Linzer Torte — the spiced nut-and-jam lattice tart of Linz

i. Origin & history

Linz is the capital of Upper Austria, on the Danube, and the tart has carried the city's name for more than three centuries. Its reputation as the oldest cake with a known name rests on manuscripts: the oldest recipe usually cited is in a handwritten cookbook from 1653 held in the library of Admont Abbey in Styria, and further 'Linzer' recipes appear in printed Viennese cookbooks from the end of the seventeenth century onwards. Those early recipes differ in detail, but the essentials — a nut pastry, spice, jam and a lattice — are already present.

How the cake moved from manuscript to national symbol is less certain. The story most often told in Linz credits nineteenth-century confectioners in the city with producing it on a large scale and sending it across the Habsburg empire; by the twentieth century it was being shipped in tins around the world, and it remains one of the city's best-known exports. Whatever the details, Linzer Torte has been a fixture of Austrian home baking for generations, especially during Advent, when it is baked ahead and given as a gift.

In German the name is usually written as one word, Linzertorte, and it simply means 'Linz tart' or 'tart from Linz'. The pastry itself is called Linzer Teig (Linz dough), and the same dough is used for many other Austrian bakes, most famously the jam-sandwich biscuits called Linzer Augen, 'Linz eyes', named for the holes cut in the top biscuit.

Linzer Torte is sometimes confused with the English Bakewell tart, which also pairs jam and almonds. The difference is structural: a Bakewell has a plain shortcrust case, a layer of jam and a soft, cake-like frangipane on top, while in a Linzer Torte the nuts are in the pastry itself, and there is no sponge layer at all — only crumbly spiced dough and jam.

ii. Why the nuts go into the dough

Linzer dough is a shortcrust in which a large share of the flour is replaced by ground nuts. That changes everything about how it behaves. Nuts contribute fat and flavour but no gluten, so the more nut meal there is, the shorter, more tender and more crumbly the pastry becomes. A classic Linzer dough is roughly equal weights of butter, flour and nuts, which gives a texture between shortbread and a crumbly biscuit.

The same property makes the dough soft and fragile to handle. It tears when rolled thin and softens quickly at room temperature, which is why it must be chilled well, and why many Austrian bakers do not roll the lattice at all: they pipe it with a large plain nozzle, or roll strips between sheets of baking paper and chill them before lifting them on. A cracked lattice is not a failure; the dough can be patched with a fingertip, and it bakes into a rustic finish that is entirely typical.

Toasting the nuts matters. Hazelnuts toasted until fragrant and rubbed of their skins give a deeper, almost chocolatey flavour, which is why many recipes add a spoonful of cocoa as well. Almonds, used unpeeled in older recipes, give a milder, sweeter dough. Cinnamon and cloves are the classic spices, with lemon zest to lift them.

The final piece of technique is patience. A freshly baked Linzer Torte is dry and crumbly; over two or three days, moisture from the jam migrates into the nut pastry, softening it and allowing the spices to settle. Austrian bakers traditionally make it several days before it is needed, and it is better for the wait.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 12 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 200 g plain flour
• 150 g ground hazelnuts or almonds, lightly toasted
• 120 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp cocoa powder (optional)
• 1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated zest
• 1 pinch salt
• 200 g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg, plus 1 extra yolk
• 300 g redcurrant jam (or seedless raspberry jam)
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze
• 20 g flaked almonds, for the rim

Redcurrant jam (Ribiselmarmelade) is the traditional filling: its sharpness cuts through the rich, sweet pastry. Seedless raspberry is the usual alternative; avoid very runny jam, which boils over. Hazelnuts are the most common choice in Upper Austria today, but almonds are equally traditional, and a mix of both works well. The egg and extra yolk bind a dough that has little gluten; without them it will not hold a lattice. Keep the butter cold so that it is rubbed into the dry ingredients rather than creamed, which keeps the pastry short. Spices are a matter of household taste — some families add a pinch of nutmeg or allspice.

iv. Method

1. Mix the flour, ground nuts, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa if using, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Beat the egg with the extra yolk, add to the bowl and bring together into a soft dough with as little kneading as possible. Divide into two pieces, roughly two-thirds and one-third, flatten each into a disc, wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
3. Heat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F) on conventional top-and-bottom heat, or 160 °C (320 °F) fan. Butter a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart or springform tin.
4. Press the larger piece of dough evenly over the base of the tin, about 5 mm thick, and push it up the sides to form a rim about 1.5 cm high. Spread the jam evenly over the base, leaving the rim clear.
5. Roll the smaller piece of dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 4 mm thick and chill for 10 minutes. Cut into 1.5 cm strips and lay them over the jam in a lattice, patching any breaks with your fingertips. Press the ends into the rim.
6. Brush the lattice and rim with the egg-yolk glaze and scatter the flaked almonds around the edge.
7. Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the jam is bubbling gently between the lattice strips. Cool completely in the tin before unmoulding.
8. Wrap the cold tart well and leave it at room temperature for 1–3 days before cutting, so the pastry softens and the flavours settle. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Chill the dough properly. Linzer dough is soft and buttery; handled warm it tears, sticks and bakes greasy. If it softens while you work, return it to the fridge for ten minutes.
• Roll the lattice between baking paper. Strips cut from a chilled sheet lift cleanly; strips rolled on a floured worktop stretch and break. Piping a softened portion of dough is an equally traditional option.
• Use thick, sharp jam. Thin jam boils up through the lattice and burns on the rim. If your jam is loose, simmer it for a few minutes to thicken it, then cool.
• Bake by colour, not just time. The pastry should be a deep golden brown. Pale Linzer Torte tastes floury, because the nuts and spices have not toasted.
• Use conventional heat if you can. Top-and-bottom heat bakes the base through without over-browning the lattice. With a fan oven, lower the temperature by 15 °C and check early.
• Do not cut it on the day. A Linzer Torte eaten warm is dry and crumbly and the spices taste raw. A day or two of resting is part of the recipe, not an optional extra.

vi. Variations

Linzer Augen, or Linzer cookies, are the best-known offshoot: two round biscuits of Linzer dough sandwiched with jam, the top one with one to three holes cut out and dusted with icing sugar. Linzer Schnitten are the same tart baked in a tray and cut into bars. Some Austrian recipes use grated hard-boiled egg yolk in the dough for an even shorter, sandier texture, and some use breadcrumbs or crushed biscuits in place of part of the flour.

Across the border, the Hungarian Gerbeaud cake uses a similar idea — jam and nuts between layers of short dough — and in Germany Linzer Torte appears beside spiced biscuits and stollen at Christmas. Austria's other great pastries of the coffee-house tradition include Kardinalschnitten and Punschkrapfen.

vii. Serving & storage

Linzer Torte is served at room temperature in thin wedges, dusted with icing sugar, with coffee in the afternoon. In Austria a spoonful of lightly sweetened whipped cream (Schlagobers) is the usual accompaniment, and it is a fixture of the Advent and Christmas table.

It is one of the best-keeping cakes there is. Wrapped in foil or kept in a tin, it lasts a week or more at room temperature and improves for the first few days. It also freezes well for up to three months: freeze it whole and well wrapped, then thaw overnight at room temperature. This makes it ideal for baking well ahead of the holidays or sending by post.

ix. More from Austrian & German

• Apfelstrudel — Viennese apple strudel
• Kardinalschnitten — meringue and sponge slices
• Punschkrapfen — pink rum-punch cakes
• Topfenstrudel — quark strudel
• Bakewell Tart — British almond-jam tart
• Gerbeaud Cake — Hungarian walnut-jam slice