Linzer Torte
— One 9-inch torte
Linzer Torte is a holiday tradition in Austria and Hungary, a nutty, spiced cookie dough surrounding a filling of tart-sweet raspberry or apricot jam, then is topped with a lattice of the same nut dough. Named after the city of Linz, Austria, it’s the oldest-known torte in the world — the oldest surviving recipe dates back to 1650. It’s a cinch to make, but since the jam is a major component of the torte’s flavor, the jam needs to really shine. If you make home-made jam, this dessert is going to be your new best friend — what better way to showcase your creations? (Caveat: freezer jam and no-sugar jam will not work in Linzer Torte — they turn soupy when baked.) If you prefer to buy jam, most mass-market American jams are too sweet and not fruity enough, yielding a Linzer Torte with a flat, overly-sweet flavor. We recommend Italy’s Agrimontana jams for their full fruit taste and perfect balance between sweet and tart.
*Items marked in green are available from The Gourmet Corner.
Ingredients
Spiced Nut Crust
- 1 1/2 cups hazelnut flour
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 2/2 cup sugar
- 10 Tbs (6 oz) Échiré unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Filling
- 1 1/4 cups raspberry or apricot Agrimontana jam (or other good-quality preserves)
- 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
Making the Crust
In a large bowl, whisk the hazelnut flour, unbleached flour, salt, zest and spices until evenly mixed.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat briefly to combine.
Add egg and vanilla and mix on medium until combined. The mixture will look somewhat curdled. Add flour mixture and mix on low just until combined.
Form dough into two 5″ discs, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 30 minutes.
Assembling and Baking the Torte
In a small bowl, mix the jam and lemon juice well.
On a lightly floured board, roll out one of the dough discs into an 11″ circle. Gently drape the dough over a rolling pin and transfer into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, lightly easing and pressing the dough down into the sides of the pan. If you prefer, you can just let the dough warm up a bit and press it into the pan with your hands — just be sure to press it into an even layer covering the bottom and sides of the pan.
Chill the bottom crust 15 minutes.
While the crust is chilling, pre-heat the oven to 350F.
Remove the torte crust from the refrigerator and spread the jam in it in an even layer.
On a lightly-floured board, roll the second disc of dough into a rectangle 10″ wide and 1/8-inch thick (if you find the dough tricky to handle, you may want to roll the dough between sheets of waxed paper or parchment). Slice into 10 strips (if using parchment or waxed paper, remove the top layer of parchment, but leave the lower layer in place, slicing through it when you slice the dough).
Lay 5 of the strips across the torte, evenly spaced. Rotate the tart a bit, then lay the remaining 5 strips of dough over the first ones at a diagonal angle. Trim off any overhanging bits of dough, then slide the torte onto a baking sheet.
Bake 40-50 minutes until golden brown, rotating halfway through baking. After 30 minutes or so, check how the browning is coming along — the baking time will vary a bit due to differences in egg size and water content of the jam.
Cool thoroughly before slicing, at least 2 hours.
