Linzertorte Recipe:
Linzertorte is an Austrian specialty. This is more of a jam tart than a gateau. It is a delicious and quickly made cake, according to some people. The pastry gets its distinctive coloring from the fact that the almonds are ground with their skins on. Linzertorte is best eaten when it has cooled to room temperature but it’s still excellent cold.
Yield: 12 to 16 servings.
Ingredients:
- 225 g (8 0z) plain flour.
- 175 g (6 oz) blanched almonds, ground finely.
- Pinch of salt.
- 5 ml (1 tsp) freshly ground cinnamon.
- 100 g (4 oz) icing sugar, sifting.
- Finely grated rind of 1 lemon.
- 225 g (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
- 2 large egg yolks.
- 350 g (12 oz) raspberry conserve.
Glaze:
- 1 small egg, beaten with,
- 15 ml (t tbsp) milk.
- 5 ml (1 tsp) caster sugar.
Decoration:
- 15 g (1/2 oz) flaked almonds,
- Optional icing sugar, for sifting.
Method:
- Mix the flour, almonds, salt, cinnamon, icing sugar and lemon rind in a bowl.
- Cut the butter into pieces and add to the mixture with the egg yolks.
- Work all the ingredients together until they form a smooth ball of pastry.
- Wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is firm.
- Place a square of aluminium foil on a baking sheet.
- Place a 28 cm (11 inch), 3 cm (1 1/4 inch) deep flan ring in the center.
- Butter the rung, then bring the aluminium foil up smoothly around the side of the ring to seal the bottom edge and prevent the pastry from seeping out.
- Roll out just a little more than half of the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a round 2.5 cm (1 inch) larger than a flan ring.
- Line the flan ring with the pastry.
- Press it smoothly around the side.
- Trim the pastry level with the top of the flan ring.
- Add the pastry trimmings to the remaining pastry.
- Roll out an oblong about 25 cm x 15 cm (11 x 6 inches), the same thickness as the pastry in the flan ring.
- Trim the edges neatly then cut into 10 long strips, about 1 cm (1/2 inch) wide.
- Spread the raspberry conserve evenly over the bottom of the pastry in the flan ring.
- Lay the pastry strips flat, on top of the jam in a lattice pattern, cutting them to fit exactly.
- Loosen the sides of the pastry from the flan ring with a small palette knife, then bring them down over the pastry strips to form a neat border.
- Lightly whisk the egg, milk and sugar for the glaze together.
- Brush it evenly over the pastry.
- Sprinkle the torte with flaked almonds, if wished.
- Bake at 220ºC (400ºF) ark 6 for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC (350ºF) mark4 and continue cooking for 35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet without removing the flan ring.
- Remove the flan ring, sift the icing sugar over the torte and transfer tp doily-line plate.
