The Ritual Master Hello friends, and Happy Advent !
For this fourth day of our Austrian Advent Calendar, I invite you to an afternoon coffee break and a delicious traditional Austrian dessert : the Linzer Torte.
Some say this is the oldest cake recipe in the world, but frankly, there is no guarantee. What we do know is that the Vienna Library holds a written recipe of Linzer Torte dated 1696, and that’s quite remarkable. Some say the name comes from a Viennese confectionner, others think that it originated in the city of Linz. Today, this easy to recognise pastry thanks to its lattice design, is prepared all over Austria and is a universal favourite. And quite easy to make.
The dough is a simple short pastry made from flour, butter, ground hazelnuts, egg, sugar and spices. I find the traditional combination of cinnamon, cloves and grated lemon peel so festive ! not to mention that the kitchen smelled like a Christmas dream.
Like with any short pastry, the cold butter is blended into the dry ingredients until it forms a sand-like powder. Then the eggs help everything come together. It will seem too dry at first, but persevere without mixing it too much and you’ll soon have a perfect ball of buttery pastry. Ideally, you should keep it in the fridge for a while so that it’s easier to manipulate, but I was in a hurry so I went ahead.
I took half of the dough and made the base of my cake by pressing it into the mold with my fingers. Then spread a beautiful fruit preserve on the surface, making sure you leave a little space on the edges. The traditional recipe uses redcurrant preserve, but here in France you can only get redcurrant jelly, so I opted for a different redfruit preserve.Then with the remaining dough, you make a thicker roll for the outer edge, and a few thinner rolls for the lattice pattern. If your dough is not cold, you’ll have trouble making long rolls, but I made shorter ones that bonded easily at the ends, and once it bakes you can’t tell the difference. Coat with a light egg wash and cover the outer edge with sliced almonds. Bake at 180°C / 350°F for about 35min or until golden.
This is a fragrant, buttery, sweet cake, that pairs beautifully with a cup of good coffee. And Austrians do love their coffee. So I decided to trade my Nespresso machine for a more traditional French press coffee and freshly ground beans. Serving your afternoon coffee and cake is the perfect opportunity to take out the good porcelain. And this is a special set.
The Vienna Porcelain Manufactory was founded in 1718 and was the second porcelain manufactory to be established in Europe. In 1864 it sadly went out of business, but was revived in 1923 as Augarten Wien porcelain in the purpose of continuing the production methods and patterns of the historic trade. This is the Maria Theresa dĂ©cor, one of the great classics of the Augarten porcelain manufactory. The empress laid out a Dutch flower garden at Schönbrunn, and the porcelain decor is a tribute to her love of botany. The bouquets of magnificent roses and other garden flowers, modelled on those of around 1750, are executed in deep copper green, one of the most modern colour inventions of Maria Theresa’s time.
And if I learned something from last years incursion into Danish porcelain at Royal Copenhagen, is that you shouldn’t keep your nice porcelain in your cupboard, so enjoy a slice of Linzer Torte and a cup of good coffee in your festive plates, you’ll feel like the Empress of your Christmas Palace !
Until tomorrow, happy baking !
RECIPE
Ingredients :
- 250 g / 9 oz butter
- 250 g / 9 oz flour
- 125 g / 4 oz icing sugar
- 150 g / 5 oz ground hazelnuts (or almonds)
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- Lots of ground cinnamon
- A pinch of ground cloves
- A pinch of salt
- Grated lemon rind
- Egg for coating
- Redcurrant jam
- Butter for the mould
- Flaked almonds, to taste
Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F.
Create a pile of flour on the work surface, slice the butter into cubes, and rub between the fingers into the flour to create a light crumb (or put everything in your food processor, that’s what I did). Flavour with the cinnamon, a pinch of ground cloves and a little salt, together with the lemon rind, sugar and ground nuts. Work quickly to form a smooth short pastry, shape into a ball, cover with cling film, and leave to rest in a cool place for approx. 30 minutes.
Prepare your spring form cake tin by layering a sheet of baking paper on the bottom, and buttering the sides. Now press a little over half of the dough onto the base of the tin using your knuckles, and spread your redcurrant jam making sure you leave about half an inch on the sides without any jam on it. Then shape the rest of your dough into a thicker toll to cover the outside edge, and a few thinner rolls to make the lattice pattern. Cover with an egg wash and sprinkle flaked almonds on the sides.
Bake for 35-50min or until golden, then let it cool before you slice it. Enjoy with a good cup of coffee !
