Linzer Torte (or Tart)
This is a wonderfully spiced almond pastry filled with an enhanced raspberry jam. It's simple and delicious. The dough and the whole baked tart can be made ahead and frozen. A great addition to the holiday table, for Valentine's day, or just because.
Servings 12 squares
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 ½ cups whole almonds
- 7 tablespoons graham crackers crumbs or fine dry breadcrumbs scant ½ cup
- 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:
- Put 1 ½ cups whole almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process until they are medium to finely ground. You can also transfer them to a bowl and use an electric mixer at the lowest speed to continue mixing the dough.
- Add 7 tablespoons graham crackers crumbs or fine dry breadcrumbs, ⅔ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 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 comes together, but short of forming a ball.
- Finally, 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.
For the assembly:
- Have ready a 9-inch square or round tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Divide the dough into two parts: ⅓ and ⅔. Keep the smaller part refrigerated, 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.
Notes
Baking time: Keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Spiced pastry: don't overwork the dough. The food processor is a handy tool to make it easier, but don't process it much after you add the flour, as this will make it tougher.
Cookie crumbs: instead of the graham crackers, you can use dry fine breadcrumbs or plain vanilla wafers and a little more cinnamon to match the graham crackers flavor.
Make ahead: it can be kept in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for a month (defrost in the fridge first). In both cases, wrap it well.
