An eighteenth-century specialty of the Austrian town of Linz, the nut-rich Linzertorte is identifiable by its decorative latticework top. Traditionally it is made with nut cookie crust made from unskinned almonds, but I prefer hazelnuts (filberts) for a more intense flavor. There are two ways to make the dough: one way is to pipe the lattice design (creaming method) or roll out the dough, cut it into strips and then weave the design on top of the filling, which I use here. You can use the traditional black currant or red raspberry preserves or make your own fresh raspberry filling, as shown in this recipe!
PIE RECIPE HELP
INGREDIENTS
Homemade Raspberry Filling: Makes 1 1/3 cups
2 cups (8 ounces) fresh or frozen raspberries, unsweetened
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons raspberry preserves, or more if needed; excellent quality
Crust:
1 1/3 cups whole hazelnuts, toasted, skinned or unskinned (blanched or unblanched) and cooled; can substitute with blanched almonds.
2 cups all-purpose flour, spoon into measuring cup and level to rim; divided into 1/2 cup and 1 1/2 cups. NOTE: for this recipe, preferably bleached, but can use unbleached
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, can be cold from the refrigerator
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest; can substitute with orange peel
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling:
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Egg wash:
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
Garnish:
3 tablespoons sliced almonds
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP I: MAKE THE HOMEMADE RASPBERRY FILLING
1. Place the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Do not let it burn.
3. Remove from heat. Optionally, strain the raspberry mixture through a sieve if you do not like a lot of seeds in your filling. Toss the seeds.
4. Pour the raspberry mixture into a heatproof 2-cup measuring cup. You should have less than a cup.
5. Add enough store bought raspberry preserves to equal 1 1/3 cups of filling.
6. Cover and place in the refrigerator while you make the crust.
STORAGE
Can be made a week in advance and remain refrigerated.
STEP II: BLANCH THE NUTS AND GRIND
Before you grind the hazelnuts for use in the crust dough, they need to be blanched (skinned).
1. Place 1 1/3 cups whole hazelnuts on a baking sheet, in one layer, and toast in a 300 degree F preheated oven for 8 minutes.
Make sure you stir them a couple of time so they won't burn.
2. Immediately, pour them out on a clean, roughly textured kitchen towel.
4. Separate the nuts from the skins. If some skins are recalcitrant, just leave. A little amount won't hurt.
5. Place the hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a steel blade. Pulse them until the hazelnuts are finely ground.
STEP III: MAKE THE DOUGH
1. Place finely ground nuts with 1/2 cup of the flour from the recipe in a food processor, fitted with a steel blade.
Pulse until finely ground, but not powdery fine, but before they turn oily and into butter.
3. In a medium-size bowl, combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Stir in the ground nut and flour mixture and combine. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar and lemon zest.
Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
5. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating on medium-low. Add in the vanilla extract and beat on low until combined.
6. With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture, slowly at the side of the bowl and mix until JUST combined and begins to hold together. The dough will be stiff, but sticky.
7. Take dough and divide into two flattened dough disks; one slightly larger than the other.
8. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until firm, at least an hour or two, preferably overnight.
STEP IV: MAKE THE LINZERTORTE AND BAKE
1. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spray the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking oil spray. Optionally, place a round of greased parchment paper in the bottom of the pan.
Make the bottom crust and fill:
1. Remove the larger dough disk from the refrigerator. While still cold, roll it into approximately an 11-inch circle, no less than 1/4-inch thick. The dough will crack; it's ok.
2. Carefully lift the rolled out dough and place in into the prepared springform pan bottom. If the dough is cold, it will transfer much more easily.
3. Gently press the dough into the bottom and an 1-inch up the sides of the springform pan. Make sure the dough stays about 1/4-inch thick or a little less.
NOTE: If using a tart pan, the pastry dough will reach to the top rim.
If the dough is too cold, let it sit a few minutes to soften. Use the back of a large wooden spoon or measuring cup to help smooth the crust.
4. Whisk the homemade raspberry filling until smooth. Pour it into the crust.
Spread it evenly in the bottom of the crust. The dough's edge should be a bit higher than the filling.
STORAGE
You can make the unbaked torte shell in advance and keep refrigerated for several days or frozen for a month or more.
Thaw before using.
Make the lattice top:
1. Remove the smaller ball of dough from the fridge.
While still cold, roll it between two sheets of parchment or wax paper into a roughly 10-inch round, about 1/2-inch thick.
2. Remove top sheet of paper. With a sharp knife or fluted edged pastry wheel, cut the dough into twelve, 1/2 inch wide strips.
NOTE: If at any time the strips become too soft, simply slide them on the parchment or wax paper onto a cookie sheet, and place them in the fridge for 5 – 20 minutes or until firm.
3. Using an offset spatula gently transfer the strips to the jam in the tart pan.
Start with the second longest middle strip and place it in the middle. (Set aside the longest middle strip for Step 4.)
Trim the strip off at the shell edge and press into the shell to secure.
Lay the remaining four strips, about 1-inch apart and evenly spaced, across the jam. Use every other strip. Trim the strips off at the shell edge and press into the shell to secure.
4. Then, turn the pan a quarter turn and lay the remaining six strips across the first five strips to form a simple lattice. Start with the longest middle strip.
Lay the remaining five strips, about 1-inch apart and evenly spaced, across the first strips.
Trim the strips off at the shell edge and press into the shell to secure.
NOTE: You should have one remaining strip.
5. Crimp and seal all of the strip edges with a fork.
Make a decorative edge
1. Take the leftover strip and scraps of dough and roll them into a long rope about 1/4 inch thick. Don't worry if the rope breaks. Just take the pieces of rope and place them around the outer edge of the tart where the ends of the lattice strips meets the bottom crust.
2. Using a fork, press the rope into the edges of the bottom crust to seal the edges.
Bake:
1. Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of water. Lightly brush it over the pastry lattice. Garnish with a sprinkle of sliced almonds over the top.
2. Bake torte in the oven until the lattice is lightly browned, about 35 – 40 minutes.
3. Cool in the pan on a wire cake rack, about 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate it for a day before serving.
4. Before serving, loosen the ring and slide to a flat serving platter. Optionally, dust edges of crust with powdered sugar.
STORAGE
Will keep at room temperature for a few hours. For longer term storage, keep refrigerated for several days. The Linzertorte (Linzer Torte) can be frozen for a month or more.
