We come to it at last: that which I consider to be the non plus ultra of Viennese cakes, slices, and pastries, the Kardinalschnitte. Developed in 1933 (an inauspicious year for inventing new cakes in the German-speaking world, I know) by the confectioners L. Heiner to mark one of the many Catholic high holy days (though which one, don't ask me), its name derives from the cake's colours, yellow and white, which are those of the Catholic Church. Those two shades come from two different types of batter -- Biskuitmasse, or genoise; and Baisermasse, or meringue -- which, in order to make Kardinalschnitte, are alternately piped in rows onto two long but narrow baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (Two, because you need one sheet of cake for the top of the slice and one for the bottom.) Having to handle two cake mixtures at once, especially those which don't rely on fat for their stability, means the secret to making a good Kardinalschnitte is speed, working quickly yet diligently to ensure neither mixture is left standing for too long, lest it deflate.
Between the two layers of sponge a thin coating of jam -- either apricot, strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant, something like that -- can be found, but more importantly, there is a tall, thick, and somewhat daunting mass of whipped cream that is either stabilised with Sahnesteif (a stiffening agent) or, more often than not, leaf gelatine. Without the latter, you'd never be able to cut a clean slice of cake and the whole thing would fall apart sooner rather than later -- and no one wants a sad, messy Schnitte. When first created by L. Heiner, Kardinalschnitte was a vanilla dessert, but more recently, it has become more common to see the cream flavoured with coffee, which is to say, instant coffee powder dissolved in a small amount of warm water. More of a winter than a summer dessert, Kardinalschnitte is easier to find in a place that calls itself a Konditorei as opposed to Kaffeehaus. Aida, in my opinion, makes the best Schnitte, but if you want to go to the source, L. Heiner has been serving cakes and pastries in the Wollzeile since 1840 and in its second location on Kärntner Strasse since 1949.
