"New from the Kitchen"
Recipe of the Month - March 2012
Desserts: Linzertorte
This torte is a favorite holiday dessert in Austria, Hungry and Germany. It has a very short pastry made with ground nuts, filled with jam and topped with a criss-cross lattice design on top. In North America it is often made like small tarts or cookies.
The earliest recipe for Linzertorte dates from 1653 in Verona. In 1823 Johann Konrad Vogel began mass producing the torte in Linz and the cake made it famous around the world. In 1850 an Austrian traveler, Franz Holzhuber brought the tort to Milwaukee from where the recipe spread across America.
Abingdon Manor's sous chef, Jeffrey, created his version for Valentine's Day with blackberry jam and a a heart shaped lattice with a drizzle of chocolate and vanilla flavored whipped cream.
Ingredients
1 cup sifted sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup finely ground, unblanched almonds or hazelnuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
Good quality raspberry, blackberry or other jam
.
Instructions
Beat the butter until soft and gradually add the sugar. Blend in the lemon rind and eggs and stir until light and creamy. Gradually add the remaining dry ingredients stirring (or use a stand mixer) until the dough is well formed. If soft , chill in refrigerator.
Divide the dough in half and pat half into an ovenproof 9 inch round pan or a removable rim tart pan to 1/8 inch thickness. Chill until firm.
Spread evenly a 1/4 inch thickness of the jam over the crust. With the remaining dough, force through a pastry tube making a good edge around the pie and then crisscross with a a lattice pattern. Can also roll out the remaining dough and cut into patterns such as hearts, to arrange as the top crust.
Bake the torte for 45-50 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Cool on a rack. Serve with a spinkle of confectioners’ sugar.
Torte improves if allowed to sit in refrigerator for a day, then brought back to room temperature
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