Linzer Torte

Linky's Note:

Linzer Torte is a holiday classic in the Austrian, Hungarian, Swiss, German and Tyrolean traditions, often prepared for Christmas. The recipe for this rich dessert has been known since the late 1600s and is thought to have originated in Linz, Austria. A copy from 1696 can be found at the Vienna Stadt-und Landesbibliothek. In the 1850s, an Austrian traveler by the name of Franz Hoelzlhuber allegedly brought the Linzer Torte to Milwaukee, from where the recipe spread over the United States.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

Yield: 1.0 torte

• 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups ground almonds, blanched
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 1/2 egg white, slightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2. Chop or crumble cold butter into flour.
3. Add almonds
4. Mix sugar with the spices and egg yolks, add to flour mixture.
5. Bring the dough together and knead until well blended.
6. Place two-thirds of the dough into a 9 inch ungreased cake pan
7. with a removable bottom.
8. Spread dough over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides.
9. Chill pan for an hour.
10. Roll out remaining dough on lightly floured surface into a
11. rectangle 10x 5 inches and chill for 1 hour.
12. Spread jam over bottom of pan.
13. Cut 1/2 inch wide strips of the rolled out dough.
14. Lift with a spatula and arrange lattice style over the jam.
15. Fasten the ends around the rim of pan by pressing lightly.
16. Brush with egg white and bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
17. Set pan on a rack and partly cool before removing the rim of the pan.