Linzer Torte by Ute Perkovic
Linzer Torte
Country: Germany - Pre-1900's recipe
Prep. time/ Cook time: 1.5 hours from start to finish
Ingredients (makes two Linzer Torte):
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White flour - 625ml
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Sugar - 200ml
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Cinnamon - 1 flat tsp.
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Baking Powder - 2 flat tsp.
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Ground cloves – dip the tip of the paring knife into the ground cloves so that there is no more than ¼” (heaping) of it on the tip of the knife.
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Cocoa - 2 heaping tbsp.
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Ground shelled hazelnuts - 100g
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3 extra-large size eggs or 4 medium size eggs
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Unsalted butter - 125g
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Raspberry or Red Currant preserves or jam – 250ml.
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Optional - icing sugar – small bag
Steps:
- Making the dough: Using the baking scale, measure out 100 grams of shelled hazelnuts
- Using the nut grinder, grind the hazelnuts into a bowl.
- Pour flour onto the counter and make a well in the center to hold all the other ingredients.
- Add the rest of the ingredients above (EXCEPT for the preserves or jam and the icing sugar) into the centre of the flour well.
- With a knife, chop up the unsalted butter into pieces so it will be easier to mix all the ingredients together.
- With your hands, fold the flour into the middle and mix the ingredients together until you get a big brown ball of dough.
- Split the dough in half – one half for each springform.
- Pre-heating and preparing the baking springform: Have a rack available for the middle of the oven.
- Pre-heat your oven to 375 F or 191 C.
- Use some butter to grease the bottom and the side of each springform
- Sprinkle some flour in each pan and pat the sides of the pan to cover-over where it was greased.
- Dispose of the remaining flour.
- Adding the dough and preserves or jam into the springform: Take one of the dough balls and break off about a ¼ of it to save for the top of the torte.
- Take the remaining ¾ dough ball and roll it out with the rolling pin into about 3/8” thick, and 9.5” or so in diameter.
- Place the 9” springform on the rolled dough and then trace around the springform with the pastry wheel, cutting through the dough so you have a round bottom of dough to place into the springform.
- Using the baking spatula, carefully lift/peel the dough circle off of the counter and lay it into the springform.
- With a teaspoon, evenly spread the raspberry or red currant preserves or jam onto the top of the dough, giving it a coating of no more than a ¼” thick.
- Then, with the remaining dough, roll it out as thin as you can make it (not too thin, though) so that you can use the pastry wheel to cut out ½” wide strips to place in a lattice/crisscross pattern over the preserves, and then around the circumference to “frame” the torte.
- REPEAT process for 2nd springform Baking and cooling of the torte: Place both springforms into the oven, on the middle rack, for about 35 minutes.
- When done, remove the torte from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack or potholders for at least 45 minutes.
- Remove the sides (sides only) of the springforms.
- Optional - dust the Linzer Torte with icing sugar.
- Leave the torte on the bottom of the springform until the cake has totally cooled – at least 2 to 3 hours.
- If you remove the Linzer Torte from the springform bottom before it is fully cooled, the torte might BREAK.
- Once fully cooled, carefully remove the springform bottom from the torte, and place the torte in a large sealing plastic bag to preserve freshness for eating later in the week, or freeze it for eating much later.
- Cut it into slices as you would cut a pie.
Equipment Needed:
Oven, counter to mix ingredients, 2 springform baking pans (9”), pastry wheel, rolling pin, nut grinder, paring knife, baking scale, measuring cup - milliliters, teaspoon, tablespoon, long baking spatula (9.5” long), fine strainer (i.e., for dusting icing sugar on a cake).
Tips/Tricks:
I know you might love cinnamon but don’t add too much or it will hi-jack the flavour of the cake. Do not substitute jelly for jam as it will ruin the torte.
Why this recipe?
This is a traditional "old world" German recipe handed down to me from my grandmother to whom it was passed along from the generations before.
Ute Perkovic - Academic Advisor, DSB