Cat tongues: Why the thin chocolate is called that and how to eat it

A flat box, a lid, and underneath rows of thin chocolate fingers with rounded ends. If you place one on your tongue, it will be gone within a few seconds—that is how thin Katzenzungen are cast. This is exactly where they get their name, and it is also what makes them a category of their own between chocolate bars and pralines. This article explains what Katzenzungen are, where they come from, why they are often thought to have been invented in the GDR, and how best to eat them.

What are Katzenzungen?

Katzenzungen are narrow, flat chocolate fingers, usually five to eight centimeters long, rounded at the ends, and only a few millimeters thick. They are not broken off like a chocolate bar but taken individually from the box. Traditionally, they are made of milk chocolate, but they are also available in white and dark chocolate, as well as with a filling, usually nougat.

What makes them special is their thickness, not their recipe. A Katzenzunge weighs only a few grams and is not as solid anywhere as a chocolate bar’s ridge. Cocoa butter melts just below body temperature, and with so little mass, the entire piece melts instantly. The same milk chocolate therefore tastes softer, milkier, and more fleeting as a Katzenzunge than in bar form. Those who like to chew chocolate will find this fleeting; those who let it melt will experience the aroma all at once instead of in stages.

Why are Katzenzungen called Katzenzungen?

The name comes from French patisserie. There, a thin, elongated biscuit made from egg whites, butter, and sugar is called langue de chat, or cat’s tongue, because its narrow shape and rounded ends resemble a cat’s tongue. In the late 19th century, Viennese confectioners applied this shape to chocolate and kept the name. The biscuit became a confection, but the name remained.

This also explains why there are still two different things with the same name today: the chocolate Katzenzungen from the box and the baked Katzenzungen from the oven, a light biscuit often served with ice cream or mousse. And a third that has nothing to do with chocolate or biscuits: sour gummy Katzenzungen, which only share the shape.

Where Katzenzungen come from

Vienna is considered their place of origin. The chocolate manufacturer Küfferle, founded as a malt factory in 1865, claims to have first produced Katzenzungen in 1892 and made them famous in Austria and beyond. The thin, tongue-like shape suited the coffeehouse culture of the time: a small piece of chocolate to accompany a Melange, without anyone having to break off a piece of a bar. Budapest’s Café Gerbeaud also helped popularize them. From there, Katzenzungen spread to the confectioneries and chocolate factories of Central Europe.

In Germany, they have been part of the standard range of several traditional chocolate houses for decades, both in the west and the east. And in Austria, where they come from, they are still made in small confectioneries using their own milk chocolate mass, such as at Berger Schokolade in Lofer in the Salzkammergut region, where the fingers are cast from the same 37% cocoa mass used in the company’s chocolate bars.

Are Katzenzungen from the GDR?

No, they were invented in Vienna. The impression is created because Katzenzungen were part of the standard range of chocolate manufacturers in the GDR and became a childhood memory for many East Germans, along with other classics from that era. After 1990, they remained on the shelves, and some of the manufacturers still produce them today. Thus, a Viennese coffeehouse confection became a product that many in Germany first associate with the East.

So the answer to whether Katzenzungen are still available is a clear yes. They have never disappeared, neither from supermarkets nor from delicatessens. What differs is the quality of the chocolate, which is more noticeable in such a thin form than in a thick bar because nothing conceals the mass.

Milk, white, nougat: the varieties

Milk chocolate is the basic form. A good milk chocolate Katzenzunge tastes of warm milk and cocoa with a subtle hint of vanilla and leaves no sticky film, but simply disappears. The cocoa content makes the difference: at 30 percent, it remains milky and sweet; at 37 percent, a fine roasted note is added without making the flavor overly sweet.

White Katzenzungen are made from cocoa butter, milk, and sugar without cocoa mass. They are the sweetest and melt the fastest because white chocolate has a higher fat content. They are often the first choice for children, but usually too soft for dark chocolate lovers.

Filled Katzenzungen contain a core beneath the milk chocolate coating, usually nougat made from hazelnuts and almonds. To make room for the filling, they are slightly thicker than the plain version and melt more slowly. The nut core remains on the tongue a moment longer than the coating, giving them a second act that the plain Katzenzunge does not have. At Berger, both varieties are made in the same workshop: the plain milk chocolate Katzenzungen and the nougat-filled ones, each weighing 110 grams in the flat box.

Dark chocolate Katzenzungen made from dark chocolate are rare. The thin shape accentuates the bitterness, and the rapid melting leaves little time to balance it. Those looking for dark chocolate in this form are better off with a thinly broken piece of fine dark chocolate.

How to eat Katzenzungen

Katzenzungen are chocolate meant to be offered, not stored. Their strength lies where a chocolate bar would be too much: one finger with an espresso, two with an afternoon coffee, three on a dessert plate. A few rules that make the difference:

Room temperature. Straight from the refrigerator, Katzenzungen are brittle and taste dull because the cocoa butter is still solid. Twenty minutes at 18 to 20 degrees Celsius is enough, and then they will begin to melt on contact.

Place on the tongue, do not chew. The name says it all. If you bite off a Katzenzunge, it will be gone before it has melted. If you let it rest on your tongue, you will first taste the milk, then the cocoa, and finally the sweetness.

With coffee. The Viennese way: place a finger on the saucer before the coffee arrives. The warmth of the cup will soften it in a minute without melting it. Milk chocolate suits a short black coffee or a Melange, while the nougat variety pairs with an espresso, its nut balancing the roasted bitterness.

As a dessert component. Two fingers inserted vertically into a scoop of vanilla ice cream create a decoration that melts as you eat it. On warm rice pudding or semolina pudding, they leave milky cocoa streaks across the bowl. For a quick chocolate sauce, heat 100 milliliters of milk and let four fingers melt into it.

With cheese. Less well known but worthwhile: a milk chocolate Katzenzunge alongside a young, creamy mountain cheese. The saltiness of the cheese balances the milky sweetness. A mature, salty hard cheese, on the other hand, overwhelms the thin chocolate.

Katzenzungen as biscuits

Those looking for a recipe for Katzenzungen are usually thinking of the baked version, the langues de chat of French patisserie. They are made from butter, powdered sugar, egg whites, and flour, piped onto a baking sheet in thin strips, and baked lightly at 180 degrees Celsius for eight to ten minutes until the edges are golden brown. The result is a light, crispy biscuit that is served with ice cream, mousse au chocolat, or a glass of dessert wine. It only shares its shape and name with the chocolate Katzenzunge. Serve both together, and you have the history of the confection on a plate: the biscuit that gave the name its origin, and the chocolate that adopted it.

How to store Katzenzungen properly

Keep them cool, dry, and dark, at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius, not in the refrigerator. There, the chocolate will absorb moisture and odors, and condensation will form when it is taken out, causing the surface to turn gray. A light haze on Katzenzungen is usually fat bloom—cocoa butter that has migrated to the surface due to temperature fluctuations. It is harmless to taste, but looks unsightly, and on such a thin form, it is noticed more quickly than on a chocolate bar.

Because Katzenzungen are thin, they react to heat more quickly than any chocolate bar. In the heat of summer, they may arrive soft in their package; if so, leave them undisturbed for an hour and do not put them in the refrigerator. They will harden again, although their shine may suffer.

Frequently asked questions

Why are Katzenzungen called Katzenzungen?

Because of their shape. The French biscuit langue de chat is narrow, flat, and rounded at the ends like a cat’s tongue. In the late 19th century, Viennese confectioners applied this shape to chocolate and kept the name.

Are Katzenzungen from the GDR?

No. Katzenzungen were invented in Vienna, where they have been made since 1892. In the GDR, they were part of the standard range of chocolate manufacturers and thus became a childhood memory for many East Germans.

Are Katzenzungen still available?

Yes. Katzenzungen are still made in Austria and Germany by large brands as well as small confectioneries. In delicatessens, you will find varieties made of milk chocolate, white chocolate, and filled with nougat.

What makes Katzenzungen special?

Their thickness. Katzenzungen are only a few millimeters thick and therefore melt instantly as a whole, rather than slowly from the edges like a chocolate bar’s ridge. The same chocolate tastes softer and milkier in this form.

What are Katzenzungen made of?

Chocolate, traditionally milk chocolate made from cocoa butter, cocoa mass, milk powder, and sugar. White Katzenzungen are made without cocoa mass, while filled ones contain a nougat core made from hazelnuts or almonds. Baked Katzenzungen, by contrast, are biscuits made from butter, sugar, egg whites, and flour.

How best to eat Katzenzungen?

At room temperature, place one on the tongue and let it melt without chewing. Traditionally with coffee, preferably served on the saucer, or as a decoration on ice cream and milk-based desserts.

Where can you buy Katzenzungen?

In supermarkets, confectioneries, and delicatessens. At genussland, you will find Katzenzungen from Berger in Lofer, plain milk chocolate with 37 percent cocoa and nougat-filled, in the 110-gram box.