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Authentic Linzer Torte Recipe Alternate Text Linz, Austria

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We strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though

Introduction & history

With its instantly recognizable elaborate lattice top and delectable jam filling, the Austrian Linzer torte is deemed the oldest torte with a geographical designation in the world. It consists of two layers of shortcrust dough flavored with nuts and spices – one layer serving as the bottom and sides of the cake and the other as a decorative latticework top — and a layer of tart preserves as filling, which provides contrast and balance to the mellow flavor of the dough. The original recipe calls for redcurrant jam, but raspberry or even apricot jam can be used in its place. The assembled cake is brushed with an egg wash for color and sprinkled with almond flakes for extra crunchiness.

Serve With

Ale

Tripel

Europe

4.4

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Cooking tips

  • pastry

    Today the dough is typically flavored with ground hazelnuts and spices, but you can use almonds, which were more common in the past, and walnuts instead.
  • jam

    While early versions of the recipe called for sweeter types of jams and fruits, like peach and quince ones, once spices were added to the dough, they clashed with the sweetness of the fruit. Consequently, sweet fruits were replaced with tart red fruits like cherries, redcurrant, and raspberries. The original recipe for Linzer torte strictly calls for redcurrant jam, but plum, apricot, or strawberry ... Read more
  • serving

    Although the original recipe suggests leaving the torte to rest for a full day before serving, for best results, resting it for up to two days is ideal.

Recipe variations

Original Linzer Torte from 1653

PREP 1h

COOK 1h

RESTING 1h

READY IN 3h

4.4

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Adapted from the 1653 manuscript of Countess Anna Margarita Sagramosa this is the earliest known Linzer torte recipe. The pastry is flavored with almonds, and the spices are put only in a third of the dough which used as a decorative top layer. Sweeter versions of jam are used, unlike today when tart fruit jams predominate. When baked, the torte should be left to mature for two days.

Ingredients

8 Servings

Original Linzer Torte from 1653

140g (5 oz) freshly grated almonds, peeled or unpeeled

140g (5 oz) clarified butter

140g (5 oz) butter

140g (5 oz) sugar

2 eggs, 2 yolks

300g (10.5 oz) flour

spices (cinnamon, clove), to taste

quince or peach marmalade, as needed

Preparation

1

Original Linzer Torte from 1653

Step 1/6

Beat the two types of butter until bubbly and creamy; add the almonds and then whole eggs. Now, add the yolks one by one and mix in the sugar. Lastly, add the flour. The dough should be medium consistency, not too tough or too soft.

Step 2/6

Place 2/3 of the dough in a greased pan and generously coat it with quince marmalade.

Step 3/6

Combine the remaining dough with spices, and if the dough becomes too soft, add some flour, then leave it to rest in a cool place for an hour.

Step 4/6

Form rolls and arrange them in a diamond-shaped grid pattern on top of the torte.

Step 5/6

Bake the torte in a preheated oven at 175°C/350°F for an hour.

Step 6/6

When baked, leave to rest for up to two days.

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