Linzer Torte

Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• 200 g ground almonds
• 200 g cold butter, cubed
• 150 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp dark rum
• 350 g redcurrant jam
• 1 egg yolk, for glazing
• 1 tbsp milk
• icing sugar, for dusting

Before you cook

• Cube the cold butter and return it to the fridge until you need it.
• Grate the zest from the lemon.
• Stir the jam in its jar until it is loose enough to spread.
• Line the base of a 24 cm loose-bottomed tin with baking paper.

Steps

1. Rub the cold butter into the flour, ground almonds, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt and lemon zest until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Add the whole egg, the egg yolk and the rum and bring the dough together quickly with your hands, stopping the moment it holds.
3. Divide the dough into a two-thirds and a one-third piece, flatten both into discs, wrap them and chill for 1 hour.
4. Heat the oven to 180C fan.
5. Press the larger disc into the lined tin, pushing it up the sides to a height of 2 cm and keeping the base an even thickness.
6. Spread the redcurrant jam over the base right up to the edges.
7. Roll the smaller disc out between two sheets of baking paper to 4 mm thick.
8. Cut the rolled dough into strips about 1.5 cm wide with a knife or a fluted wheel.
9. Lay half the strips across the tart at even intervals, working fast because this dough softens quickly.
10. Lay the rest of the strips diagonally across the first set to make a diamond lattice.
11. Press the strip ends firmly into the pastry rim and trim off any overhang.
12. Beat the glazing yolk with the milk and brush it over the lattice and the rim.
13. Bake the torte for 40 to 45 minutes, until the pastry is a deep even brown and the jam bubbles in the gaps.
14. Cool the torte completely in its tin, because it is fragile while warm.
15. Leave the torte in a tin overnight if you can, since the spices and almonds need a day to come together.
16. Dust it with icing sugar just before you cut it.