Linzer Torte

Before you start

A Linzer torte, named for the Austrian city of Linz, is a tart made from a crumbly dough of ground nuts, flour, butter and warm spices, filled with a thick layer of jam and covered with a lattice of the same dough. The crust bakes into something between shortbread and a nut cake, and red currant or raspberry jam supplies the acidity that keeps the rich nut base from tasting heavy.

The dough is soft and short because the nuts cut through the gluten, so it tears if you roll it like pie pastry. Press most of it into the pan with your fingers, roll only the lattice dough between sheets of parchment, and keep it cold. Many bakers wrap the finished torte and wait a day before cutting it; the spices mellow and the jam softens the crust slightly.

Ingredients

• Nut dough150 g (1¼ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 125 g (1¼ cups) ground toasted hazelnuts — or ground almonds
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• ½ lemon, finely zested
• 150 g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter — cold, cubed
• 1 large egg
• Filling300 g (1 cup) red currant or raspberry jam — thick, good quality
• Finish1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar

Method

1. Pulse the flour, hazelnuts, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add the egg and pulse just until a soft dough forms.
2. Divide the dough into two pieces, about two thirds and one third. Flatten both into discs, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Press the larger piece of dough evenly into the pan with your fingers, about 6 mm (¼ in) thick on the base and 1.5 cm (⅝ in) up the sides. Chill it while you roll the lattice.
4. Roll the smaller piece between two sheets of parchment into a rectangle about 4 mm thick. Slide it onto a tray and chill for 15 minutes, until firm enough to cut cleanly.
5. Stir the jam until smooth and spread it over the base in an even layer, staying inside the raised edge. Cut the chilled dough into 1.5 cm (⅝ in) strips and lay them across the jam in a diagonal lattice, pressing the ends onto the edge. If a strip breaks, patch it; the seams disappear in baking.
6. Brush the lattice and rim with the egg yolk mixture. Set the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the jam bubbles between the strips.
7. Cool completely in the pan, at least 1½ hours, before removing the ring. Dust the edge with powdered sugar. For the best flavor, wrap the torte and leave it at room temperature overnight before slicing.

Tips for success

• Toast the hazelnuts at 175°C (350°F) for 10 to 12 minutes and rub off the skins before grinding; toasting is what gives the crust its depth.
• Chill the lattice strips on the parchment and lift them with a bench scraper or thin spatula rather than your fingers.
• Use a jam with plenty of tartness. Very sweet jams make the torte cloying, and runny jams soak the crust.

Substitutions

Ground hazelnuts

Ground almonds give a lighter, more delicate crust. Walnuts work but taste slightly bitter and make a darker dough.

Red currant jam

Raspberry, apricot or plum butter all work. Seedless jam gives a smoother slice, while seeded raspberry jam is more rustic.

All-purpose flour

A 1:1 gluten-free flour blend works well here because the nuts already keep the dough short. Chill it a little longer before shaping.

Variations

Linzer bars

Press the dough into a 20 × 20 cm (8 × 8 in) pan, top with jam and a lattice, and bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Chocolate Linzer

Replace 15 g of the flour with cocoa powder and use cherry jam.

Troubleshooting

The lattice strips keep breaking

The dough is too warm. Chill it again until firm, cut with a pastry wheel and move each strip with a spatula.

Jam boiled over the edge

The jam layer reached the rim or was too runny. Keep it inside the raised border, and cook thin jam in a pan for 5 minutes to thicken it first.

The crust is dry and crumbly

It overbaked, or the nuts were very dry. Bake until deep golden rather than dark brown, and let the torte rest overnight so the jam softens it.

Storage

Wrap well and keep at room temperature for up to 5 days; the texture improves over the first two. The torte freezes for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly; thaw it in its wrapping.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough, which contains raw egg and flour. Contains wheat, egg, milk and tree nuts (hazelnut or almond).