Hairy Bikers Linzer Torte Recipe

Crumbly almond pastry holds Hairy Bikers Linzer torte together, with 200g of raspberry jam spread under a cinnamon-scented lattice top. And in the Big Book of Baking it serves 8 to 10, with my estimate of 1¾ hours including cooling and 375 calories a slice.

Dating back to at least 1653, it’s “often said to be the oldest cake in the world”, they write in the Big Book of Baking. And the base is flattened into a thick disc and pressed into the tin with your fingers, rather than rolled into a sheet.

The assembled tart goes into the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes before baking, which I’d expect firms up the soft, buttery strips. Then it bakes at 190°C only until the almond pastry is pale golden brown, so that’s the colour to watch for.

Hairy Bikers Linzer Torte

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Austrian Courses:Dessert

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time: 30 minutesRest time: 45 minutesTotal time:1 hour 40 minutesServings:10 servingsCalories:375 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Flour, sugar, ground almonds and a good pinch of cinnamon are rubbed together with cold butter, then bound with an egg. Then most of the dough lines a fluted tin, jam goes over it, and thin strips of the rest make a criss-cross top.

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g ground almonds
• a good pinch of ground cinnamon
• 150g cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 medium egg, beaten

For the filling

• 200g good-quality raspberry jam

To finish

• icing sugar, to decorate (optional)

Instructions

1. Rub in: Stir the sugar, flour, almonds and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Then rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs and feels quite moist.
2. Bind: Add the egg and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together, then knead it lightly into a ball.
3. Line the tin: Weigh the dough and take a quarter away for the lattice. Then roll the rest into a ball and flatten it on a well-floured surface with your hands or a rolling pin, to about 2.5cm thick.
4. Press into the tin: Put the dough in the centre of a 24cm loose-based fluted tart tin. Then press it with your fingers over the base and about halfway up the sides, until the tin is evenly covered.
5. Add the jam: Spread the jam over the dough as evenly as possible.
6. Make the lattice: Shape the reserved dough into a fat sausage, then roll it on a well-floured surface to a 3mm rectangle, the thickness of a £1 coin. Then cut it into 1.5cm strips and lay them over the jam in one direction and then the other.
7. Seal: Press the edges to seal, pinch off the excess pastry and smooth the joins down with your fingertips.
8. Chill: Chill the tart in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes.
9. Bake: Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5. Then bake it on a baking sheet in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes, until the almond pastry is pale golden brown.
10. Cool and serve: Cool it in the tin for 5 to 10 minutes, then slide it onto a platter. Dust with icing sugar if you like and cut into wedges.

FAQs

Have they made a Linzer torte on TV?

Yes, the first episode of their Home for Christmas series on BBC One included “an Austrian Linzertorte”, according to their official website. But I can’t confirm it was this book recipe, and I haven’t been able to compare their BBC Food Linzertorte, which serves 8 to 10.

Roast goose with all the trimmings was on the same episode as well. So for a goose main, their roast goose with ginger and orange stuffing is here, though I can’t say it was on that show.

Is it from their Bakeation series?

The Big Book of Baking comes from their European baking travels, and the Linzer torte sits in its Austria chapter. And their Bakeation series on BBC Two, in 2012, had an Austria episode, though I can’t match the recipe to that programme.

From the same Austria chapter come their Viennese whirls, which they admit aren’t really from Vienna. And their Brilliant Bakes cherry Viennese whirls are the version on this site, with that Big Book recipe compared in an FAQ.

Is there an easier version?

Yes, in the same chapter they give easy shortbread squares, calling them “a cheat’s version of linzer torte”. So there’s no rolling, as two balls of frozen dough are grated into a 20cm square tin with 300g of seedless raspberry jam between them.

The dough needs 2 to 3 hours in the freezer first, or overnight, before it bakes at 170°C/Fan 150°C/Gas 3½ for 40 to 50 minutes. Then it’s dusted with icing sugar and cut into 12 squares.

Can you make it with mincemeat?

Yes, their mincemeat lattice tart in British Classics is their own Christmas take on a Linzer torte. And it keeps the same 150g base of flour, almonds, sugar and butter without cinnamon, but swaps the jam for marzipan and 500g of mincemeat.

That one goes into a 25cm metal flan tin on a hot baking tray at 180°C for about 30 minutes. So for a mincemeat Linzer torte, that’s the recipe to follow rather than swapping the jam here.

Can you use a different jam, and how long does it keep?

Their recipe asks for 200g of good-quality raspberry jam. But one baking blog that made their BBC version used apricot, so another thick jam is worth a try, though that’s my reading.

It’s also searched as a Linzer tart, and they call it “a sort of posh jam tart really” themselves. But there’s no keeping time in the recipe, so my own guide is an airtight tin for 2 to 3 days.