Hello Vienna!

This blog is becoming increasingly international, which is good, but is making it increasingly hard for me to snow my audiences. Here’s what Thomas has to say from Vienna:

Hi Joe,

You hit the nail on the head with your post about baking powder vs. egg foam in the Old World…a good and fun read. But truly, a good cake is something very special, something you do not eat every day over here. Therefore using chemicals like baking powder is a total no-go. Rather, the number of eggs in the cake is the indicator of quality (yes, we can be quite snobbish here). Recipes with 6, 8 or more eggs are common – and are passed on from generation to generation (the old recipes use less flour, which is understandable given all those eggs). Modern recipes seldom have more than 3 eggs and do use some baking powder. They might be healthier (less cholesterol), easier and quicker – but really, they can’t compare to the real thing.

All the best,

Thomas from Vienna.