rick Rodgers’ fabulous Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague.)

Rachel Rajs Café Noé in Wesselényi street 13 in Budapest, next to her mothers Judaica store and just around the corner from the city's great Dohány street synagogue.
Rachel Raj’s Café Noé in Wesselényi street 13 in Budapest, is next to her mother’s Judaica store and just around the corner from the city’s great Dohány street synagogue.

Rachel Raj, the sympathetic businesswoman, studied fashion before turning to cakes and becoming a celebrity pastry chef in Budapest. Though she now makes all things cake, especially decorations in her shop, Tortaszalon (meaning cake salon), she built her reputation on the flódni.

Imagine, she even served the late Anthony Bourdain a piece of her famous flódni during the shooting of a Parts Unknown Budapest episode!

Anthony Bourdain and Rachel Raj during the shooting of the Budapest episode for the CNN series "Parts Unknown" in 2015.
Anthony Bourdain and Rachel Raj during the shooting of the Budapest episode for the CNN series “Parts Unknown” in 2015.

Budapest’s Jewish population once amounted to a quarter of the total population and basically shaped the city to what it is today: in my opinion, it’s the most Jewish city I know: It was, for the most part, built in its contemporary shape by its Jews. (Mary Glucks’ Invisible Jewish Budapest – Metropolitan Culture at the Fin de Siècle.)

Today, the city is home to around fifty thousand Jews (there are about seven thousand in Vienna), and we’re seeing a resurgence of, and interest in, local Jewish and Hungarian cuisine.

As for the relationship between flódni and fächertorte, my guess is that the specialty came from the Hungarian countryside and its surroundings to the city of Vienna with the immigrants of the former Habsburg homelands. Thus, from the flódni, the flat-cake-shape, the delicacy became a torte, the fächertorte, served by a purveyor of the imperial court of Austria-Hungary. It’s very likely that this cake got its metropolitan roots through the city’s Jews.

But to know with any certainty which came first, the torte or the flódni, is probably like the chicken or the egg causality dilemma.

Hungarian Newspaper clipping about Rachel Raj.
Hungarian Newspaper clipping about Rachel Raj.

And in case you’re wondering, I have thought of making the fächertorte as popular in Austria as Rachel Raj made the flódni in Hungary. But when I see her— the young, good-looking, former fashion student— presenting the cake, and compare her to me—a middle-aged, bald, not-so-slim male— there’s nothing more to do but to try to make myself feel less guilty. Naturally, I then comfort myself with another bite of my favorite calorie bomb, the fächertorte.

Nino Loss at Café Korb by Ronnie Niedermeyer for Vienna's "Wina - das jüdische Stadtmagazin" June 2017 edition.
Yours truly is not a sex symbol selling fächertorte… or anything else for that matter (I’m obviously waiting for your personal messages convincing me of the contrary).

And now, a few visual instructions followed by the recipe.

Swiftly mix together the ingredients.
Rubbing the cold butter into the flour mixture.
Quickly mix the ingredients together. Do not knead and overwork the dough.
Quickly mix the ingredients together, being careful no to overwork the dough.
Make the fillings by heating milk, honey and sugar. Then add the remaining ingredients, once for the poppy-seed filling, once for the walnut filling.
Make the fillings by heating milk, honey and sugar. Then add the remaining ingredients, once for the poppy seed filling, once for the walnut filling.
The three fillings of the Fächertorte: apple, walnut, and poppy-seed. The latter two are not very tasty before they are baked together with the other fillings in the oven. Not shown here, is the fourth filling called powidl, the local specialty plum jam.
The three fillings of the fächertorte: apple, walnut, and poppy seed. The latter two are not very tasty on their own but evolve into a delicious mix when baked together with the other fillings. Not shown here is the fourth filling called powidl, the local specialty plum jam.
Roll out the dough and fit it into a spring form.
Roll out the dough and fit it into a springform (here an 8 inch form).
Wrap the sides tightly but delicately with aluminium foil in order to prevent the dough from sliding down in the oven.
Wrap the sides tightly but delicately with aluminum foil to prevent it from sliding down in the oven.
Prebake the dough in the springform for 15 minutes to insure that it will be done.
Prebake the dough in the springform for 15 minutes to ensure that it is cooked through.
Fill with the poppy-seed mix. Then the walnut filling. Top with the marinated apples. Finish with a couple of dollops of thick plum jam.
Fill with the poppy seed mix, then the walnut filling. Top with the marinated apples. Finish with a couple of dollops of thick plum jam. (The fillings are almost too much for the 8 inch springform but it yields a higher torte than the 9 inch springform.)
Lace the top of the cake and brush with egg-wash.
Lace the top of the cake and brush with egg-wash.
Bake for 45 minutes and then let cool completely on a rack.
Bake for 45 minutes and then let cool completely on a rack. Unmold and dust with confectioner’s sugar.
The fantastic Fächertort, or "fan-cake", a flódni in disguise.
The fantastic fächertorte, or “fan-cake,” a flódni in disguise.

And here’s the recipe:

Recipe: Fächertorte

 

The Short Dough Crust

Buy or make your own short dough. There’s excellent short dough available even kosher and parvé if this is what you’re looking for. I prefer not to use hydrogenated oils, hence no margarine. So if I were to need a parvé dough, I would make my short dough with vegetable oil, typically canola. Otherwise, a classic short dough with butter is always preferable.

Short dough

  • 500g / 17oz all-purpose flour
  • 200g / 7oz confectioner’s sugar
  • 230g / 8.1oz butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 Tblsp vanilla sugar (to substitute mix 1 vanilla bean or 1 Tblsp of vanilla extract with 18g of sugar)
  • zest from 1/2 lemon
  • pinch of salt
  1. Combine the dry ingredients for the dough.
  2. Dice the butter into cubes, then mix it into the flour and sugar mixture with your hands. Rub the butter into this mixture, so as not to warm the butter more than necessary. Bring everything together working quickly. It should feel like sand or coarse meal between your fingers.
  3. Add the eggs. Mix swiftly, just enough so that everything pulls together to form a ball of dough.
  4. If, at this point, it is a bit too sticky, add a very small amount of flour and try again.
  5. Let rest in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.
  6. Proceed with your recipe and use any leftovers to make simple cookies.

The Fillings

This torte is all about how the delicious fillings come together during the baking process. The juice of the marinated apples should slowly seep into the lower layers of walnut purée and ground poppy seeds. When it’s all baked together, the whole is much more delicious than the sum of its parts.

An important note on ground poppy seeds: try to buy them at Central or Eastern European specialty stores and check for the freshest possible product, as poppy seeds can turn rancid.

The top layer of apples is covered with a thick plum stew called powidl, a regional specialty stew made with very ripe Italian plums and no sugar. If you can’t find real powidl, pureeing prunes with just enough water to form a thick paste makes an acceptable substitute.

Fächertorte (yields one 9 to 8 inch / 23 to 18 cm cake) approximately 12 to 16 slices:

Apple filling:

  • 1kg / 35.3oz sweet-tart apples like Granny Smith, Boskoop or Braeburn (if you are in Austria, try to find a “Strudler”-variety), peeled, cored, quartered, sliced into approximately 1/10 inch / 2.5mm.
  • 60g / 2.1oz sugar
  • 1 Tbsp (18g / 0.63oz) vanilla sugar (to substitute mix 1 vanilla bean or 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract with 18g of sugar)
  • 50g / 1.76oz raisins
  • 1/8 tsp (0.33g / 0.01oz) ground cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp / 15ml rum 

Walnut filling:

  • 30g / 1.1oz sugar
  • 1 Tbsp / 15ml honey (like acacia)
  • 1/16l / 1/4 cup milk (or apple juice)
  • 150g / 5.3oz walnuts, finely ground
  • 1 Tbsp / 15ml rum 

Poppy-seed filling:

  • 30g / 1.1oz sugar
  • 1 Tbsp / 15ml honey (like acacia)
  • 1/16l / 1/4 cup milk (or apple juice)
  • 150g / 5.3oz poppy seeds, ground (not mixed!)
  • 1 Tbsp (18g / 0.63oz) vanilla sugar (to substitute mix 1 vanilla bean or 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract with 18g of sugar)
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 Tbsp / 15ml rum

Plum filling:

  • 6 Tbsp / 90ml powidl, a thick plum stew. You may substitute powidl with 12 pitted prunes, puréed with just enough water to form a very thick paste. Cook while stirring incessantly for a couple of minutes to thicken the paste.

Egg wash:

  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon water

 

  • confectioner’s sugar for dusting
  1. Make apple filling: Mix apples with all other ingredients and let marinate.
  2. Make walnut filling: Bring milk, honey, and sugar to a boil and stir until dissolved. Take off the heat and mix in the remaining ingredients. Set aside to cool.
  3. Make poppy seed filling: Bring milk, honey, and sugar to a boil and stir until dissolved. Take off the heat and mix in the remaining ingredients. Set aside to cool.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C (regular convection, no fan).
  5. Roll out the dough to a thickness of no less than approximately 3mm / 1/8 inch.
  6. Line a springform with the dough: Use two-thirds the dough to line first the bottom of a 20 to 23cm / 8 to 9 inch springform with a disc of dough, and then line the sides with a large strip. (We use an 8 inch springform which is a tight fit for all these fillings but yields a higher torte.)
  7. Wrap the sides of the springform and the dough tightly with tin foil so as to prevent it from sliding down while heating in the oven.
  8. Prebake the dough for 15 minutes, or until starting to brown, on the middle rack of the preheated oven.
  9. Cut remaining dough into 1.3cm / ½ inch strips to prepare the lattice design on top of the fillings.
  10. Fill the bottom third evenly with the poppy seed mixture, then delicately spread the walnut layer on top. Add the marinated apples and their juices. Finish with the powidl prune stew.
  11. Form a lattice pattern on top with the strips of dough.
  12. Apply egg wash on top of the lattice.
  13. Bake for 50 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.
  14. Set on a rack to cool completely, preferably overnight.
  15. Unmold delicately. Use a sharp knife if necessary.
  16. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

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Nino Shaya Weiss
Greetings, I am Nino Shaye Weiss, an unbridled foodnik kibbitzing (aka blogging) from Vienna, a place steeped in history and culture. The city of music and dreams, once loved and hated by Sigmund Freud, has been home to many celebrated Jewish figures, including Theodor Herzl, Gustav Mahler, Viktor Frankl, Martin Buber, Stefan Zweig, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Arnold Schoenberg, and Erich von Stroheim, among others. In my blog, I endeavor to pay tribute to these great figures as well as to the anonymous Jew of pre-Shoah Jewish Vienna by delving into memory's kitchen and celebrating their once-rich and diverse cuisine, now lost forever. From Italian and Hungarian influences to Bohemian and Galician, I explore the eclectic flavors and unique stories of this previously vibrant culinary tradition, often with a Freudian twist. Join me in my virtual kitchen as I offer a culinary armchair therapy for a fictional restaurant, and discover the delicious world of Jewish Viennese food…

64 Comments

  1. I love this cake! I had one at Demel’s last time in Vienna and was looking for a recipe all over the Internet. Thank you so much for posting this.

  2. I like how elegant your fachertorte looks – and that the juice from the apples are likely to moisten the walnut and poppy seed layers, yielding what I imagine to be a delicious, moist cake (the power of imagination!). I tried Rachel’s flodni in Budapest and found it a tad heavy for me. Will try your recipe one day – thanks for sharing!

    1. Thank you, Lin!
      I like Rachel flódni very much but I prefer the absence of the extra layers of dough and as you say the fillings get really delicious this way. Hope to see you around. In any case, let us know how the recipe went for you!

  3. Hi Nino,

    I found your recipe on Instagram & I am hoping to bake it this week. You miss out at what stage the egg wash is used. I’m guessing it’s just on the top of the lattice before the Fächertorte goes into the oven?
    I’m really looking forward to trying this recipe!

    Jess

    1. Thank you so much, Jess, for this feedback. I just added this point to the recipe right away. I’m confident that your cake will be delicious. Let us know how it went. I hope to see you around. Many thanks again!

    1. It doesn’t just look delicious it tastes fantastic too. In fact, it’s my favorite cake. It has everything I love: apples, poppy seed, walnut, plum jam AND a cookie dough crust. Perfect. Just try it – it’s really easy to make – and you will be convinced.

  4. Mystery almost solved for me! On a trip to Budapest I had a Flodni from a Jewish bakery that was made with matzo and leftover charoseth. This gives me a jumping point to recreate. Have you ever had the cake I am describing?
    I missed eating the fachertorte at Demel so really appreciate your recipe.
    Great posts! Thanks

    1. Honestly, matzo and charoseth together don’t really sound like flódni to me, but it could be a Passover variant/substitute of the famous cake. Try the fächertorte it’s really quite easy and not that elaborate, but the taste is heavenly. It is my favorite cake. Let us know how it went. Hope to see you around – virtually at least. Let me know next time when you are in Vienna.

      1. In the chassidim bakeries of Brooklyn they make a cake called a “floden” with layers and a fruit based filling in between. But they only make it for religious holidays (other than Passover). The east Broadway bakery in Manhattan used to carry it too. I think it is the eastern Hungarian Jewish equivalent of the Western flodni.

  5. My grandmother (and now I) make a layered pastry for Rosh Hashanah that my grandmother called fluden. It looks very similar to flodni, but the pastry layers are a very thin, soft dough made with flour, oil, crushed walnuts, a whole orange, etc. No one else I know (here in Colorado) makes this, so it was exciting to see it on your blog!
    Your Instagram and blog are so enjoyable that my husband and I have decided to spend my birthday in May in Vienna.

    1. Thank you so much for these kind words about my site and my Instagram posts, Cindy! Let me know when you are coming to Vienna, maybe I can be of any help to you. May is beautiful in Vienna.
      Regarding the fluden, for all I know, it’s a very very close relative of flodni. Would you mind sharing this recipe? I’m intrigued by your dough layers with crushed walnuts and orange…

  6. Your commentary is as rich as the cake itself! The marvelous fillings show you why Viennese baking is among the world’s finest. The world Fächertorte is intriguing as a Fächer was apparently the fan that wealthy women used to cool themselves. It appears that Fächertorte is a category of cake where the top layer is cut into triangles which are artfully tipped on their sides and propped up with dollops of buttercream or other form of icing. In my bakery in Austin, TX, we made the Doboschtorte, a Hungarian classic made with 7 layers of thin cake where the top layer is coated in caramel, cut into triangles, and then arranged fan-like around the top. Why do you think that Demels switched from Flödni? Do you think the reason is socio-cultural or racial? Did Demels use a name that merely sells better because it’s associated with class? Or was the name switched during the Nazi period because it’s a Jewish specialty?

    1. Unfortunately, Demel wasn’t very helpful when I tried to interview them via email about their cake. They do not know since when the cake is in their repertoire, but it surely must be well before world war II. Up until then, the cake wasn’t just made by Demel, but, as I show in the article, by Viennese Jews as well from all ends of the assimilation spectrum. The cake seems always to have been named Fächertorte. Nothing to do with the Nazi period for once. As to why the cake is not called flódni cake, is probably because such flodnis were made under quite similar names all around the region, not just in Hungary. Maybe Fächer here refers to the panorama of fillings because here in Vienna, for all I know, the name Fächertorte does not refer to a design you describe, though this would make perfect sense. I know that your design is called Fächer cake everywhere else…
      Sorry, but I can’t tell you more than this. Thank you so much for your comment and for sharing that bit of info here. I hope to see you around!

  7. Thank you for publishing this! Tasted this at Demel a few weeks ago and so reminded me of some cakes of my family from Hungary/Romania.

  8. Wow, I am so happy to see your well thought-out and illustrated post about Faechertorte. I had no idea that it existed, but found it interesting because I have baked and even given lessons on baking Flodni. You referenced a book which became my baking cookbook of choice, Kaffeehaus, by Rick Rodgers, and it was his recipe which lead me down this path. I was so impressed with and inspired by his book and my own experiences in Vienna and Budapest over many years that I opened a coffeehouse in Vilnius. Lithuania some years ago.

    We offered only Austro-Hungarian recipes there and since then I have kept busy trying many of Rodgers` recipes, about 74 in his book. However, here, as you point out, there are some differences between the Faechertorte and Flodni. I have to try this new approach, though visually, I like the way you can see the layers of the ingredients in Flodni.

    Thank you to you and your wife for this great explanation of the history within the Jewish community of this torte as well because it is one of the best aspects of Kaffeehaus. I would sometimes explain to guests about the history of some of the traditional cakes, so how happy I am to find you doing the same.

    Now, I live in Minsk, and here, too the Jewish people had a long history, but unfortunately, there is little to show for it in terms of a lasting influence on its pastry. More Soviet, I`d say.

    I plan to launch a baking studio where I can share this legacy. Your contribution to the story of the Faechertorte and Flodni will find its way there, too.

    1. Dear Franklin,
      I’m very glad you did like this post of mine about Fachertorte, the flodni-torte. How I would like to visit your coffeehouse in Vilnius. Meanwhile, I hope to see you around and let me/us know when you have any news.
      Thanks a lot, Nino

  9. Thank you so much for posting this! My husband and I (Canadians) have spent the last 18 months planning a river cruise down the Danube for our 25th anniversary. We know very little about the area and we’re especially interested in exploring the food. Like you and your wife, we love cooking together and this recipe looks like an incredible teaser before our trip! Unfortunately, we are pretty certain it will be postponed due to Covid 19 (intended for July). If so, we will make your beautiful cake for our anniversary dinner and… dream.

    1. I guess your trip will be postponed but this cake is a real treat at home. You will love it! Just mix the different fillings to your liking: if you like the plum jam as is, you will like it in the tart aso. with all the different layers. I wish you success. Do let me know how it went and contact me when you are coming to Vienna.

      1. Hello Nino,
        I hope you have fared well through the pandemic. How are things there now? We have been given a credit for our trip and we have until Dec. 2022 to use it. So, that means we are going to try your Fachertorte to celebrate our anniversary here in Canada. I have three questions before we shop for ingredients. We are in a very small town, so we may need to improvise a little.

        (1) Is confectioner’s sugar the same as icing sugar here in Canada (our icing sugar is a very fine powder, not superfine granules – may have a bit of cornstarch in it)?

        (2) We will likely need to grind our own poppy seeds. What did you mean when you said “not mixed!”?

        (3) We will likely need to make the Powidl substitution. Our pitted prunes here are moist, but come in a bag with no liquid (like a moist dried fruit). Should I cook them longer and slower than the couple of minutes you recommended above… before I puree them (with very little water)? I feel like they might need to be soften a bit in order to form a paste.

        Thanks so much! I’m nervous and excited all at the same time, but I can’t wait! This is very different than anything I’ve made before. We will take your advice & make it over two days. Think of us on July 7th! That’s the baking day!

        1. Hi Sandra,
          We have fared quite well here in Vienna with the pandemic. Thanks to a severe lockdown, figures have been low. We are now slowly coming out of the restrictions. It is wise to postpone your trip fo now. I’m looking forward to meeting you here in Vienna.
          Trying to make a Fächertorte at home is really quite easy, especially if you spread out the process over two days.
          ad 1) Synonyms for confectioners sugar are icing sugar and powdered sugar. Unfortunately, they all often contain different anti-caking agents but they should not interfere with the result.
          ad 2) When grinding poppy seeds use a mill don’t mix them in a mixer (though as a last resort that’s what you could try).
          ad 3) I think you will be fine with your prunes. After pureeing them with a little water cook them until the paste is rather thick. Just watch out for splatters – it’s very hot and hurts. Be careful not to let it stick to the bottom.
          I’d love to hear from your success on July 7th. I’ll think of you.
          Happy baking! Enjoy!

    1. Hi Joie,

      Basically you can use whatever you want as long it has the right paste-like consistency and that you like its taste because that’s how the cake will taste like.
      Canned poppyseed, is nothing but ready-made poppyseed filling. My recipe has a particular taste that’s all. The ready made one has its own taste. But yes you can use it.
      Lekvar is not powidl, there’s a difference in consistancy and taste. It boils down to, pun intended, to Powidl being nothing but the fruit. But you can use lekvar if it is paste like, will keep its shape, and if you like its taste because, again, that’s how the final product will taste like.
      I wish you all the best. Let us know how it went, maybe drop us a line here. You can add a picture too.

  10. Hi, I love this post – I feel like I’ve been transported to a quaint Viennese cake shop.
    I’m going to make this cake for my Czech father-in-law for his birthday later this week – I know he’ll love it!
    Can you please explain some more about wrapping the sides of the tin tightly but delicately with aluminum foil to prevent it from sliding down in the oven?
    Do you mean wrapping the foil around the outside of the tin and then folding it inside to cover the dough on the sides?
    Also, is Sweet Shortcrust Pastry another way to describe Short Dough?
    Oh and can I substitute the Rum with Whiskey – just to save me buying the rum?!
    PS. I’m from Australia

    1. Hi Danielle,
      Thank you so much for these kind words about the post. I hope you’ll find some other entrees here as useful and interesting.
      You described the wrapping of the sides of the dough with aluminum foil to prevent it from sliding down correctly: Wrap the outside of the tin and then fold it over to the inside over the sides of the dough. Best use the shiny side of the aluminum foil towards the dough.
      And yes, you can substitute with whiskey. It’ll have a different taste but it will be fine.
      I wish you good luck and all the best for the cake. I’m sure your father-in-law will like it.
      Greetings from lovely Vienna!

  11. I cannot wait to make this recipe–it looks SO delicious! (as do so many others on your website.) Do you use a 8″ or 9″ springform pan? I want it to be full but not overflow.

    Thank you and best wishes from Arizona.

    1. Thank you so much for your comment Dale. We use an eight inch springform which is a tight fit for all these fillings but yields a higher torte. I updated the post with this info.
      Thanks again. I hope to see you around and let us know how it went.
      Best wishes for your Fächertorte baking session from lovely Vienna!

  12. Thank you for your amazingly fast response. 8″ it is. I hope to make this Fächertort soon. As much fun as it will be to make and eat it here, sure wish I could be enjoying it in Vienna! One of these days…

  13. I hope to be able to start traveling again and will definitely let you know when I’m planning a trip to Vienna. In the meantime, take care and stay well.

  14. In May 2017 we did a Jewish tour of Budapest which finished with a meal cooked by Rachel Raj at her parents apartment. She was a most gracious host and of course course finished the superb meal with her Flodni

  15. Hi Nino!
    i remember my grandmother making a pastry that had poppyseeds, walnuts and apples. I keep telling my family but they always tell me a different recipe. So I googled and I stumbled upon your blog. This is what I was looking for! I must say I enjoyed reading your story few times and already bought couple of the books you described.
    The way I understand the difference between fahertorte and flodni is the pastry layer that separates the layers. Am I correct? I was reading the comments and you told a reader that you prefer without the pastry between the layers. In my opinion since it’s between layers the pastry dough might not have a chance to bake and the pastry would taste quite raw. Is this the reason you prefer without pastry dough between layers?
    I’m going to make this dessert this weekend. Your blog is awesome and I’m getting addicted to it 😂 I enjoy reading your stories. You’re a great story teller! Thank you so much!

    1. Beata, thank you for your message! Thank you so much for your kind words about this blog. I try to give my best.
      Regarding the layers of dough: Indeed, I’m no fan of the dough in between the layers, but not because it wouldn’t cook, but simply because I don’t need so much dough. There’s enough of it around the fillings anyway.

      1. Hello Nino,
        I’m getting back to you to let you know I tried your recipe and it was fabulous! The pastry dough is delicious and I’m keeping it for other recipes that require this kind of dough. The only thing I did differently is that I added about 1/4 cup of white wine to it so I can gather the dough into a ball. It tasted just like my grandma’s! I’m looking forward to try more of your recipes! Thank you!

        1. Thank you, Beata, for this feedback. I’m glad you liked the dough. It is indeed a classic! My grandmother did so too btw. I don’t know for which dough, but I remember this trick. Hope to see you around here or in on site in Vienna.

  16. Thank you so much for this amazing receipe and all the history that goes with it. Really intriguing.
    It reminds me of some German recipes from Childhood- though much more humble- combining an apple filling prepared the same way as in the Fächertorte, topped with a layer of walnut mixture.
    Adding a poppyseed layer and jam to it seems like heaven. I cannot wait to get to Vienna to try it out.
    In the meantime, would you have any information on whether I can find Fächertorte or something similar in Paris?
    I remember having seen a cake ressembling flodni cake in one of the shops in the Marais area. However, I do not know of a shop proposing the more complex and refined recipes.
    Many thanks!

    1. yes, the Marais would definitely your best bet. There were always delicious things with poppyseed fillings and apples to be found. I never saw a Fächertorte though. Do let us know what delicacies you were able to find! I hope to see you around.

  17. Can I make all of the fillings a day in advance or just some? If I make this dessert a day ahead of serving as you suggest, should I cover it and/or refrigerate it? Serving it Wednesday evening so didn’t know if best to make Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. Thoughts? Thank you

    1. Hi Sue, You can make all or some fillings in advance. I would refrigerate them. The cake once baked doesn’t need refrigeration. Nor does it have to be covered. All the best and good luck!

  18. Last question. Promise! I am serving this cake for dessert Thursday night. For optimal results, should I bake it Wednesday night or Thursday morning?

  19. Thank you so much for the recipe. My poppy seed filling layer turned out really bitter. I made sure to buy fresh ones and ground them beforehand. Do you have any tips of what could have gone wrong? Thanks!

    1. Dear Kim!
      I’m at a loss here. I never heard of such a problem. Maybe, and that’s my best guess, it was the wrong kind of poppy seed… I don’t know how to help. Maybe somebody will chime in. If you find out, please do let us know.
      All the best meanwhile

  20. This is amazingly good! The recipe recreates the same thing to be had in Demel’s cafe. Brilliant! Thank you for creating and sharing.

  21. I just had this dessert at the Jewish Museum Cafe in Vienna and it was the best thing I ever ate! They called it Flodni but it looked more like the Fachertorte. The jam was a bit soft like jam and it was so delicious. I didn’t go to Demel as the line was so long. I wonder who baked the one for the Jewish Museum? Have you had it? I live in California and will have to make it probably to eat it.

    1. Hi Kathy!
      Nothing – but really nothing – beats our homemade version presented here. Just try it. It’s not that hard. Just needs a little bit of prep. One reason why it’s so good when homemade, is that you adjust (meaning taste) each and every layer of filling separately until it is perfect, before filling and building the whol cake. Try it and let us know!

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