Linzer Torte !

My grand mother passed away last year... She was 96 and lived in the Black Forest in the South of Germany. I will always remember her for the best Linzer Torte you can imagine. My grandma lived in the south of Germany and when I was a child she would bake it for me and send it to Amsterdam by post. I used to love those kinds of presents and I actually still do. A gift of food will put a smile on my face at any time of the day! The Linzer Torte was a special occasion present, so I had to calculate to eat it slowly. Of course that never worked, especially since the whole family would "help" to finish it off.... Over the years I have learned to make it myself, cause she stopped baking and now she's gone, but her recipe will stay alive. I am thrilled to share it with you!


Ingredients:
300 gr. flour
200 gr. caster sugar
200 gr. hazelnuts (ground)
200 gr. soft, unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tbs. cacao
1 tsp. ground clove
2 tbs. cinnamon
1 jar red marmalade (strawberry or raspberry)
2 tbs. lemon juice

It's a very simple process, so no worries on how to get it right!
Start with a big bowl and add the flour, the sugar, the hazelnuts, the cacao, the clove, the cinnamon, and the lemon juice. Mix that all up with a fork and then add the one egg and the butter.
Now it's better to use your hands and to knead it into a soft dough. The smell will be amazing, try to stay focused, cause some of my friends like to nibble on the raw product!
My grandmother used to say that we should always leave the dough to rest, so I would advise you to do the same. I have noticed that it's easier to work with the dough, when you have given it some rest.
I put it in the fridge for about two hours and then it's ready to go!
Sprinkle some flour on your working surface and role out 2/3 of the dough. Try to give it the shape of your (medium sized) tart pan. Then butter your tart pan and transfer the dough to the bottom of your pan. Mold it with your fingers so that the dough also covers the sides of the pan.
Preheat your oven to 175 degrees and spread the marmalade on top of the dough.
Take the rest of the dough and role it out like you did before. Cut it into strips of 2cm each. Strips will have various lengths, but that is the point!
You will make a lattice top, so use the longer strips near the center of the pie and the shorter ones near the edge.
Cross the strips over each other and let me remind you that it doesn't really matter how you do it, as long as you are satisfied with the result!
When you're done whisk the remaining egg and brush the strips with it.
Now bake your Torte for about 50 minutes in the oven.

Leave it to cool and serve with icing sugar..
Serves 10 or me!

With love,
esther.