Christmas Viennese Coffee: A Quick and Easy Holiday Treat

This Christmas-inspired Viennese Coffee is a delightful dessert coffee perfect for the holiday season. With its smooth and velvety texture, it serves as a decadent treat any evening and is especially delightful after the presents have been opened and the feast has come to an end.

Come and join me for an end-of-Christmas Day splurge. It’s only minutes away—truly, five minutes to a rich cup of chocolatey goodness.

If you’re reading this on Christmas day, Merry Christmas, dear friend.

What is Viennese Coffee?

Traditionally, Vienna coffee is an espresso beverage with abundant whipped cream dusted with cocoa powder.

Known for its coffee, Vienna has a vibrant culture of cafes that feature caffeinated beverages that are known worldwide. Unlike familiar coffee houses designed for grab-and-go convenience, a Viennese cafe is an experience to savor. And the same is true of their coffee.

Origins of Viennese Coffee

According to a popular Vienna story, coffee was introduced to Austria during one of the Austro-Turkish wars. When the Austrians successfully drove the Turkish invaders away from the gates of Vienna in 1683, they discovered bags of coffee beans that were previously unknown in Austria.

The first coffee houses that emerged after this event provided color charts for guests to select the strength of their coffee. Over the years, through experimentation and accidental discoveries, Austria developed a unique and rich coffee culture, offering a variety of choices unparalleled in Europe.

Christmas Viennese Coffee

While this adaptation of Viennese Coffee is not traditional, it is decadent and rather perfect for Christmas.

I’ve made it a bit more decadent, as is fitting for the holidays and winter itself, and infused the coffee with rich chocolate.

Ingredients for Christmas Viennese Coffee

Measurements for these ingredients are in the recipe card below. The recipe will make six servings with these ingredients:

• Heavy cream for both the topping and the coffee itself
• Chocolate: Opt for the best quality chocolate you have on hand. Chocolate chips can also work, but when using a chocolate bar, you can make tiny chocolate shavings for garnishing this special treat.
• Strong brewed coffee: This recipe will work with both espresso and brewed coffee.
• Powdered sugar for sweetening the whipped cream.

Kitchen Tools for Making Viennese Coffee

In this version of Vienna Coffee, here’s what you need:

• Tool for whipping cream: This can be an electric mixer or my new favorite coffee tool, an Electric Milk Frother, perfect for making hot chocolate, frothing latte toppings, or whipping cream.
• Coffee maker or espresso machine.
• Use a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl to heat cream and melt chocolate.
• Glass Mugs: Traditionally, Vienna coffee is served in handled glass mugs, similar to Irish Coffee mugs, but use your favorite festive mugs for serving.

How to Make Christmas Viennese Coffee

Christmas Viennese Coffee is a simple treat when you want to savor the season!

Here’s how to make this simple treat:

Step 1: Whip the Cream

With an electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup heavy cream and powdered sugar until medium to stiff peaks form. This is the topping for the Viennese coffee. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Step 2: Heat the cream, melt the chocolate, and brew the coffee or espresso

Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of cream over medium heat in a saucepan until steaming, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in chopped chocolate.

Slowly whisk the cream into the strong-brewed coffee. Divide evenly among cups, top with whipped cream and additional chocolate shavings (or a dusting of cocoa powder).