Anne Beaulieu
Research and Publications
Pi Day Report
Full of dedication these past weeks, I’ve been doing serious research into the world of Viennese patisserie. My criteria were 1. Delicious-looking, 2. New and 3. Chocolate. Though for the sake of number 2, I sometimes skipped the 3rd criteria. The photographic evidence demonstrates the diversity attained:
Also discovered, as a result of this exercise:
Portion size: pieces of cake are about 40% smaller than you would encounter in North America and even somewhat smaller than you what would get in the Netherlands. Because of the quality of ingredients and flavours, I was never left wanting another bite.
Time to browse: not once did I feel rushed in my perusal of display cases. No one, on either side of the counter, sighed impatiently at my thoroughness in inspecting the wonders on offer. It would seem people here understand that this kind of decision has to be carefully made, and that sometimes that takes a little time.
Respect the pie: no matter how many pieces or shapes I purchased, the patissière always managed to have the precisely appropriate container on hand and took great care in packing them up so that they arrived in perfect condition at their destination. This was achieved through combinations of a handy box with a handle/a wide-bottomed paper bag/an expertly-crumpled piece of paper (waxed tissue paper in this case, something I haven’t encountered before).
Cake infrastructure: the apartment where I am staying came somewhat summarily furnished in the kitchen department (one pan, one pot, four dinner plates) but was still equipped with the essentials: cake plates and cake forks.
Sugar and skin: While I’ve worked off the butter by putting in about 20K steps a day, my skin is begging for mercy from the sugar and I’m inclined to listen. So there might me one more farewell pastry just before I leave next week, from the master listed below.
Top address so far: Fruth (chocolaterie Patisserie au Marche), Kettenbrueckengasse 20.
Anne Beaulieu 