Some think it is named after the Austrian city of Linz, while others think it bears the name of the confectioner who designed it. However, today, the Linzer cake is one of the favorite desserts around the world, and there are rumors that the oldest surviving version of the recipe for this famous dessert dates back to 1653 and was written by the Countess of Verona, while in the Roman Empire a similar cake was very popular. Since it is not known when and where exactly the first version of this recipe was written, there is room for imagination and creation of legends ...
The recipe for this cake gained importance in the early 19th century, and did not reach America until the middle of the century. It is characterized by an authentic taste as a result of a mixture of almonds, butter, lemon peel and currant jam. Over time, the recipe changed, so cooks used raspberry jam instead of red currant jam. The cooks had to be very skilled in making a lattice pattern on top that would give the Linzer cake an authentic look. Today there are many versions of this cake, there are even Linzer cookies.
Linzer cake is best eaten two or three days after making, when the dough softens, and the advice for those who are less patient is to wrap the cake in foil while warm so to soften faster.
Today, the most similar dessert to the Linzer cake is the fruit tart.
For this cake I used plums and blueberry preserve and you can put your favorite jam.
Ingredients:
- 200 g flour (0,44 lbs)
- 100 g of sugar (0,22 lbs)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 120 g ground almonds (preferably blanched) (0,26 lbs)
- 150 g butter (0,33 lbs)
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- a pinch of salt
- a little grated lemon zest
Filling
- 10 larger black plums chopped into pieces
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- a little lemon juice
- 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
- 4 tablespoons blueberry preserve (or jam)
Preparation:
- Mix all the dry ingredients (without the breadcrumbs), then add the egg and the cold diced butter. Knead a smooth dough, wrap it in foil and leave it in the fridge for an hour.
- Fry the chopped plums with the sugar until the liquid evaporates.
- Coat the cake mold with melted butter, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and spread two thirds of the dough on the bottom and sides of the mold.
- Stab the dough with a fork and apply the plums and then the blueberry jam.
- Roll out the remaining third of the dough, cut it into strips and make a lattice on the surface of the cake according to your idea.
- Bake first at 200 C (392 F) and then at 180 C degrees (356 F) for about 40 minutes.
- In the end, the advice is to let it stand for a few days, because only then can you experience its full taste, although it never lasts more than 2 days in my home :)
