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Linzertorte - The Festive Jam Tart

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With its cinnamon-scented pastry, its heart of red jam and its golden lattice, Linzertorte has everything of a festive cake. Found throughout the Rhine and Alpine regions, it naturally takes its place on Alsatian Advent tables, alongside Bredele, Beerawecka and Christstollen.

One of the oldest cake recipes

Linzertorte takes its name from the city of Linz in Austria. A recipe of this kind appears in a 17th-century manuscript, making it one of the oldest known cake recipes in Europe. Over the centuries it spread to Bavaria, Baden, Switzerland and Alsace, where each family gradually adapted its own version.

Linzertorte in Alsace

In Alsace, it is often baked for Christmas and the end-of-year celebrations. Raspberry jam remains the most common filling, but redcurrant and black cherry also have their fans. Its pastry, rich in almonds or hazelnuts, and its gentle spices make it a dessert perfectly suited to the Advent atmosphere. Like many Christmas bakes, it benefits from being made the day before: the jam soaks into the pastry and the flavours deepen.

The Linzertorte recipe

Ingredients for a 24 cm tart

  • 200 g flour
  • 150 g ground almonds (or hazelnuts)
  • 150 g sugar
  • 200 g cold butter, diced
  • 1 whole egg and 1 yolk
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 pinch ground cloves
  • Zest of one unwaxed lemon
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 350 g raspberry jam
  • 1 egg yolk and a little milk for glazing
  • A few flaked almonds and icing sugar for the finish

Method

  1. In a bowl, mix the flour, ground almonds, sugar, spices, lemon zest and salt. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until crumbly.
  2. Add the whole egg and the yolk, then quickly bring the dough together into a ball without kneading. Wrap it and chill for 1 hour.
  3. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Butter a 24 cm tin.
  4. Roll out two thirds of the dough to about 5 mm and line the tin, bringing it slightly up the sides. This pastry is crumbly: if it breaks, simply press it directly into the tin.
  5. Spread the jam evenly over the base.
  6. Roll out the remaining dough and cut strips about 1 cm wide. Arrange them in a lattice over the jam and press them onto the edge.
  7. Brush the lattice with egg yolk mixed with a little milk and scatter flaked almonds around the edge.
  8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is nicely golden. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin, then dust the edge with icing sugar.

Storage

Covered with a tea towel or kept in an airtight tin, Linzertorte keeps for a week at room temperature. It is even better a day or two later, once the jam has slightly softened the pastry.

How to serve it

Serve generous slices at teatime with a fragrant tea, or as a dessert after a festive meal. A Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives goes beautifully with its spice and red fruit notes. For something a little more original, a lightly chilled Alsace Pinot Noir pairs nicely with the raspberry.

A place of honour on the Christmas table

Set on a platter among Bredele and gingerbread, Linzertorte adds a touch of colour to the Advent buffet. A few Christmas decorations are all it takes to create a welcoming table to share this dessert with family and friends.

 

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