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Linzer Torte

The "Linzer Torte" is considered the oldest known cake in the world. It was already mentioned by name as early as 1653. Yet who named or invented the cake will always remain a mystery. The oldest recipe is from a cookbook that is over 350 years old: "Book of All Kinds of Home-Made Things, Such as Sweet Dishes, Spices, Cakes and also Every Kind of Fruit and Other Good and Useful Things, etc."

Even at this early date, the cookbook already included four different recipes for the Linzer Torte / Linzer Pastry. This is yet more proof for how generally popular and widely known the cake was already in the Baroque period!

These old recipes mostly differ from more recent ones in that the dough was always prepared with clarified butter with a stick of butter kneaded into it. In addition, the cake was prepared as a "bowl cake", meaning that it was baked in a (silver) bowl – similar to pies today – with a fruit filling and strips of dough on top. Spices are only called for once and this in the form of a "well seasoned grid of dough". Almonds were included in every recipe.

A Recipe for "Original Linzer Torte":

150 g butter
250 g flour (700)
150 g powdered sugar
100 g roasted hazelnuts
1 egg
Spices (vanilla, lemon, cinnamon, powdered cloves)
10 g baking powder
300 g red currant jam

Knead the butter and sugar together. Knead in the flour sifted together with the baking powder, add nuts, egg and spices.
Chill the dough for some time, then take it out of the refrigerator and divide it into quarters. Roll out three quarters of the dough to a thickness of about 1,5 cm (for a 22 cm baking pan), cover it with red current jam. Shape the remaining dough into strips and lay them on top of the jam as a grid and around the edge. Daub with egg, sprinkle sliced almonds around the edge.
Bake for 40-45 minutes at about 190 degrees Celsius.

Good luck!