The story of Indiáner relates closely to the Theater an der Wien whose intendant was Count Ferdinánd Pálffy in the first half of the 19th century. The count took notice of an Indian artiste who he managed to engage for guest appearance in the Viennese theater. The intendant asked the chef to create a sweet that resembles the artiste’s skin color. He liked the cake so much that he ordered to give each visitor one for free upon entering. Next day the new cake, Indiáner was in request in all of Vienna’s confectioneries.
Nowadays Indiáner can be found just in a few cake shops because it’s best when fresh, but if you have a free afternoon, it’s easy to prepare it at home. Bake little sponge cakes, dip into melted chocolate and fill them with whipped cream. It sounds easy, doesn’t it? Let’s see the details.
Ingredients:
For the batter:
- 4 eggs
- 40 g (~3 1/2 tbsp) sugar
- 100 g (~3/4 cup) flour
- 1 tbsp. water
For the topping:
- 150 g (~5 oz) bitter sweet chocolate
- 1,5 tbsp. oil
For the filling:
- 250 ml (~2/3 cup) cream
- 2 tbsps. castor sugar
- seeds of a half vanilla bean (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.
Seperate the eggs into two bowls. Beat the egg whites with sugar until they keep their shape.
Whisk the egg yolks with one tbsp. of flour and water until lump free. Add the beaten egg whites, then the rest of the flour and mix them up gently.
Spoon the batter in a piping bag and squeeze to make heaps of 5 cm in a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake them for 8-10 minutes.
Carefully hollow out the centre of the cooled cakes by using a knife. Level the half of the cakes by cutting off the peaks, these will be the soles of Indiáner.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the oil while stiring.
Dip the cakes into the chocolate and place them onto parchment paper to let the chocolate set.
Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla seeds, then fill the cakes.
