The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (341 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

The ingredients for linzertortes are easy to prepare—a food processor produces the buttery nut crust, and you buy a jar of raspberry jam for the filling—but the result is too often a slipshod, homely looking dessert. We wanted our linzertorte to have both the taste and the appearance worthy of a dessert with star billing. To start, we made an uncomplicated dough using a base of 2 parts hazelnuts and 1 part almonds. A single raw egg moistened and bound the dough nicely, and cinnamon and allspice added traditional spice flavors. For the filling, we liked raspberry preserves, brightened with a spoonful of lemon juice. For an attractive, company-worthy presentation, we created a lattice crust by placing dough strips one by one in a precise order over the tart. Brushing the lattice strips with heavy cream, then sprinkling them with turbinado sugar, ensured a well-browned crust.

See “ASSEMBLING A LINZERTORTE” illustrations that follow recipe.

SERVES 10 TO 12

Make sure to buy blanched almonds. Be sure to use an 11-inch tart pan here. You will have some extra dough when cutting out the lattice strips; we suggest cutting out a few extra lattice strips as backup (they can be delicate and will sometimes break). If at any time while forming the lattice the dough becomes too soft, refrigerate it for 15 minutes before continuing. The linzertorte may be served at room temperature the day it is baked, but it is at its best after a night in the refrigerator.

TART DOUGH

FILLING AND GLAZE

1. FOR THE TART DOUGH:
Whisk egg and vanilla together in bowl. Process hazelnuts, almonds, sugar, and salt in food processor until very finely ground, 45 to 60 seconds. Add lemon zest and pulse to combine, about 5 pulses. Add flour, cinnamon, and allspice and pulse to combine, about 5 pulses. Scatter butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and continue to process until dough just comes together around processor blade, about 12 seconds.

2.
Turn dough onto counter and press together to form cohesive mound. Divide dough in half and flatten each piece into 5-inch disk; if not using immediately, wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 48 hours. (If refrigerated until firm, let dough sit at room temperature until soft and malleable, about 1 hour.)

3.
Tear 1 piece of dough into walnut-size pieces, then pat it into 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom, pressing it ³⁄
₄
inch up sides of pan. Lay plastic over dough and smooth out any bumps using bottom of measuring cup. Set tart pan on large plate and freeze until dough is fully chilled and firm, about 30 minutes.

4.
Roll other piece of dough into 12-inch square between 2 large sheets of floured parchment paper. (If dough sticks to parchment, gently loosen and lift sticky area with bench scraper and dust parchment with additional flour. Slide dough, still between parchment sheets, onto rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.) Remove top layer of parchment and trim edges of dough, then cut ten ³⁄
₄
-inch-wide strips, cutting through underlying parchment. Cover with parchment and freeze until dough is fully chilled and firm, about 20 minutes.

5.
Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Set dough-lined tart pan on rimmed baking sheet. Spray 1 side of double layer of aluminum foil with vegetable oil spray. Press foil greased side down into frozen tart shell, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake until tart shell is golden brown and set, about 30 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer tart shell with baking sheet to wire rack, carefully remove weights, and let cool slightly while making filling.

6. FOR THE FILLING AND GLAZE:
Stir raspberry preserves and lemon juice together in bowl, then spread evenly over bottom of cooled prebaked tart shell. Pick up strip of dough by parchment ends, then flip it over onto tart, positioning it near edge of pan. Remove parchment strip and trim ends of dough strip by pressing down on top edge of pan; reserve all dough scraps. Place 2 more strips parallel to first, spacing them evenly so that one is across center and other is near opposite edge of pan. Rotate pan 90 degrees, then place 3 more strips as you did first 3. Rotate pan 90 degrees again, then place 2 strips across pan, spaced evenly between first 3. Rotate pan again and complete lattice by placing last 2 strips between second set of 3. Use small scraps of dough to fill in crust around edges between lattice strips. Top of crust should be just below top of pan.

7.
Gently brush lattice strips with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if using. Bake tart on baking sheet until crust is deep golden brown, about 50 minutes. Transfer tart with baking sheet to wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. To serve, remove outer metal ring of tart pan, slide thin metal spatula between tart and tart pan bottom, and carefully slide tart onto serving platter or cutting board.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Considering the natural affinity of its main ingredients, a chocolate caramel walnut tart would seem a hard recipe to botch. However, this trio doesn’t always live in harmony. Some recipes relegate the walnuts to a mere garnish and sprinkle them over chilled chocolate fillings with textures that run the gamut from soft pudding to cold butter. Other recipes place the nuts at the fore, but these are simply uptown knockoffs of pecan pie. We wanted a layer of walnuts draped with soft caramel topped with a smooth layer of rich, dark chocolate—firm enough to slice neatly but neither dense nor overpowering. A modified sweet tart pastry was the launch pad for our tart crust. Adding ground walnuts to boost the flavor meant we had to reduce the amount of butter (to account for the lesser quantity of flour and the extra fat from the ground nuts). A soft, gooey caramel-walnut filling, with an egg-lightened layer of chocolate ganache baked (rather than chilled) on top, made for a rich tart. After baking, a three-hour chill firmed the chocolate layer. Caramel-coated walnuts provided the perfect finishing touch.