{"id":8245,"date":"2026-10-19T12:37:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T03:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8245"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:49:14","slug":"linzer-torte","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/linzer-torte\/","title":{"rendered":"Linzer Torte"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Strips of dough worked with nuts are laid across the top in a lattice, and red jam peeks through the gaps. Unlike sponge tortes layered with cream, the Austrian Linzer Torte is a pastry in which the dough and the fruit are baked together. Tart jam sits on a crumbly, spiced dough, and the texture in the mouth differs between a freshly baked torte and one left for a few days, once the dough and jam have melded. The name comes from Linz, a city on the banks of the Danube.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
A Linzer Torte on a sales floor (May 10, 2024). A thick lattice covers the top, letting the fruit layer show through. The location where the photo was taken is not stated in the source. Photo: Arnaud 25 \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No alterations to the content and no cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Kneaded and Rolled Dough, and Piped Dough<\/h2>\n

Linzer dough comes in two forms: a kneaded dough that is gathered together and rolled out, and a soft dough made by mixing softened butter as if whipping it and adding eggs a little at a time. With the kneaded dough, the dough left over from the base is shaped into strands and laid on top; with the soft dough, the lattice is piped from a nozzle. The lattice patterns look similar, but whether the strands are laid on or piped depends on how firm the dough is. Some recipes (the proportions of ingredients and the method of making) also place a thin sheet of edible wafer paper (oblate) between the soft base and the jam.<\/p>\n

The doughs are sometimes distinguished as \u201cbrown\u201d and \u201cwhite,\u201d but the proportions of ingredients vary even when the name is the same. In a 2007 overview in bmi aktuell, a specialist publication on baking, the brown is a kneaded Linzer dough and the white is a beaten Linzer Masse, and both contain finely ground almonds or hazelnuts. Even doughs called by the same color name differ in how nuts and eggs are used and in how they are mixed.<\/p>\n

A flour that does not readily develop stickiness is used, and the dough is brought together without prolonged kneading. The kneaded dough is chilled for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before it is rolled out, while the beaten dough is assembled quickly without resting. Resting the dough at this point is a step before shaping. Its purpose differs from that of the step in which the baked torte is left to stand so that the dough and jam meld.<\/p>\n

Combinations of Nuts and Fruit<\/h2>\n

Almonds appear in old recipes, and hazelnuts later came into wide use as well. Lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves are added, and the use of eggs also varies widely, from no eggs to whole eggs, egg yolks or boiled egg yolks. Jindrak in Linz pairs roasted hazelnuts with redcurrants. Redcurrants are a different fruit from raspberries, and their strong tartness suits the fat-rich dough well. B\u00f6ckeler in southwestern Germany also has a version that layers currants and raspberries.<\/p>\n

The jam remains visible through the gaps in the lattice covering the surface even after baking. When the torte is cut, you can see the fruit jam sandwiched between the nut base and the strands of dough.<\/p>\n

During the First World War, there were also recipes for a \u201cwartime Linzer Torte\u201d that replaced the nuts with toasted oats or boiled potatoes. In times when ingredients were scarce, bakers kept the look of the lattice and fruit while swapping out the main ingredients of the dough.<\/p>\n

Some versions also pair the spices with tea. In an example by Yuko Kumagai, finely crushed Earl Grey tea leaves are combined with cinnamon and lemon zest, and the torte is filled with raspberry jam. It keeps the form of a nut dough and fruit covered with a lattice while adding the aroma of tea.<\/p>\n

Some versions also mix cake crumbs into the dough. Cake crumbs are baked cake broken into fine pieces. In a student diary from a correspondence course published by Tsuji Culinary Institute, flour is combined with chocolate cake crumbs, spices and chopped walnuts. The soft dough is spread out as the base, and the lattice on top is piped from the same dough. This student made up for a shortage of the stored chocolate cake by using crumbs from an ordinary sponge cake.<\/p>\n

From Four Recipes in 1653 to a Specialty of Linz<\/h2>\n

A 1653 cookbook by Countess Anna Margarita Sagramosa already records four recipes bearing the name of Linz. It was in 2005 that Waltraud Fai\u00dfner, a librarian and food-culture researcher, identified this manuscript, which has been preserved at Admont Abbey. Related almond pastries appear in even older records, but this manuscript is the oldest known record of a recipe bearing the name of Linz.<\/p>\n

In Conrad Hagger\u2019s cookbook of 1718, the lattice appearance was even depicted in a copperplate engraving. In 1842, the travel writer Johann Georg Kohl asked the cook at an inn in Linz how the torte was made. In the 19th century, the confectioner Johann Konrad Vogel expanded its production and sale, and tortes were also shipped to distant places. A pastry that had been baked from recipes handed down in households also became a Linz specialty that travelers bought and took home or had sent.<\/p>\n

Linzer Torte is baked not only by shops in Linz but also by artisans in Germany and elsewhere. A name that refers to a city has also become a general name for a type of pastry. Both the products handed down at particular shops and the Linzer Tortes made in various places carry the same city name, yet they differ in the proportions of ingredients and in the fruit used.<\/p>\n

\n\"The\n
Linzer Torte served at a local gathering (August 2, 2023). The photographer describes it as one of the cakes baked by the members. Jam is visible in the gaps of the lattice. Photo: Burkhard M\u00fccke \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No alterations to the content and no cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Letting the Dough and Jam Meld After Baking<\/h2>\n

Linzer Torte with jam baked into it is packed in tins and boxes as a souvenir, and it is also given as a gift at Christmas, at Easter and when visiting someone. Waiting 1\u20132 days after baking so that the jam melds with the dough is a method that also appears in REWE\u2019s recipe. The nut dough and the jam, whose individual flavors and textures stand out when the torte is freshly baked, come together as time passes.<\/p>\n

The number of days for letting the dough meld is separate from a product\u2019s best-before date. Jindrak\u2019s boxed product is described as keeping for 60 days when stored in a cool, dry place and not refrigerated. By contrast, Ginza Habsburg\u2019s product made with raspberry jam has a best-before date of the day of sale. Even when the name Linzer Torte is the same, the storage method and best-before date given for each shop\u2019s product should be checked and followed.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
Sliced Linzer Torte (February 18, 2009). The lattice and the rim scattered with nuts remain on a single slice. Photo: Alfred Lui \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No alterations to the content and no cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Pastries Cut into Slices and Window Cookies<\/h2>\n

Besides the large round tortes, there are also Linzer Schnitten, which are baked in a rectangle and cut. In Linzer Augen, two small cookies sandwich jam, and a window cut in the top cookie shows the fruit. These small pastries, whose name means \u201ceyes of Linz,\u201d are also characterized by jam showing between layers of dough.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Cake crumbs<\/strong>: Baked cake broken into fine pieces. There are examples of mixing them into Linzer Torte dough.<\/p>

Linzer dough<\/strong>: A dough containing nuts. There are versions that are kneaded and shaped, and soft versions that are beaten and piped.<\/p>

Oblate<\/strong>: A thin edible sheet made from starch or similar ingredients. Some recipes place it between the jam and a soft base.<\/p>

Anna Margarita Sagramosa<\/strong>: A countess whose name survives in a 1653 culinary manuscript.<\/p>

Waltraud Fai\u00dfner<\/strong>: A librarian and food-culture researcher who identified that manuscript in 2005.<\/p>

Conrad Hagger<\/strong>: A cook who included a lattice illustration and a recipe in his 1718 cookbook.<\/p>

Johann Georg Kohl<\/strong>: A travel writer who recorded in his 1842 travelogue a recipe he heard at an inn in Linz.<\/p>

Johann Konrad Vogel<\/strong>: A confectioner who expanded production and sale in Linz in the 19th century.<\/p>

Redcurrant<\/strong>: Also called red currant. A small, tart fruit of a different species from the raspberry.<\/p>

Linzer Augen<\/strong>: Meaning \u201ceyes of Linz.\u201d A small pastry that shows jam through a window in the top cookie.<\/p>

Jindrak<\/strong>: A confectionery with shops in Linz. It sells its own products made with hazelnuts and redcurrants, including in boxed form.<\/p>

Yuko Kumagai<\/strong>: A confectionery author who runs a pastry class. She has published an example of a Linzer Torte with tea added.<\/p>

Earl Grey<\/strong>: A black tea scented with bergamot.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. \n

    Tsuji Culinary Institute, Correspondence Education Division, \u201cWestern Confectionery, Lesson 24: Viennese Pastries (3) Linzer Torte\u201d (April 22, 2021, student diary)<\/a>: Ingredients and the actual work described in lines 63\u2013118 of the original source. This does not treat crumbs as an essential ingredient of all Linzer dough.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  2. \n

    Austrian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Traditional Foods Register No. 170, \u201cLinzer Torte\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The 1653 manuscript, the 1718 lattice, the 1842 travelogue, the history of ingredient proportions, the two types of dough and wartime substitutes. The original manuscript as a whole has not been viewed.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  3. \n

    Linz Tourism, \u201cLinzer Torte\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The four recipes in the manuscript, travel and commercialization, and souvenir culture.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  4. \n

    Linz Tourism, German version<\/a> \u2014 Gift-giving at Christmas, at Easter and on visits.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  5. \n

    Jindrak, \u201cThe original Linzer Torte\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The maker\u2019s own account of hazelnuts and redcurrants, and packaging.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  6. \n

    B\u00f6ckeler, \u201cLinzertorte\u201d<\/a> \u2014 One product from southwestern Germany that uses currants and raspberries.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  7. \n

    REWE, \u201cLinzer Torte Rezept\u201d<\/a> \u2014 One recipe\u2019s suggestion to let the torte rest for 1\u20132 days after baking. This is not an obligation for all shops.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  8. \n

    King Arthur Baking, \u201cLinzer Cookies\u201d<\/a> \u2014 An example of the structure of small window cookies.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  9. \n

    Friedrich Kunz, \u201cIn Linz beginnt\u2019s \u2026 auf den Spuren der Linzer Torte,\u201d bmi aktuell, 2007, No. 2, pp. 9\u201311<\/a> \u2014 The white\/brown terms for kneaded and beaten doughs, flour and handling, and an overview of the term as a general name. This is a 2007 specialist article and does not indicate the current legal registration status.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  10. \n

    Tomizawa Shoten \/ Yuko Kumagai, \u201cEarl Grey and Raspberry Linzer Torte\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The ingredients, preparation of the tea leaves, and shaping, baking and finishing were actually read. Examples in 18 cm and 12 cm sizes, and a suggestion to let the torte meld for 1\u20132 days.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  11. \n

    Jindrak, \u201cLinzer Torte in the gift carton\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Confirmed, for the description of the boxed product only, the guidance of 60 days when kept in a cool, dry place and not refrigerated.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  12. \n

    Ginza Habsburg, \u201cLinzertorte\u201d<\/a> \u2014 This product uses raspberry jam and states a best-before date of the day of sale.<\/p>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Linzer Torte is an Austrian pastry made by spreading jam over a dough worked with nuts, topping it with a lattice pattern and baking it. Its surface, woven from red fruit and brown dough, is also a sight that carries the name of the city of Linz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6334,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Linzer Torte","subtitle":"Nut dough, jam and how the lattice is made","topics":"The structure of dough and jam\uff0fLinz and the origin of the name\uff0fThe 1653 recipe record","country":"Austria","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["fruit","nuts","spice"],"texture":["crumbly"],"occasion":[],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[143],"class_list":["post-8245","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":[8909],"sweetlore_related_faqs":[8231,8235],"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"manual","sweetlore_related_articles":[8246,8247,8293,8298,8248,8249,8250,8251]},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t