Love in the Kitchen - making fast, healthy, homegrown meals you'll enjoy

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Linzer Torte

I originally shared this post over at Hungry Little Girl - head over there to see what kinds of amazing things she shares!

 I was going through an old cookbook a couple of weeks ago and came across this old pamphlet. I got it years ago when I spent two weeks at a German language camp, and one of the things we could do (while learning German in an immersive sort of way) was bake.  Perfect for me - even back then!


I glanced through my "Backen" cookbook, and came across the recipe for Linzer Torte.



Linzer Torte is a traditional Austrian dessert and is said to be the oldest-known cake in the world. You'd recognize it from its distinctive lattice design on top of the pastry.


In America, we generally think of Linzer Torte as a basic jam tart, with a buttery shortbread crust. The traditional crust is more cake-like, with a lovely nutty texture and delicious spiced flavor. I wanted to make a very traditional cake, so I did some research and some experimentation until I ended up with what I believe is a pretty traditional (and certainly very tasty!) Linzer Torte.


Linzer Torte

Ingredients:
  • 9 ounces whole or slivered blanched almonds
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoons cloves
  • 11 ounces (by weight) cake flour
  • 1 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 10 ounces butter
  • 8 ounces (by weight) granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 egg yolks, room temperature
  • 2 egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 cup raspberry preserves
Directions:

Begin by toasting the almonds. Preheat your oven to 350F, place the almonds on sheet pan and bake 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.



Once the nuts are cool, grind them in a food processor until fine but not paste-like.



 Sift together the flour, spices and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the zest. Add the ground nuts and set aside. Now, in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle (beater) beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.



With the machine running, add the eggs and yolks. Beat again until fluffy. Fold in the nut/flour mixture.


Preheat the oven to 375F.  Fill a large pastry bag (that is fitted with a collar but to tip) with the pastry dough.  This is a pretty thick dough, so you will want to use a sturdy bag.


Pipe a large spiral, covering the bottom of a torte or springform pan that has been well sprayed with cooking spray.


Don't worry if you have a gap or two, just go back and fill it in.  This is a forgiving dough.


Bake the dough for about 15 minutes at 375F, or until just brown. Just when you remove the pan from the oven, brush the top of the crust with the egg whites.  This will help prevent the raspberry preserves from seeping into the crust.

Spread the raspberry preserves over the crust, leaving a small circle around the outer edge free.


Pipe 5 or six lines across the torte in one direction, then 5 or six more lines in the diagonal direction to create the diamond shaped top.  Use the remaining dough to pipe a rim around the outside edge.


Or maybe to make a couple of cookies!


Bake at 375F until golden brown.


Let it cool and then unmold before serving.


Two people who work in my office are from Germany and said that they could attest to this cake's authentic flavor.


The empty plates told me that, authentic or not, this is a delicious treat! I can see how this recipe has stood the test of time!



I hope you try this one - it took all of about 30 minutes of work (not including the baking time) and looks like you spent hours and hours. And if you do? Let me know how it turns out!











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1 comment:

  1. Love this recipe and I love the new look to your website...really attractive and soothing! Sara

    ReplyDelete