Linzer Torte and Goodbye 2016

​With this Linzer torte, I wish you all a happy and peaceful 2017, filled with love, happiness, sweetness and renewed hope. May you all find fulfillment and joy in this crazy world. I am so happy to share some of my life with you through my blog. Thank you all for visiting and encouraging me with your comments and friendship. It is greatly appreciated.
My love to all of you.

It seems that I am crazy about nuts these days. It has become my go-to snack during the day. But most of all, I use them in baking as I often substitute nuts for flour. For weeks, I have been trying different recipes for Linzer torte, a cake that gets its name from the town of Linz in northern Austria. This lattice-topped torte, filled with jam and a crunchy nutty crust, is a delight for the taste buds. It’s a crumbly, nutty affair that can be eaten any time of the day. I finally chose an Austrian version from a baker who inherited the recipe from her mother. I also tried a recipe from a well-known American chef who used roasted almonds and powdered sugar. I am much happier with the recipe I am sharing with you. According to Wikipedia, Linzer torte is said to be the oldest cake in the world (a fact much debated around the dinner table). Although interesting, it is not necessarily a reason to bake it. I was drawn to this cookie-like torte because of its taste and texture. It does improve with age and you can make it three days ahead of time. In my humble opinion, it needs to be served with whipped cream. I made this torte for my girlfriend’s birthday party. I served small pieces with a good amount of whipped cream (someone whipped the cream by hand and it was so good). Every last crumb was eaten, and several people went back for seconds.

The only difficult part is making the lattice crust. I put the strips on (without putting them into a lattice pattern) because my crust was crumbly. Traditionally, this torte is made with red currant marmalade. I used seedless raspberry jam mixed with red currant jam in one of my tortes. In my final version, I used one cup of seedless raspberry fruit spread mixed with ¼ a cup of  my strawberry jam to give it some extra flavor. I used Kerrygold butter.  You need an 11-inch tart form with removable bottom. This is best served in smaller slices with a big slug of whipped cream. It will serve 12-14 people.

Print Recipe

Ingredients:​

1 3/4 cup (8 3/4oz, 250g) almonds (will yield 2 cups of ground almonds)

1 cup (7oz, 200g) sugar

2 cups (8 5/8 oz, 250g) all-purpose flour

14 TBS (8oz, 200g) chilled European butter (a bit less than 2 sticks)

3 egg yolks

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon
 
1/8 tsp nutmeg

a pinch of salt

1 tsp grated lemon peel

2 TBS lemon juice

1 TBS mineral water
 
1¼ cup seedless raspberry jam (or a mixture of raspberry and red currant jam)

sweetened, whipped cream

Directions:
​
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Finely grind the almonds in a food processor with 3 TBS flour. The nuts should have the texture of coarse cornmeal. Be careful not to turn them into nut butter.

Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder into the food processor, pulsing until well combined.

Cut the chilled  butter into 1-inch chunks and add to the food processor with 2 of the egg yolks. Pulse until the dough comes together. My food processor was filled to the rim. 

If you don't have a food processor or would like to do it by hand, sieve the flour with the the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder onto a clean surface with a hole in the middle. Buy pre-ground almonds and add to the flour. Put the chilled and cut butter on top of the flour. Add the egg yolks in the hole. Starting from the outside, mix the ingredients into a ball using the palm of your hands to mix the butter and egg yolk. This will make a crumbly crust. 

Divide the dough into two equal parts and put each piece onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Cover both parts with additional plastic wrap and roll one into a disc shape and the other into a rectangular piece. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight.
In the meantime, mix the jam (or jams) with the lemon juice to make it smooth and spreadable. 
Mix the leftover egg yolk with the mineral water.
 
Roll out the round piece between two pieces of plastic wrap into a 12-inch circle. Remove the top layer of plastic wrap and invert the dough into the buttered or oil-sprayed tart form. Remove the other piece of plastic wrap and press the dough with your hands into the tart shell making it nice and smooth. 


Roll out the other half of the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap into a rectangular piece (about 12-inches). Cut intro strips about 3/4-inch x 12-inch. If the dough becomes soft, put in into the freezer to firm up. 


Spread the jam evenly into the shell. Lay strips across the the top in a lattice pattern. My dough  didn't cooperate, so I did the best I could. By the time I baked the torte, you could barely see the imperfection. Brush the lattice dough (not the jam part) with the egg yolk and mineral water mixture and bake in a preheated  350-degree oven for about 45 minutes. Or until the jam starts to bubble. 

Guten Appetit
recipe from a German-speaking website
adapted by ©sunnycovechef

A happy and healthy New Year from Sunny Cove Beach