My gluten free Viennese Whirls recipe

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There are a few recipes that get frequently requested - and gluten free Viennese Whirls are one of them! I'm excited to bring you this recipe, because these elegant biscuits are an absolute classic.

I spent many days in the kitchen getting this recipe right, and it's definitely one of my more fiddly bakes. However, if I can do it - so can you! I promise they're not too tricky.

Gluten free Viennese Whirls are absolute treat: two golden, buttery biscuits sandwiched with a jam-and-buttercream filling.

They just melt in your mouth and are so moreish - plus these gluten free Viennese Whirls are the perfect baking project for the weekend!

Making the perfect gluten free Viennese Whirls

So what is the secret to the perfect gluten free Viennese Whirls? I've spent two whole days testing this recipe and I think I've cracked it! I first tried a 'normal' recipe, substituting for gluten free flour, but they just fell apart at the touch.

In fact, I barely had to look at them and they crumbled into dust! I find gluten free flour tends to provide a crumblier bake (which is why I use xantham gum in my bakes, as it replicates the texture of gluten) so I needed to make them slightly more robust.

In the end, I ended up adding more cornflour, and a tad more icing sugar, as the extra flour took some of the sweet flavour away. I only have a small oven so I baked mine on trays of 5-6 biscuits, which took about 6-7 minutes.

Basically as soon as they go golden, take them out! Undercook and they will crumble - overcook and they will burn.

How to pipe your Viennese Whirls

A few tips for making these gluten free Viennese Whirls, before we start! Firstly, I find these best to pipe in the same way you would icing a cupcake.

That is, you want to do one swirl starting in the centre and working out - and then swirl back into the centre, so they're almost like a double layer? This will help to get the swirly look, otherwise I find they tend to flatten.

You'll want to use a large piping bag for the swirling - I used a re-useable one I bought from Sainsbury's - and a star-shaped nozzle. This will help to get the lovely swirl.

You can use the same bag and nozzle for the buttercream as well, to make life a little easier! And when you've baked the biscuits, let them cool on the tray completely before carefully moving them, as they will be fragile!

Ready, set, BAKE! It's time to get cracking on my gluten free Viennese Whirls recipe. These are best made and eaten on the same day. Because the biscuits are so light they will go a little soft if left for a few hours with the filling.

If you want to make these in advance of an event, I recommend you bake the biscuits beforehand but fill them just before serving.I love seeing it when you make my recipes, so don’t forget totag me on Instagramand use #theglutenfreeblogger if you give this a go!

Gluten free Viennese Whirls

My gluten free Viennese Whirls recipe are so beautiful! A light, melt-in-your-mouth butter biscuit sandwich with a jam and buttercream filling. Who needs Mr Kipling, right!?

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

200 g unsalted butter, (softened)
65 g icing sugar
175 g plain gluten free flour
60 g cornflour
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp xanthan gum

For the filling:

100 g unsalted butter
180 g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8-10 tsp strawberry jam

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180'C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Add the butter and icing sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 3-4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
Sift in the flour, xanthan gum cornflour and baking powder. Fold into the butter and sugar mix until fully combined. You want quite a thick dough, but still pipe-able. Spoon the mixture into a large piping bag with a star nozzle.
On the baking sheet, pipe 10 swirly circles. They should be approx 5cm in diameter with approx 3-4cm between them to allow for spreading. To pipe, start in the centre of the circle and swirl out, then swirl back into the middle so it resembles an iced cupcake-type shape.
Bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes (I baked one at a time, if baking at the same time you may need to switch the trays in the oven half way through) until golden on top. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the trays.
To make the filling: Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract for 2-3 minutes with an electric whisk until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag with star nozzle fitted.
Gently take one biscuit and turn upside down. Spread 1 tsp of jam onto the biscuit, then pipe on the buttercream in a swirl. Place a second biscuit on top (swirl-side-up) and very gently press down to create your sandwich. Repeat until all the biscuits are filled.

Notes

These are best eaten within 1-2 hours of being filled. If making in advance, make the biscuits and store in an airtight container, then fill just before serving.
Biscuits will be very fragile - use a spatula or fish slice to help lift them from the baking sheet once completely cool.

Need some more gluten free baking inspiration?

Want to have a go at some of the other classic gluten free biscuit recipes on the blog? Give some of these other gluten free recipes a try! There are plenty to choose from – here are a couple to get you going:

Gluten free Wagon Wheels recipe
My gluten free Jammie Dodgers recipe
Gluten free Jaffa Cakes recipe
Easy gluten free peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies

If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger,share them inmy Facebook groupor tag me onInstagram.And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next! Oh – anddon’t forget to sign up for my e-newsletterwhere you’ll know about all my latest posts and competitions first!

Like this recipe? Pin this recipe card below for later!

My gluten free Viennese Whirls recipe - The Gluten Free Blogger (2024)

FAQs

Why are my Viennese whirls too crumbly? ›

Why are my Viennese Whirls too crumbly? Either the butter wasn't creamed enough at the start, or too much flour was added, which made the dough dry. Cream the butter and sugar until pale, adding much-needed air to the dough. Also, weigh out the flour with digital scales for accuracy.

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Do Viennese whirls contain egg? ›

Mary Berry's recipe for Viennese whirls differs from my mother's spritz cookie recipe in that it does not use eggs but does call for cornstarch in addition to flour, butter and powdered sugar. The addition of cornstarch makes the Viennese whirls very “short” — meaning crumbly and with a tender crumb.

What are Viennese whirls made of? ›

Viennese whirls

Viennese whirls with a creme filling and raspberry purée, made by Mr Kipling
Type	Biscuit
Main ingredients	Shortbread, buttercream, jam
Media: Viennese whirls

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Why are gluten free biscuits crumbly? ›

Gluten-free baked goods have earned the reputation of being dry and gritty. That grit—that evil grit! —is the result of gluten-free flours that are often high in starches and rice flour, which take longer to absorb moisture than regular “gluten” flour.

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How do you fix crumbly biscuit dough? ›

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

What is the best piping nozzle for Viennese Whirls? ›

The Wilton 1M is the go-to piping tip. This perfectly sized star nozzle can easily decorate cupcakes of all sizes or add detailed borders to layered cakes. The star is also large enough to also pipe biscuits such as Viennese Whirls, or individual meringue nests.

Typical Values	Per 100g	Per whirl (28g)
of which – sugars (g)	26.5g	7.5g
Fibre (g)	2.2g	0.6g
Protein (g)	3.8g	1.1g
Salt (g)	0.68g	0.19g

Does gluten-free mean wheat free? ›

Gluten-free foods are naturally wheat free (since wheat contains gluten). But the reverse is not necessarily true. A food that is wheat free simply means that it doesn't contain any wheat, or any food related to wheat, such as: Bulgur.

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What country are Viennese whirls from? ›

Even though Viennese whirls sound like they would originate from Austria, the truth is, they were created in England. They were however, inspired by Austrian biscuits and that's were the name comes from - an attempt to credit the inspiration behind the biscuit.

Learn More Now ›

Who makes Viennese whirls? ›

Bite into the light buttery crunch of two melt-in-the-mouth biscuity shortcake whirls, where you'll discover a delightful treat of smooth vanilla-flavour crème fused with luscious raspberry jam.

Read The Full Story ›

Where did the Viennese whirl come from? ›

The cookies that make up Viennese whirls are also known as shortbread due to the 'short' texture created by the high proportion of butter. Although they're called 'Viennese', they originated in Britain but were inspired by Austrian pastries.

Keep Reading ›

What makes my biscuits crumbly? ›

If your biscuits are falling apart…

If this sounds familiar, you could be adding too much flour to your dough without knowing it, disrupting the ratio of dry to wet ingredients.

Tell Me More ›

Why do biscuits have a crumbly texture? ›

Shortbread-type biscuits rely on fat (eg butter) to give them their crumbly texture. The fat coats the flour particles, preventing them from absorbing moisture. This reduces gluten development in the flour, which would cause the dough to become elastic, ie stretchy.

Why are my homemade biscuits dry and crumbly? ›

If your biscuits come out hard and crumbly, it's most likely because the dough was overworked during the kneading process. To prevent that, mix your dough just until it comes together. You should still see bits of butter in your dough.

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Why are my almond flour cookies crumbly? ›

Typically, almond flour cookies fall apart because of a measuring error; weigh your flour to be certain you are using the correct amount. Additionally, it's important to let the cookies cool completely and set before removing them from the baking sheet.

Discover More ›