Austria: Linzertorte

This dessert is Austrian, but it might as well be British.  You see, it’s filled with jam, and if you read my post on what it’s like having a British expat husband, you know that all British people are genetically programmed to go ga-ga for jam.*  This is not a culturally insensitive sweeping generalization.  It is a scientific fact of nature.

*When I told the husband I was making linzertorte, I got an unsatisfyingly tepid response.  Elaborating with “it’s basically a jam-filled tart” finally got me the exuberant, wide-eyed reaction I’d been seeking.

Also, he started drooling.

I have an Austria travel story, but we don’t actually know if it took place within Austria’s borders.  It did take place on a train in the countryside somewhere between Vienna and Prague and involves the husband administering CPR to… well, I don’t want to spoil it.  How ’bout I shamelessly provide the link to the story and encourage you to read it?  It’s a ripping good yarn, if I do say so myself.

• Not Your Ordinary Travel Adventure

Thanks for reading that, because now you know we spent four days in Vienna several years ago as part of a larger London-Belgium-Budapest-Vienna-Prague trip.  This was years before I started the blog, but even that can’t account for the shockingly paltry number of photos I have from our time there.  I’m talking less than a dozen.  What was I thinking?

Vienna’s Hofburg Palace is a wonderful place to spend a day.  Like Rick Steves suggests, reading up on the Hapsburg dynasty in general and Princess Sisi in particular will make your visit here even more enjoyable.

Linzertorte

Recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Jammy Jailhouse Desserts Baking Handbook

Level of Difficulty: low-medium, due to dough strips that kept breaking apart when I tried to transfer them to the torte.  Don’t worry – I solved the problem and so will you.

Time Consumption: low, unless you want to make your own jam, but why on earth would you do that?

Kitchen Destruction: low, if you take a convenient shortcut like I did.  (See Confessions of an Imperfect Baker)

Wow Factor: If you are serving this to a British person, high; if you are serving this to anyone else, moderate.  Use of fluted pastry wheel may affect Wow Factor.

Ingredients:

• ½ C hazelnuts
• 1 C blanched almonds
• 1 1/3 C all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1½ sticks (¾ C) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• raspberry jam (just how much is up to personal preference)
• powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, stirring occasionally, until skins begin to split, about 15 minutes.  Immediately rub hazelnuts vigorously in a clean kitchen towel to remove the skins (as much as will come off easily).  Let cool.

In a food processor, pulse the roasted hazelnuts and blanched almonds until finely ground. (Be careful not to overprocess; you don’t want the mixture to become a paste.)  Transfer to a small bowl; set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

All you nuts stand on the left

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolk and beat 1 minute to combine.  With mixer on low speed, add ground nuts and flower mixture all at once; beat until just combined.

Action scene

Divide dough in half.  Set a 9-inch removable-bottom tart ring on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Using your fingers, press one dough half into the ring to form the bottom and continue ¾ inch up the sides of the pan.  Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, lightly dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and roll out the other half of the dough to a 13-inch round.  Place on a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Moisten a paper towel with water and ring it out.  Set it on the counter and place your parchment paper on top.  This way, when you roll out the dough, the parchment won’t go sliding all over the counter top.  You’ll thank me, I promise. And since we’re all striving to reduce waste, make that paper towel multi-task for you: use it to clean up any mess.

Using an offset spatula, spread the jam evenly over the chilled dough in ring; set aside.  (Note that this is where you get to decide how much jam to use.  With most spreadable condiments, I tend to think less is more, but since the husband is a jam-crazy Brit, I used a whole 20 oz jar of jam.)

Great.  What am I supposed to put on my toast tomorrow?!

Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut ¾-inch-wide strips from chilled round of dough.

Oh please, Martha.  We can’t all have a fluted pastry wheels like the rich and famous.  I have a boring ol’ pizza cutter, and that’s what I’m gonna use.

So middle-class, but it works for me.

Arrange strips on top of the jam in a lattice pattern… but wait:

Ahhh Martha!!  How could you steer me so wrong?!  The strips are crumbling like your public image after your insider trading conviction!

Patented Travel Architect solution: Patch the pieces together as best you can (you won’t need ’em all, anyway), transfer to a baking sheet, and freeze for 30 minutes.  Then, slide the dough-covered parchment onto the counter, cover with the pan, and invert.  Carefully peel back the parchment and you’re in business.

Now you can arrange the strips on top of the jam in a lattice pattern.

Dough strip disaster averted.

Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

I’m freezing!  Where’s a sauna when you need one?

Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until torte is golden brown all over, about 40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.  Remove ring and cool completely.  Torte can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered in (environmentally-unfriendly) plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.*

* There’s no way this jam-filled torte is lasting 3 days with the husband around.

When ready to serve, dust with powdered sugar, if using.

Honey, I don’t need powdered sugar to be FABulous!

Notes: And what about those extra dough strips?  Bake them at the same time you bake the torte, but for about half the time.  Not all dough tastes good on its own, but this one does.  You’ll end up with little oddly-shaped cookies that aren’t perfect enough to serve to guests, so you’ll have to eat them all yourself, as I did.

In one sitting.

 

Confessions of an Imperfect Baker:

• As usual, I relied on my trusty 11-inch tart pan.  Close enough.
• I skipped the hazelnut deskinning nonsense step.  The hazelnuts I bought were already roasted and partially deskinned anyway.  I’ve gone through this messy process before – it’s a pain.  Some say the skins can impart a bitter flavor.  I say hogwash.  DO make sure your hazelnuts are roasted, however.

Besides, aren’t the skins where all the fiber lives?  Better to get it here than from prune juice!  Eww.

And in case you missed it before: Not Your Ordinary Travel Adventure 😉