Eating Linzer Torte in Linz
On the bucket list of things I planned to do this year while the droves of overseas tourists are still absent from Europe, was a visit to Linz. In the interest of full disclosure and investigative blogging, I will freely admit that I don’t think I could really say all that much about the city, even now that I’ve been. From what little I saw, it has a nice open feel to it and the centre of the old town is easily accessible and pleasant for pedestrians. But that’s just about it. I really only went along for the food…!
The Linzer Torte is a traditional Austrian sweet that takes its name from the city of Linz, although it seems that the original recipe is Hungarian and came to Austria during the K + K monarchies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Essentially, the Linzer Torte has a short crust pastry base with hazelnuts and lemon to give it a fresh, zesty taste. There are also spices in the dough, such as nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. On the base is a thick layer of jam. The traditional recipe recommends using red currant, although very often these days they tend to use raspberry jam or a mix of raspberry and red currant. On top of that, an intricate lattice is placed and the edges are decorated with almond flakes. The exact nature of the lattice is somewhat contested. Some shops will make it out of the same dough as the base of the Linzer Torte, while others will produce a lattice made of marzipan.
I decided to go with the Konditorei Heuschober on Marktplatz 13, which is close to the railway station and the Stadtpark. At Heuschober the lattice is made of marzipan, and it is put on the Torte before it goes in the oven for baking. At Heuschober they also put another layer of short crust on top of the jam, which helps keep the Torte nice and moist.
Getting from Vienna to Linz
There are frequent trains from Wien Hauptbahnhof to Linz. Most of them are operated by high speed Railjet trains. The journey time is roughly 90 minutes and tickets can be purchased online or on the app of the Österreichische Bundesbahn (ÖBB).
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