No suitable recipes for your Christmas pastries yet? No problem, Austrian flight attendant Viktoria reveals her favourite recipes to you!
Flight Attendant and Baking - How Does This Fit Together?
Servus and welcome aboard!
My name is Viktoria, I am 26 years old and grew up in Baden, Lower Austria. I've been working as an Austrian Airlines flight attendant since July 2016 and accompany the Embraer 195, the Airbus family and the Boeing 777.
I am a total winter person. Christmas time is the most beautiful time of the year for me. I particularly like the atmosphere during the pre-Christmas period, and baking biscuits is a must for me!
My personal motto here: more is more. On top of that, my family has been running a pastry shop for almost two years now, but that doesn't stop me from baking my own Christmas pastries!
Therefore, I'm excited to share three of my favourite recipes with you today: Vanillekipferl, Aschenkrapferl and Zitronenstangerl.
The advantage of these recipes is that you don't need a lot of different ingredients and baking utensils. So, put on your kitchen apron and accompany me to the Austrian Airlines Christmas bakery!
Christmas Pastry No. 1: Vanillekipferl
Let's start with the classic Vanillekipferl (literally "vanilla crescents"). I chose this recipe because Vanillekipferl are a must during the Christmas season in Austria and my mum's recipe is quick and easy. For the recipe you need a mixer, unless you want to knead the dough by hand, a sieve, an oven and a baking tray.
- Portion: approx. 100 pieces
- Preparation time: approx. 1 hour
- Level of difficulty: simple
Ingredients for Vanillekipferl
- 200 grams of butter
- 70 grams of icing sugar
- 100 grams of almonds
- 250 grams of flour
- Half a packet of vanilla sugar
- Pinch of baking powder
- Grated lemon zest of half a lemon
- Pinch of salt
Ingredients for Decoration
- 100 grams of icing sugar
- 2 packets of vanilla sugar
Preparation of Vanillekipferl
1. The first step is to knead the butter and the icing sugar.
2. Once the ingredients are mixed, add the rest and knead until a homogeneous mass is formed.
3. Afterwards, the dough should be taken out of the bowl and should be kneaded again briefly by hand.
4. Now the dough should rest in the fridge for about 2 hours.
5. After the dough has rested, shape it into a long roll and divide it into sections of approx. 1-2 cm.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175 degrees hot air.
7. Carefully roll small noodle-shaped rolls with the palm of your hand and form little "Kipferl" (literally "croissants") out of it.
8. Now put it in the oven for about 8 minutes!
9. Meanwhile, sieve the ingredients for the decoration.
10. Once the Vanillekipferl are ready, sprinkle them with the sugar mixture.
Insider tip from Viktoria:
It's helpful to roll the hot Kipferl so that the sugar sticks better to them!
Christmas Pastry No. 2: Aschenkrapferl
Let's continue with the Aschenkrapferl (literally "ash doughnuts"). I chose this recipe because it is very unknown and you can create a delicious Christmas pastry with a minimum of effort. For this recipe you will need a mixer, an oven and a baking tray.
- Portion: approx. 30 pieces
- Preparation time: approx. 45 minutes
- Level of difficulty: very simple
Ingredients for Aschenkrapferl
- 70 grams of butter
- 90 grams of icing sugar
- 90 grams of almonds
- 70 grams of grated chocolate
Insider tip from Viktoria:
I like to use dark chocolate so that it is not too sweet. But of course, it's your personal taste that counts! However, the lighter the chocolate, the sweeter the Aschenkrapferl.
Preparation of Aschenkrapferl
1. First of all, mix the butter with the icing sugar.
2. Afterwards, add the almonds and grated chocolate.
3. Let the dough rest in the fridge for a while.
4. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 140 degrees hot air.
5. Next, shape the dough into small balls.
6. At the end, place the pastry in the oven for about 16-20 minutes, depending on the size and shape. Enjoy!
Christmas Pastry No. 3: Zitronenstangerl
Last but not least, my favourite recipe: Zitronenstangerl (literally "lemon sticks"). The combination of the sour lemon, the fruity jam and the sweet chocolate is always a highlight for me! For this recipe you will need a mixer, an oven, a baking tray and a biscuit press.
- Portion: approx. 40 pieces
- Preparation time: approx. 1 hour
- Level of difficulty: moderately difficult
Ingredients for Zitronenstangerl
- 220 grams of butter
- 80 grams of icing sugar
- 280 grams of flour
- Grated lemon zest and juice of half a lemon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
Ingredients for Glaze and Filling
- Raspberry jam (or any other jam)
- Dash of rum
- Chocolate glaze
Insider tip from Viktoria: Depending on how intense you want the Zitronenstangerl to be, you can use more or less lemon juice.
Preparation of Zitronenstangerl
1. Mix all the ingredients except the flour.
2. Lastly, stir in the flour.
3. Once the mixture is homogeneous, pour the dough into the biscuit press.
4. Preheat the oven to 140 degrees hot air.
5. Now press the biscuits and put them in the oven for about 16-18 minutes.
6. While the biscuits are cooling, mix the raspberry jam with a dash of rum.
7. Spread the jam in the middle of the biscuits and stick a second biscuit on top. (Caution: If you use too much jam, it will spill!).
8. Finally, dip about a third of the biscuits into the warmed liquid chocolate and place them on an oven rack to drip off.
Closing tip from Viktoria:
I hope you enjoyed the baking session! At the end, one last tip: it's always best to bake in a team with joyful Christmas music!
Austrian Airlines Wishes You a Happy Advent Season
Thank you, dear Viktoria, for taking us with you to the "Austrian Airlines Christmas Bakery" and revealing your three favourite recipes. We hope you enjoyed Viktoria's selection and wish you a happy Advent season!
