The Linzer torte is a traditional

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

pastry, a form of shortbread topped with fruit preserves and sliced nuts with a

lattice Lattice may refer to: Arts and design * Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material * Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios * Lattice (pastry), an ornam ...

design on top. It is named after the city of

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Linzer torte is a very short, crumbly pastry made of flour, unsalted

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

s, lemon

zest Zest may refer to: Common usage * Zest (ingredient), the outer peel of a citrus fruit ** Zester, a tool for preparing zest ** Twist (cocktail garnish), a piece of zest * Zest (positive psychology), a component of character Brands * Zest (brand ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

and lemon juice, and ground nuts, usually

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...

s, but even

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

s or

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s are used, covered with a filling of

redcurrant The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions. Description ''Ribes r ...

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

, or

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

preserve The word preserve may refer to: Common uses * Fruit preserves, a type of sweet spread or condiment * Nature reserve, an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or other special interest, usually protected Arts, entertainment, and media ...

s. Unlike most

torte A torte (from German ''Torte'' ( (in turn from Latin via Italian ''torta'')) is a rich, usually multilayered, cake that is filled with whipped cream, buttercreams, mousses, jams, or fruit. Ordinarily, the cooled torte is glazed and garnish ...

s, it is typically single layered like a

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

tart A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with ...

. It is covered by a lattice of thin dough strips placed atop the fruit. The pastry is brushed with lightly beaten egg whites, baked, and garnished with nuts. Linzer torte is a holiday treat in the Austrian, Czech, Swiss, German, and Tirolean traditions, often eaten at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. Some North American bakeries offer Linzer torte as small tarts or as cookies. Linzer cookies (5234191379)

Linzer cookies (german: Linzer Augen, "Linzer eyes") or Linzer tarts are a sandwich cookie version, topped with a layer of dough with a characteristic circle shaped cut-out exposing the fruit preserves, and dusted with confectioner's sugar.

History

The Linzer torte is said to be the oldest cake ever to be named after a place. For a long time a recipe from 1696 in the

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Stadt- und Landesbibliothek was the oldest one known. In 2005, however, Waltraud Faißner, the library director of the

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

n Landesmuseum and author of the book ''Wie mann die Linzer Dortten macht'' ("How to make the Linzer Torte"), found an even older

Veronese Veronese is the Italian word denoting someone or something from Verona, Italy and may refer to: * Veronese Riddle, a popular riddle in the Middle Ages * ''Veronese'' (moth), a moth genus in the family Crambidae * Monte Veronese, an Italian chees ...

recipe from 1653 in Codex 35/31 in the archive of

Admont Abbey Admont Abbey (german: Stift Admont) is a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery located on the Enns River in the town of Admont, Austria. The oldest remaining monastery in Styria, Admont Abbey contains the largest monastic library in the ...

. The invention of the Linzer torte is subject of numerous legends, claiming either a Viennese confectioner named ''Linzer'' (as given by

Alfred Polgar Alfred Polgar (originally: Alfred Polak) 17 October 1873, Vienna – 24 April 1955, Zurich) was an Austrian-born columnist, theater critic, writer and occasionally translator. All in all, he was one of the most important protagonists of the Wie ...

) or the

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

Johann Konrad Vogel (1796–1883), who started mass production of the cake in Linz around 1823. The Austrian migrant Franz Hölzlhuber claimed to have introduced the Linzer torte to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in the 1850s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Linzer Torte Hungarian desserts Fruit pies Austrian pastries Cookie sandwiches Foods with jam Christmas food

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links