Cakes created 'by accident'
Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Famous as a land of stunning castles, arts and breathtaking landscape, Austria is also renown for its centuries old tradition of baking.
For Austrians, enjoying delicate cakes after lunch and dinner or at coffee time is simply one of life's richest and oldest pleasures.
This enduring tradition is preserved in families, where special cakes and pastries are served during a picnic or family week-end get together.
"Cakes are part of family tradition and are usually accompanied by a cup of brewed coffee for adults and hot chocolate for the children," said Austrian master pastry chef Richard Mayr.
This is not only family tradition, but is also reflected in the Austrian capital city, Vienna, which boasts thousands of pastry shops and coffee houses that line the streets.
Commercial counselor at the Austrian Embassy Raymund Gradt explained that the country's baking tradition can be traced back over 500 years, when Emperor Frederick V of Austria ordered special bread rolls to please his palate and this royal demand then sparked fierce competition among Austrian bakers to produce exquisite cakes and pastries.
This old rivalry is still preserved today, with bakers and pastry shops competing to be best in the sector.
Its baking history, as well as its arts, music and lifestyle, further flourished when Vienna was the capital of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire, which covered half of Europe. During this period, Austrian bakers incorporated foreign influences to make recipes for exquisite cakes and pastries. "... We took cooking items from other countries and modified them to make something completely new," said Mayr.
Among the foreign influences are those from Hungary, known for its famous Applestrudel -- internationally known apple strudel (pastry filled with cinnamon-seasoned chopped walnuts, raisins and of course apple), from Italy the Vienna's schnitzel and other pasta-based treats and from the Czech Republic: dumplings.
Gradt also added that Austrian sumptuous baking traditions have a role in fostering cultural ties between countries.
And although it is a small country, Mayr said, Austria's baking tradition has also influenced its neighboring countries and Austrian baked products have made their way onto the shelves of pastry and coffee shops throughout Europe.
Mayr is currently in Jakarta for the Austrian Cake and Pastries promotion, jointly held by the Austrian Embassy, at Hotel Borobudur Jakarta's Pendopo Lounge, from Sept. 8 to Sept. 15, 2002 with Rp 65,000++ for the afternoon tea buffet and Rp 36,000++ for the cake set with coffee or tea. He is also scheduled to give cooking demonstration on Sept. 6 and Sept. 15 with a registration fee of Rp 80,000.
Apart from using fresh produce such as milk, cream, flour and eggs to make its rich delicacies, Austrian cakes and pastries are also well known for their pronounced flavors of rum and different kinds of liquors, such as almond-flavored Amaretto, Baccardi and Schnapps -- a strong alcohol with nutty flavors, among others.
For the food promotion, Mayr prepares at least nine popular Austrian delicacies, including linzerschnitte, (traditional nut- based cake with red currant marmalade from Linz), dobostorte (hazelnut-nougat cake with caramel topping), a sort of pancake topfenpalatschinken, buchteln (yeast dumplings with vanilla sauce) and of course, luscious chocolate cake sachertorte and Mayr's own signature cake steiermarktorte, which was certified and patented by the Austrian government in 1998. The chef, who produces a new variety of cake every month, named his creation steiermarktorte, for the Styria province where it is created. This cake too is made using a Styrian cooking item, pumpkin seed oil.
People may find inspiration from music or paintings but for Mayr, the ingredients themselves can be inspiring and he laughed while saying that some of his cakes were created "by accident" or "from mistakes".