This twist on a classic Austrian tart makes for an impressive centrepiece

Found in every bakery in Austria, this delicious, jam-filled pastry is a sweet treat, says Katie Wright

Tebbutt swaps out traditional redcurrant for sweet apricot jam (Chris Terry/PA)

This is my take on a classic, lattice-topped tart that can be found in every bakery throughout Austria: delicious crumbly pastry with a sweet, jam-filled middle,” says chef and Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt. “I prefer to use apricot jam rather than the traditional redcurrant, because it is a touch sweeter.”

Apricot Linzer torte

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients:

175g (6oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

40g (1½oz) caster sugar

115g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened

2 medium free-range egg yolks, beaten

380g (13½oz) apricot jam

6 tbsp raspberry jam

Zest and juice of ½ lemon8–12 whole blanched almonds

To serve:

2 tbsp icing (confectioners’) sugar (optional)

Custard or single (light) cream

Method:

1. To make the pastry, put the flour, spices and sugar in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks, mixing well with a wooden spoon to just bring the pastry dough together. Alternatively you can put the flour, spices and sugar in a food processor, then add the egg yolks and pulse to bring the pastry dough together. Wrap the dough in cling film (plastic wrap) and chill for at least one hour in the fridge.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4.

3. Cut off one third of the chilled pastry and set aside to make the lattice top.

4. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll out the larger piece of pastry to a 3mm thickness and use it to line a 23-25cm tart tin.

5. Make the lattice for the top by rolling out the reserved pastry on a floured surface to a three millimetre thickness. Cut it into 12 strips of 25cm long and about 1cm wide.

(Chris Terry/PA)

6. Use the apricot jam to fill the pastry case and lay the pastry strips over the top one by one to form a neat lattice pattern. Trim the edges.

7. Put the raspberry jam in a bowl with the lemon zest and juice, mix well, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.

8. Pipe the jam into alternate squares of the lattice top. On each square of the lattice now filled with jam, place a blanched almond for decoration. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin.

9. If you want to add a pretty touch for serving, dust the torte with icing sugar. Serve sliced with homemade custard or single cream.

Recipe extracted from ‘Weekend’ by Matt Tebbutt (published by Quadrille, £22; photography by Chris Terry), available now.