a really tasty pie that my grandma used to make.
stored in a cool and dry place it will stay good for at least 2 weeks, but it rarely survives that long...
although originally from austria (and said to be one of the oldest cakes in the world) it's long since become a staple pie in many other (southern) regions of german speaking countries, like the black forest where i grew up.

there are tons of different recipies for this pie, this is how my grandma used to make it, i hope you like it, at least i do!

Step 1: The Ingredients

ingredients:
for the dough:
- easy to remember: 200g each of sugar, butter, flour and ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon each of ground cinnamon and coca powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- half a teaspoon of ground anise, a quarter of a teaspoon each of ground allspice and cloves (i used unground spices and ground them myself in a mortar)
- 1 tablespoon of kirsch or any other fruit brandy, i used a rowan schnaps that i already had at home

for the filling:
- 300 g each of raspberry jam and redcurrant jam
- about one shot glass of kirsch or replacement
- 1 egg yolk

- one springform tin (28cm diameter), a sheet baking paper put between the top and bottom part

variations:
- you can also use ground hazelnuts or walnuts instead of the almonds, or a mixture of nuts you like
- you can also use 600 g of just one type of jam, or use another kind of jam - it should be from red fruits, though

Step 2: The Dough, Part 1

if you use unground spices, put them in a mortar and grind away.

if you want to, toast the ground almonds in a pan whitout fat on a low heat, stirring all the time, until the almonds start to become brownish and smell good. you can skip this, it will just make the cake taste a bit better in the end.

melt the butter, if you toasted the almonds, you already have a warm pan to melt it in....

Step 3: The Dough, Part 2

in a bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, ground nuts, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, the spices and the baking powder) with a spoon.
once they are well mixed, add the egg, the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of kirsch. keep on stirring with the spoon until all is nicely mixed.
you should have a compact though wet lump of dough.
wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, better overnight.

Step 4: Start Assembling

preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

if you didn't already do it put a piece of baking paper between the bottom and the upper part of the springform, butter the sides of the springform.

in a bowl, mix the jams with 1 shot glass of kirsch.

take about 2/3 - 3/4 of the dough, put it in the sprinform and press it evenly around the bottom and form an edge about 3 cm high.

pour the jam mixture onto the dough.

Step 5: The Lattice

roll out the rest of the dough on a floured surface to a rectangle that is as high as the diameter of the springform and about 20 cm wide.
since the dough is kind of crumbly, rolling it out is not super easy, rather pat it flat.

cut into 1,5cm wide strips and make a lattice pattern on top of the cake. this works best if you move the strips of dough to the cake with the help of a long thin knife.

brush the lattice with the egg yolk.

put the cake in the middle of the oven and bake for 45 min, the jam should be boiling at this point. take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down completely, best overnight.
don't try to eat the cake while it is still warm! the heat has liquified the jam and it has to set again, if you cut if before that, you will have a hot mess of jam coming out of the cake....

Step 6: Enjoy!

enjoy your linzertorte pure or with a little whipped cream.

as i said, the pie can easily be stored in a cool and dry place for some weeks, that's what my grandma used to do. she stored it in the basement and when we came to visit she got down, got the pie, cut us a slice and then put it back....