This is a wonderfully spiced almond pastry filled with an enhanced raspberry jam. The flavors are simple and delicious, and a classic Christmas dessert recipe that I make every year. The cinnamon dough and the whole baked tart can be made ahead and frozen.
Besides the obvious holiday cookie trays, these bars are perfect for potlucks, bake sales or as an everyday treat with coffee. They keep well, travel well, and actually taste better after sitting a day or two, when the flavors have time to mingle.
Spiced holiday bake
Linzer tart squares look fancy but are actually easy to pull off.
I love baking with spices and berries, so this recipe was an instant hit, and one that fits the vintage recipes theme of this blog perfectly, as this classic Austrian Torte is considered one of the oldest cakes in the world.
It has all the holiday cozy flavors: spiced nut crust, tangy raspberry jam, and crumbly topping, in a simple bar format that's perfect for sharing.
The crust is really the star. It's made with ground almonds, warm spices, and a touch of graham cracker for texture and flavor. The dough comes together quickly in the food processor and works as both the base and topping. And, you can cut out cookies from the leftover dough scraps.
These bars are close cousins to the beautiful Linzer cookies (another holiday must-bake!) and the very popular Scandinavian jam tarts, though they're not spiced.
The original Viennese Linzertorte (named after the city of Linz) is a round tart with a lattice top, but I like baking mine in a square pan. Once cooled, you can slice it into neat bars; it's perfect for sharing and more practical for Christmas cookie trays, the dessert holiday table or just as a small bite with coffee or mulled wine.
What makes this recipe shine is the nutty dough and the way it pairs with jam. The almonds add a toasty flavor and unique texture, while the raspberry filling brings that sweet-tart contrast. Together, they bake up into bars that taste like the holidays from the moment they leave the oven.
Testing Notes
Don't overwork the almond dough. The food processor is a handy tool for making it easier, but don't process it much after you add the flour, as this will make it tougher. It's crumbly and textured, so don't overknead it, trying to make it super pliable or completely smooth dough.
Using crumbs in the dough is traditional, and many recipes use dry fine breadcrumbs, but I liked graham crackers more. Or plain vanilla wafers and a little more cinnamon to match the graham cracker flavor.
Almonds: Use natural almonds (not honey-roasted, toasted, or salted). They will toast as the dough bakes.
Raspberry filling: A little raspberry preserves is added to the raspberry mixture to thicken it. Good brands tend to have more berry flavor and are not so sugary. If you don't have time to make it from scratch, you can use just the preserves or red currant jam for the filling.
Cinnamon is the main spice in this recipe. I like Vietnamese cinnamon, but any ground cinnamon you like works fine. I also add ground nutmeg and allspice, but adjust or adapt to your palate.
Make ahead: You can freeze the dough ball or the lined pan for up to a month, which is very handy if holiday baking. The baked torte, whole or leftovers, can also be frozen.
Flavor options
- Other jams: Use other flavors, such as apricot, mixed berries, tart cherries, or plum. Fruits with some acidity are better than overly sweet ones like strawberries.
- Nuts: Almonds are traditional, but you can make this Linzer torte with hazelnuts.
- Flavorings: we use vanilla and almond extract (that you can omit) with lemon zest, but orange zest also works very well. Add a tablespoon or two of liquor (Amaretto, Frangelico, brandy, or cognac) to the filling.
How to make the spiced dough
- Use a food processor. It's the easiest way because you can quickly grind the almonds and the graham cracker crumbs and then add the rest of the ingredients, including spices and lemon zest, to the same bowl.
- After adding the butter, you will have a soft and creamy mixture similar to almond cream or frangipane.
- After adding the dry ingredients, pulse to mix well, but do not form them into a ball.
- When you dump the spiced dough mixture onto a clean surface, there might be dry spots, and that's fine.
Forming and chilling
- Gather the mixture until you form a dough, turning it onto itself several times until you have a solid pastry round with no flour patches. It will come together but be somewhat crumbly.
- Cover well in plastic wrap (I use freezer sheets) and refrigerate as directed in the recipe.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
After incorporating flour in a pie dough, we don't want to develop gluten as it will toughen after it's baked. So mix *just* until it's all well incorporated, but don't overdo it.
The filling
I hoard frozen raspberries year-round (lots of pounds), so I usually make homemade raspberry fillings and sauces. That said, you can use store-bought raspberry jam. The better the jam, the better the Linzer tart.
- Thicker filling: For this torte, you need a thicker filling to cut the tart without creating a pool of raspberries. To achieve that, I mix the best raspberry marmalade I can afford with real berries, which gives it the right amount of tang and sturdiness.
- How sweet should it be? This is really up to you and your level of sweetness. I like it more acidic than not, especially with such a rich buttery pastry. So feel free to adjust the sugar and lemon juice to your taste.
Mix
It's a one-step process where you mix the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook them over medium heat.
Cook
The berries will release juice and break up. You want a thick but easily spreadable filling, so don't let the liquid evaporate too much. You'll be adding some jam that will thicken it.
Assembling the tart (video)
After you make the spiced dough, assembling the torte is quite simple.
You have to divide the crust and use ⅔ for the bottom part and ⅓ for the lattice crust or cutouts.
Lattice crust
It's the traditional way of making the top of a Linzer torte.
Roll out the pastry and cut strips of dough using a pastry wheel or a pizza cutter. Starting in the middle, place a long strip and pinch the ends where they meet the bottom crust. Repeat with the rest until you have a criss-cross pattern.
Cut-outs
A lattice is the traditional top crust, but really, you don't have to corner yourself with crisscross stripes.
You can cut out shapes (I use stars for Christmas and heart cookie cutters for Valentine's), and distribute them on top. The pastry will hold its shape after it's baked, so it's a great way to make it more festive.
If you have extra dough, use it to make plain cookies, similar to this cinnamon cobbler crust.
Roll and cut with the form you want. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350°F/180°C oven until dry and starting to color a light golden brown. Store in a cookie jar or metal tin.
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Linzer Torte with Almonds and Raspberry Filling
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 ½ cups finely ground almonds or almond flour
- 7 tablespoons graham crackers crumbs, scant ½ cup; see Notes below for alternatives
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest, or a mix of both, loosely packed
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- ½ cup raspberry preserves, the best quality you can afford
- 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
OR
- 1 ¼ cups good raspberry preserves or jam, instead of the filling ingredients above
Instructions
For the spiced dough:
- If using whole almonds: place 1 ½ cups finely ground almonds or almond flour in the bowl of a food processor and process until they are medium to finely ground. If using almond flour: Place it in a large bowl and use a spatula or an electric mixer at the lowest speed to mix the rest of the dough ingredients.
- Add 7 tablespoons graham crackers crumbs, ⅔ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, a pinch of ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice and 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest. Pulse a few times to mix.
- Scatter 1 cup unsalted butter in pieces and pulse until it starts to come together. It doesn't matter if there are small pieces of butter here and there.
- Add 1 egg and ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract and continue to pulse on/off until it starts to come together, but stop short of forming a ball.
- Add 2 cups all-purpose flour in 2 parts, processing lightly until it starts to come together. Scrape the sides of the bowl before adding the last part of the flour so that you gather any that is at the bottom and can't be reached by the metal blades, and pulse just until it starts coming together. Don't overwork it. The pastry will look dry and not form a ball.
- Transfer this shaggy mass to a clean surface or counter and gather together with your hands until you have a smooth round of pastry with no dry patches. Don't knead it but make sure all the flour is incorporated.
- Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
For the filling:
- Put 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries with 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice in a small saucepan.
- Cook at low/medium until the raspberries are crushed and the mixture has lost some of its liquid (especially important if you use frozen berries), about 5 minutes.
- Mix with ½ cup raspberry preserves and let cool completely before using.
To assemble:
- Have ready a 9-inch square or round tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Divide the chilled dough into two parts: ⅓ and ⅔ pieces. Keep the smaller part refrigerated and wrapped while you work with the larger part.
- Roll the large piece of dough on a lightly floured surface until you have a rough square a few inches larger than the pan. The dough is crumbly and if it tears as you roll it out simply patch it together. Make sure you make ¼ turns and flip it if you can to make sure it's not sticking to the surface. Lightly flour surface and rolling pin as needed.
- Transfer the dough to the pan without stretching it. If it tears, just pat it together with your fingers. It's crumbly, so most of the time you'll be able to transfer a large piece and then have to patch the rest. That's fine.
- Line the whole pan, bottom, and sides with dough, making sure the angles and corners are covered. With the rolling pin, a cornet, or a knife, level the rim by removing the excess dough.
- Prick the bottom with a fork and transfer the unbaked tart shell to the freezer for 30 minutes (or the fridge for 1 hour) before baking. You don't need to wrap it unless you want to freeze it at this point.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) about fifteen minutes before baking.
- Roll the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut out stars or your favorite cookie shape, or cut strips (I use a pizza cutter) to make a lattice.
- Spread the cold raspberry filling on the bottom of the cold unbaked dough you just took out from the freezer. Top with the cutouts, leaving space in between them; don't cover the jam completely.
- If making a lattice, starting in the middle, carefully lay the longer strips first over the filling, going from side to side to form a crisscross pattern. Repeat with the rest of the strips leaving some space between them. Pinch the dough strips with the crust at the edges to seal.
- Bake the tart for about 30 minutes, until the top is browned and dry and the filling starts to bubble.
- Let cool on a wire rack for fifteen minutes or so, and make sure no jam is stuck to the sides, as it will harden as the tart cools. Let cool completely before removing it altogether.
- Dust lightly with powdered sugar if you want before serving.
Fran says
Hello. I came across your recipe. Can you recommend any substitutes for the ground almonds? We have a nut allergy and I like the spices in your dough. Thanks
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Fran, you can substitute the almond flour for oat flour or a mix of more all-purpose and oat. I would start there and see how it goes. You can make half a batch at first. Or use all-purpose flour, though the dough might need some liquid if it's too crumbly, like a tablespoon or two of milk or water.
Adjust the flavorings, as almonds also add flavor as well as texture.
David says
Amazing recipe
Cara says
My gosh, this was honestly one of the best desserts I've ever made at home! We ate half the tart in one sitting. I'm not a huge fan of pie, but the spices in the dough blended perfectly with the raspberry. This recipe will easily become a Christmas tradition in my family - thank you for sharing!
One thing - you don't actually include vanilla in the recipe, but it's in the steps. I looked at other recipes and saw most included 1 teaspoon of vanilla so that's what I went with, but you might want to add vanilla to the ingredient list 🙂
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks for letting me know Cara, about the vanilla and how much you like it! Yes, it's among my favorites also, and not just for Christmas haha. Happy holidays!
Judee says
Wow!These Linzer tortes look exceptional. I can only imagine how good they taste. thank you for the step by step and the recipe.
Paula Montenegro says
Happy you like it Judee!
angiesrecipes says
You are an amazing baker, Paula. The linzer tart with stars looks so festive and tempting.
Paula Montenegro says
Thank you Angie!