#readcookeat recipe : Austrian Linzertorte (Jane Costello - Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel)

I have a whole stack of #readcookeat recipes that I've bookmarked, so I'll be aiming to work through some of them during the next two weeks while I'm on holiday. I was spoilt for choice when reading Jane Costello's Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel (click through to read my review) because one of the characters is a keen baker and ends up entering The Great British Bake Off, so I had lots of scrummy cakes and bakes to choose from.

The first foodie mention that had me pricking up my ears was this one:

p106 Barry made his first batch of drop scones after episode one of The Great British Bake Off and has never looked back. (He later goes on to create a Taj Mahal in gingerbread but I thought that would be slightly over-ambitious !)

I wasn't entirely sure what drop scones were, but a quick google revealed that they are also called Scotch Pancakes and they look very similar to American-style pancakes.

The next foodie mention had me smiling smugly :  

p169 The following morning – Saturday – I wake up with a knot in my stomach, wondering when he's going to ask me out, like he said. We barely saw each other yesterday and logic tells me that no man, no matter how smitten, would follow up a first date by bursting through the staff room door and taking me in his arms while Joyce chokes on her Swiss roll.

I made a Polka Dot Swiss Roll a couple of months ago. It is actually a lot simpler than it looks so do click through and check out the recipe.

This is the one that I decided to recreate though :

p335 When I return to the sofa for the rest of the Bake Off, it's fair to say that I'm fighting a losing battle for Edwin's attention against seven Austrian torte and a batch of rosemary-infused drop scones.

As I love globecooking, the mention of Austrian tortes piqued my interest. I found lots of recipes for Sachertorte, which is a very rich chocolate cake, but I loved the sound of Linzertorte, which is basically a posh jam tart. I used the Hairy Bikers' version as my inspiration, and tweaked a few ingredients to use what I had in the cupboard.

Linzertorte

ingredients :

150g sugar

150g plain flour

75g ground almonds

75g dessicated coconut

1/2tsp cinnamon

150g cold butter, cut into cubes

1 egg, beaten

200g good quality jam (traditonally raspberry)

a sprinkle of icing sugar, to decorate (optional)

Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, ground almonds and coconut in a bowl. Normally, it's 150g of ground almonds and no coconut but I only had the end of a bag left so I topped up with coconut and it was delicious. Rub in the butter until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Stir in the egg with a wooden spoon then gently knead when it's turned into a ball of pastry. Tear off about 1/4 of the dough for making the lattice top and reserve.

Flatten the ball with your hands then place it in a greased pie tin and use your fingers to press it out until it covers the entire base and goes halfay up the sides.

Spread evenly with raspberry jam. (I used a jar of damson jam that was lurking in the cupboard.)

Roll out the reamining pastry with a floured rolling pin and cut into strips. Lay across the top in a lattice design. Chill for 40 minutes if you have the time, then bake for 30 minutes at 190° until the pastry is pale golden brown.

Leave to cool before cutting into slices. The pastry is beautifully crumbly and the coconut/almond flavour really complements the jam. This disappeared in record time with Pierre asking me to make another one as soon as it was all gone !

*** Don't miss my country-by-country globecooking recipe index ! *** 

Want to try some more Austrian recipes? How about Apple Strudel, Goulash & Spätzle, Kaiserscharrn and White Cabbage Salad with Liptauer?

Fancy cooking the books? Join in with the #readcookeat challenge over at Chez Maximka.

This used up the ends of two bags - ground almonds and dessicated coconut - as well as a jar of damson jam from a Christmas hamper, so I'm adding it to this month's #KitchenClearout linky.