Located on the corner of Gumpendorfer Strasse and Helene-Bauer-Platz in the sixth district, Cafe Sperl with its marble tabletops and high ceilings, chandeliers and billiards tables is considered a landmark within Vienna's coffeehouse scene. Established in 1880 by the brother of the theatre impresario Anton Ronacher -- before it was quickly sold off to the Sperl family who gave the place its name -- Cafe Sperl was the go-to coffeehouse for those who moved in the Austrian capital's elite cultural and (around the time of the First World War) military circles in the early twentieth century. (One soldier who frequented Sperl often at that time was a young, failed art student by the name of Adolf Hitler, though I suppose the least said about that the better.) Today, because of its proximity to the Theater an der Wien among others playhouses, its regulars continue to be drawn from the stars of the Viennese stage.
Cafe Sperl is home to two house cakes: the Sperltorte, a layered chocolate cake flavoured with cinnamon and vanilla and capped with a marbled chocolate glaze; and the chocolate-hazelnut Sperlschnitte. The latter, a thin cake served in squares with the outward appearance of a brownie, is made as follows. After preheating the oven to 300 F, whisk egg whites and sugar until they form stiff peaks. Into this, fold ground hazelnuts, vanilla, and a pinch of salt with a metal spoon until you have a smooth cake batter. Spread this out into a prepared Blech (or half-sheet pan) and bake for 30 minutes. In the meanwhile, take those leftover egg yolks and cream them together with butter and (more) sugar. This gets combined with melted, cooled chocolate and orange liqueur, and once the 30 minutes is up, this mixture is poured and spread atop the cake mass, the oven lowered to 275 F, and returned to bake for a further ten minutes. From the cracked top down to the hazelnut cake beneath, the various layers give the Sperlschnitte its textural and flavour contrast. I know of nothing else like it in Vienna.
