That, however, is just one benefit of the social enterprise. When Austria's first virus lockdown hit, patrons donated 140,000 euros ($170,000) to maintain the extra income that many of the staff depend on - especially single women who, after years as homemakers, receive relatively small state pensions. The clientele, many of them hipsters, are often joined by the elderly part-time hosts - unless, of course, a pandemic forces them to shut. 'Nobody makes better cakes than grandma,' Vollpension's co-founder Moriz Piffl-Percevic tells AFP, recalling how wistful the dry sponge made him for the comforting indulgence of his grandma's cakes.įollowing a 'Granny Wanted' classified in a local paper and some trials as pop-up cafes at festivals, the intergenerational team opened the first 'Vollpension' - a German term referring to both full retirement and accommodation with full board.Īt the social enterprise's two cafes, coffee is served in old mugs with flower prints and cross-stitches of border collies grace the walls.

The idea was born almost 10 years ago, over a too-dry slice of cake at a Vienna cafe. Healthy, active and eager to 'do something meaningful', she joined about 50 other 'grannies' at Vienna's Vollpension cafe, a social enterprise where retirees bolster their often meagre state pensions and bake away the loneliness many senior citizens can feel. Two years ago, Hofbauer retired from an administrative position at a hospital.

The five Germans and Austrians taking notes have come to the online class because the recipes are simple and straightforward - and because they're taught by real-life grandmothers like Hofbauer, who will soon be joined by fellow grannies and grandpas from across the world in a scheme run by a Vienna cafe. 'It's a simple recipe, I've made it so many times for friends and family, and it's always a success,' the 62-year-old Austrian says before filling the baked apple tart with nuts and vanilla custard. Framed by wooden cabinets, Karin Hofbauer holds a stick of butter to her laptop camera and imparts to the novice bakers gathered virtually in her kitchen the secrets of kneading shortcrust dough.

How to make cafe vienna