A traditional Austrian dessert made with eggs, apricot jam and rum or grand mariner. These delicious little treats are also known as fondant squares and are
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Whip the egg yolks with the powder sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy and it has a pale colour. Set aside
Line an oven tray with baking paper and spread an even layer approximately 1 centimetre in thickness on the tray. You should get enough for 2 1.2 medium-sized tray's. Bake until light brown (8-10 minutes at 180 C ). Test with a toothpick. Careful this will bake fast as it is very thin. Set aside to cool.
You can now cut out the shapes for the krapfen, I used a round stencil but you can make them in to any shape you like. Once cutting out an equal amount of shapes set them aside to prepare the filling
Filling
Take the sponge leftovers and cut them in to small pieces, place in a mixing bowel and add the Apricot jam and grand mariner (or substitute) and mix until it becomes a thick paste. Add the liquid slowly as you don't want the paste to be come too runny. If you need more liquid you can add orange juice. You should end up with a thick paste. Let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Assemble
Each punch krapfen is basically a sandwich of sponge / filling / sponge glued together with apricot jam. So take a piece of sponge cutout and apply a thin layer of apricot jam, I used a stencil form to hold it all together and compress it but you can do this by hand.Add a layer of filling and then another sponge (with a thin layer of apricot jam) Voila your un-glazed punch krapfen is ready. Prepare all your sponge filling sandwiches and set aside. Time to prepare the glaze.
Dunk in Glazing
Place the powder sugar in a medium sized bowel and while mixing slowly add lemon juice (or water/milk) until you get a thick but smooth paste. It should be thin enough to dip the krapfen. Add one drop of red food colouring to get the light pink traditional colour.
Dip the krapfen in the Fondant top side first. You can use a fork to slightly hold it in place and avoid getting prints on the top. Set on a dripping grid or baking paper and let the glazing set.
You can now eat your amazing Austrian punch krapfen, although if you have the patience leave them in the fridge overnight as they will taste even better.