Monday, November 12, 2012

Linzer Torte : Free And Easy Bake-Along #35

Our Bake-Along #35!  My turn to select a theme, and I have chosen to bake any Linzer Tart/Torte as our baking theme. Linzer Tart, sometimes called as Linzer Torte, is believed to be originated from Austria, from the city of Linz. Torte is a German word for cake. It is a round tart with a pastry base and is topped with raspberry jam and the top is attractively crisscrossed with strips of the pastry dough. An interesting fact I discovered about Linzer Torte is, it is known to be the oldest kind of cake in the world, dated back to 1696!



As you can see from my photo above, I have over baked the tart a little, the crust is a little too brown for my liking. This tart has however, helped me in my "project" to clear my pantry, a bottle of raspberry jam that I have no idea how it came to me, but has been sitting in my pantry for months!



The recipe uses unblanched almonds which are processed with the confectioners' sugar till fine, but I use ready bought ground almond instead, so I skipped this step. The dough is really very soft and difficult to work with. I need to refrigerate the dough in the freezer for a short while and work quickly when handling the dough. It came out fine in the end! 


As you can see, the jam is not suitable for baking. It is runny while still hot and did not improve much when the tart has cooled down. I refrigerated the tart to set the jam. It was fine when out of the fridge, but the jam starts to turn runny later on when left outside. So I left the tart in the fridge until serving time. And this jam is a litttle too sweet for my liking. Overall, this Linzer Tart is not too bad, albeit the sweet jam. I guess that good quality jam certainly makes a big difference, and next time I'll use preserves instead! But anyway, at least the bottle of "mysterious jam" has been cleared off my pantry! This goes to my self-project in clearing my pantry Clearing my pantry #2 : Raspberry Jam!

Please visit my baking buddies, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next bake, we will be baking Designer Chocolate Baby Grands, from Rose's Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum or here. The linky will start on 27th November right up to 3rd December. Do join us, everyone's welcome.




Photobucket


A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :
1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (JoyceLena or Zoe)
2. Please link only new and current post, related to the current bake or theme provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.
3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.



Linzertorte
(adapted from "The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book")
Makes one 9-inch (23cm) tart, or 8-10 serving
1-1/2 cups (200gm) all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 lemon
1 cup (155gm) unblanched whole almonds
1 cup (100gm) confectioners' (icing) sugar
3/4 cup (170gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large egg yolks
1-1/2 cups (500gm) raspberry jam
1 tbsp whole milk

In a bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a bowl. Using the finest rasps on a handheld grater, grate the zest from the lemon into the bowl. Set aside. In a food processor, process the almonds with the confectioners' sugar until finely ground. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter with the paddle on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the almond mixture, then 2 of the egg yolks. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and beat just until combined. Flatten about a third of the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate. Grease a 9-inch (23cm) round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Using your fingers, press the remaining dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, extending it about 1/2 inch (12mm) above the rim. If the dough is overly soft and sticky, refrigerate it until firm enough to continue. Spread the dough with the jam.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a rectangle about 9 inches (23cm) long and 1/4 inch (6mm) thick. Using a fluted pastry cutter, cut into 6 strips, each 1 inch (2.5cm) wide, 2 of them should be 9 inches (23cm) long and the others shorter. Lay the strips on the torte, trimming the edges. Fold the dough extending above the pan back over the filling and strips. Crimp to seal the edges. Place the torte in the freezer for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg yolk and the milk. Brush the dough with the yolk mixture. Bake until the crust is browned and the jam is bubbling, 45-55 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until the torte is barely warm. Let the pan sides fall away. Run a thin-bladed knife between the torte and the pan bottom. Transfer the torte to a serving plate and let cool completely. Just before serving, using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the torte with confectioners' sugar, if desired.


Join our blog hop, click on the link to get the codes :
get the InLinkz code

28 comments:

  1. Hi Joyce,

    Thanks for choosing this great theme! This is my first time baking Linzer tart and I had lots of fun making them. I had even made my own jam for my tart... Me crazy baking woman... LOL!

    I was afraid too of rolling the pastry in our warmer Spring now and so I choose a recipe that required no rolling. Despite all, you did a great job. Like the zig-zag lattice design of your tart :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a beautiful torte! I would love to give this a try for Thanksgiving! Nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've made Linzer cookies but never Linzer torte. It looks lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely tart! I especially love how the jam filling oozes out and trickles down the sides in one of the photos!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks so pretty! I love to try this too :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Joyce
    I eaten Linzer cookies but have never tried making any of the cookies nor the tart. There's always a start to make this, right?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Joyce , when it comes to raspberry jam , I know where I put mine ! lol I've been eyeing this Bake Along theme for quiet sometime :D Will definitely bake this , hopefully before the deadline ! :P Anyway , I like the color of your tart , I usually got a pale crust when I baked some tart tsk tsk ! The oozing jam in that slice of tart looks yummy !

    ReplyDelete
  8. Joyce, I had so much trouble with my crust base, failed two times before i finally decided to do a modified version :( Yours look so delicious with the jam peeking out...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Eileen, Hundred Eighty DegreesMonday, November 12, 2012

    Looks so good especially on the last picture, the jam dripped at the sides: )

    ReplyDelete
  10. Would love to have a piece of that delicious tart now! I am so hungry! Looks wonderful! I am still without a kitchen so can only drool over your bakes!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the jam dripping at the sides, looks good.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Joyce, your Linzer Torte looks good even though slightly over browned. Somehow the runny jam looks good!

    ReplyDelete
  13. wish i get a slice now,stunning torte.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Joyce,
    I am new to Linzer torte/tart. But I am excited to give it a go. Glad to bake along with you guys:)
    Your Linzer torte look great. I like your lattice top, it's pretty.
    Have a wonderful week ahead.
    mui..^^

    ReplyDelete
  15. OH YUM! I LOVE your Linzar tart especially the slice ones with runny jam oozing it's way out! Looks so tempting & delicious! For me it looks great & hopefully I can bake one Linzar tart on time to join in the fun! It's been ages since I last bake one! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  16. another item cleared from your fridge! guess it must be your plan to suggest this to clear the jam ! LOL! i didnt know that the quality of the jam would affect the setting, nevertheless it's still looks yummy to me!

    ReplyDelete
  17. La tartaleta se ve muy linda y el goteo de la mermelada ...exquisita,abrazos y abrazos.

    ReplyDelete
  18. That is a beautiful looking torte!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love linzer torte and this look beautiful Joyce!

    ReplyDelete
  20. The top of the torte is my favorite. I love the design and the flavor sounds amazing! Hey stop by my site if you get a chance- i have a great givaway of a cookie tower from NYC's Tates Bake Shop!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow Joyce, you Linzer Torte looks beautiful...perfect to take to a party :)
    Thanks for sharing the recipe and have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Can i request for a repeat next weekend?? wink wink

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Joyce, I'm so sorry for no time to leave a comment in your earlier post! So busy! Have to quickly grab a slice of your cake & go now, late for me, gotta go to sleep soon! Good night!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Your lattice top is so neat! Nothing wrong with oozy jam at all!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Lovely torte. The base must be fragrant with the present of ground almond. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Your linzer Torte looks beyond perfect. I love the dripping jam on that slice.
    Thanks for choosing Linzer torte, I enjoyed my first Bakealong and maybe next time I'll follow a recipe more closely.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Great job with the lattice top! Thanks for this bake, DD#2 and I had fun baking it!

    ReplyDelete