Linzer Torte- Keeping the tradition of the Holidays

For the first time in many years I was asked to make a Linzer Torte for the holidays! Naturally I made sure that I still knew what I was doing before making one for others. Since it's been so long I no longer had a good recipe for one so I consoled the internet to get myself caught back up.

A little history on Linzer Tortes: Named after the city of Linz, Austria it's a holiday classic in Austria, Hungary, Sweden, and Germany and mainly seen on the dinner tables at Christmas time. Linzer tortes can be made in many sizes and shapes from cookies, tarts and tortes. I chose the torte for my experiment to make sure the baking times worked for the oven.

After researching loads of recipes on Pinterest and various other sites I managed to see the trends and the necessary measurements and ingredients to make an epic torte!







RECIPE

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
Recipe for a 10" torte pan

3/4 cup Sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon
Zest of 1 Orange
3/4 cup Margarine
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/3 cups Flour
1/4 cup Ground Hazelnuts
1/3 cup Ground Almonds
1 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

1 cup Raspberry Jam

I had some fun with my food processor and grounded my own nuts... It was loud but it was fun! Also treated myself to some new Wilton Torte pans.. So beautiful so untainted!

 


The crust- although has a lot of ingredients is very easy to make and much more fun to work with as opposed to it's cousin... The pie crust. Everything in it gives the torte it's unique texture and flavor. Nothing can be missed. It has a very distinct look on top with the lattice pipe work on top.

1. Mix the sugar and zest lightly and let sit for a minute to let the flavors settle in. Once settled cream with margarine.
2. Add in the eggs and vanilla, mix until just blended.
3. Add in flour, nuts, spices, baking powder and salt all together and divide the mixture in half- one half being larger then the other. Put the large half into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set and scoop the small into a piping bag.
4. Time to prepare the torte pan and preheat the oven! Press the refrigerated mixture into the base of the pan. Set it in the fridge for a final 10-15 minutes.
5. Spread raspberry jam onto the base of the torte and pipe your choice of design over top of the jam. Don't be afraid to show your personality!
6. Pop that bad boy into the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the jam is bubbly and the edges are a beautiful golden brown.

The first attempt was a complete success! Full of taste and wonder, I don't intend to go another 6 years without making one of these (especially with my pretty new pans) and I want to experiment with the other filling options I've seen around as well. This is my kind of dessert because it's not too sweet and has a ton of texture and flavor!

Bottoms up!