Though it may seem impossible, the beloved, classic German pastry schnecken just got a little bit tastier. Three local businesses have joined forces to create a limited-edition schnecken, which is being specially made for Mardi Gras.
“Bourbon Street Schnecken” is a collaboration between Northern Kentucky’s New Riff Distillery and two of the city’s most iconic local bakeries, Busken Bakery and Virginia Bakery.
If you’re not familiar with the Cincinnati favorite, it’s a sweet, rolled pastry with plenty of butter, cinnamon, sugar and raisins. Due to its resemblance to a snail shell, the pastry’s namesake derives from the German word for snail.
While no longer open, Clifton’s Virginia Bakery once produced a locally (even internationally) famous version of the treat. After closing its doors in 2005, Tom Thie of Virginia Bakery sold his famous schnecken recipe to Busken Bakery.
For this limited-edition version, Busken spiced things up with a few enhancements. The Bourbon Street Schnecken includes chopped pecans inside the buttery cinnamon and sugar roll, plus New Riff Straight Bourbon Whiskey-soaked raisins. The top is then delightfully drenched with more New Riff bourbon and topped with more pecans.
The schnecken retails for $12.95 and will be available through March 5 at all local Busken locations as well as for special order at New Riff Distillery.
For more info, visit busken.com.
This article appears in Feb 20-27, 2019.
