Linzer Cake: the Austrian recipe

The unmistakable aroma of the Linzer Cake is a lasting memory for anyone who has visited Austria and in particular Linz, the city where this famous dessert is born.

With its crumbly almond dough and redcurrant jam heart, the “Linzer Torte” is a culinary icon of the tradition that envelops every corner of the country, from the Christmas markets to the elegant cafés in the city center.

Ingredients for your Linzer Cake

In order to facilitate the preparation of this delicious cake we divided the ingredients in two categories: the ingredients for the dough and those for the covering. Let’s find them out together.

Ingredients for the dough

300 g of all-purpose flour
250 g of hazelnut powder (or almond)
250 g of butter
200 g of sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
½ grated lemon zest
1 vanilla pod
10 g of bitter cocoa powder
10 g of brandy
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of cinamon powder
3 g of baking powder
1 pinch of salt

Ingredients for the covering

300 g of jam (the one you prefer, it can be made of: red currant, raspberry or plums
flaked almonds
powdered sugar

foto 2 torta linzer

How to prepare the Linzer Cake according to the traditional recipe

The preparation of this cake requires a little bit of time and patience, but the result will be worth it and will satisfy everyone, both adults and children.

Let’s prepare the dough

First of all, remove the butter from the fridge so that it can cool down.
In a bowl, mix butter, sugar and salt with electric whisk.
Add the eggs, and then without mixing, add hazelnut powder, all-purpose flour, brandy, lemon zest, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and cocoa.
Turn the whisk on and mix all the ingredients until you’ll obtain a lump-free
Compact the dough with your hands and wrap it in the cling film to let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Then, butter and flour a cake pan with a diameter of approximately 24 cm and line the bottom with baking paper.
Take the dough and set aside a quarter of it for the grid decoration.
Roll out the dough on a sheet of baking paper until it is about 8 mm thick, place the cake pan on it and cut out a disc of the same size.
Lift the dough using the baking paper and place it on the bottom of the cake pan.
Spread the surface of the cake with the jam you prefer, leaving an edge of about 2 cm free.
Now take care of the remaining dough for the decoration: roll it out on a surface until you obtain “sausages” with a diameter of 1.5 cm.
Arrange the sausages over the jam forming the classic tart grid and cover the edge with a longer sausage.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180° for approximately 45 minutes, until the pastry is cooked.
Remove the Linzer Torte from the oven and let it cool. In the meantime, take care of the final coverage.

Let’s prepare the covering

Toast the almond flakes in a pan.
Heat the jam you prefer in a saucepan and brush the edge of the cake so that the almonds adhere.
Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top and dust with icing sugar before serving your cake. Taste and enjoy!

foto 3 torta linzer

The jam for the Linzer Cake

Traditionally, Linzer Cake is prepared with redcurrant jam, but today the versions with raspberry jam and plum jam are highly widespread and appreciated.
You can choose according to your personal tastes, keeping in mind that the important thing is to balance the sweetness of the dough with a filling with a slightly sour flavour, recreating the perfect harmony of flavors typical of this Austrian dessert.

Storage

You can store your Linzer Cake at room temperature for 2-3 days in an airtight container or, for longer storage, in the refrigerator, up to a week.

If you decide to refrigerate it, remember to leave it at room temperature for a few minutes before serving, so as to enhance its taste and consistency!