RED-CURRANT POPPY-SEED LINZER TORTE

Red-Currant Poppy-Seed Linzer Torte image

The rope trimmings from this recipe can be baked into cookies: Roll them into 1/2-inch-thick ropes and cut them into two-inch pieces. Arrange on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, snip each piece into a wheat-stalk shape, and bake until lightly golden, about 12 minutes. For the torte decorating technique, see ourstep-by-step photos.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Pie & Tarts Recipes

Time 3h45m

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and cooled
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup poppy seeds
3/4 cup red-currant jam or fruit spread, whisked until smooth
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Steps:

Place pecans, flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and process until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add yolk and pulse until dough just begins to come together. (Dough will be soft.) Divide in half; shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll out one disk of dough to an 11-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom (patch with pieces of excess dough, if necessary). Trim dough flush with rim; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Divide second disk into 8 pieces. On an unfloured surface, roll each piece out into a 1/2-inch-thick rope, about 10 inches long. (If dough becomes too soft, refrigerate until firm.) Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle poppy seeds on another rimmed baking sheet along one long edge. Working with one rope at a time, roll to coat in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until just firm, about 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread bottom of crust in tart pan with jam. Arrange seed-coated ropes over crust; trim edges flush with inside. To create the wheat stalk, make shallow snips with scissors at a 45-degree angle, cutting about three-quarters of the way through (being careful not to cut all the way through each rope). Move each cut piece to one side, alternating sides with each cut. Repeat at 1/2-inch intervals along each rope.
Bake torte until golden brown and bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove from tart pan and serve, with whipped cream. Torte can be stored in refrigerator, covered, up to 2 days.