Linzer tart (gluten-free)
Servings: 8-12
Prep Time: 15 minutes; chill dough 45 minutes; 10 minutes to chill lattice strips
Bake Time: 10–15 minutes for crust, 35–40 minutes for tart
Advance Prep: may be made 4 days in advance and stored covered at room temperature
You can make this dessert with any flavor jam you like. Paula suggests spreading red jam on half the crust and apricot jam on the other half. She uses a pastry cutter, a small fluted wheel on a handle, to cut the dough strips to achieve a ridged look, but you can use a knife instead. The crust requires 3 cups of three different kinds of groundnuts; if you do not have enough of one type, you can substitute another.
Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 cup ground walnuts
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts (with or without skins)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons for sprinkling on top
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 cup raspberry, apricot, or your favorite jam
1 large egg white, beaten, for glazing
Directions
To make the crust:
1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed beat the margarine until soft, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula once or twice.
2. Add the ground almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts along with the potato starch and granulated sugar and mix. Separate a little more than half the dough and put it into your tart or pie pan. Leave the remaining dough in the bowl.
3. Use your hands to press the dough into the bottom of the pan to cover it and create a 1/3-inch-thick (8-mm) crust on the sides. It’s easiest to press the dough with your fingers into the sides and corners of the pan first and then press the palm of your hand into the bottom of the pan to help cover it with dough. Take a little extra dough from the bowl if needed to cover the bottom. Place the pan in the freezer.
4. Add the confectioners’ sugar to the smaller piece of dough in the bowl and mix it in; the easiest way is to use your hands. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten it. Do not worry if the dough is crumbly. Wrap the dough in plastic and place it in the freezer for 45 minutes.
To make the tart:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Remove the tart pan from the freezer and place it on top of a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust just starts to color.
3. Remove the pan from the oven, slide the parchment and tart pan off the cookie sheet, and let it cool for five minutes, or until the dough in the freezer is ready to be rolled out.
4. Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with some confectioners’ sugar. Place the dough on top of the paper, sprinkle with more sugar, and cover it with another piece of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, roll the parchment-covered dough into a 1/3-inch-thick (8-mm) rectangle. Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut the dough into eight 1-inch (2.5-cm) strips. Slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and freeze the strips for 10 minutes.
5. Use silicone spatula to spread the jam evenly over the bottom of the crust.
6. Remove the dough strips from the freezer and use a long metal spatula or large knife to lift and place the strips across the top of the jam-filled crust to create a lattice. Do not try to bend the strips back to make a perfect over-and-under lattice. Instead, place half the strips in one direction, an inch apart, and then lay the others across them in the other direction. Trim the ends of the dough and press them into the border of the bottom crust. Brush the strips with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 1.5 teaspoons granulated sugar.
7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the jam is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.