Apricot Linzertorte With Quark Whipped Cream Recipes

APRICOT LINZERTORTE WITH QUARK WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 10-inch springform pan. Process nuts and 1/4 cup flour in processor until nuts are finely ground. Transfer to medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and cloves. Using electric mixer, beat 14 tablespoons butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar in large bowl. Beat in egg, then egg yolk and orange peel. Gradually stir in dry ingredients. Spoon 1 1/2 cups batter into pastry bag fitted with 3/8-inch plain round tip. Spread remaining batter in pan.
• Bake torte bottom until golden, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Using some of batter in pastry bag, pipe border around edge of torte bottom. Spread preserves evenly over torte bottom. Pipe remaining batter over preserves in lattice pattern, 5 to 6 strips in each direction. Bake until lattice is firm to touch and preserves are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• Beat cream in bowl until peaks form; beat in quark. Dust torte with powdered sugar. Serve with quark whipped cream.
• A slightly tangy, soft unripened cow's-milk cheese; available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores (such as Whole Foods markets) and natural foods stores.

APRICOT ALMOND LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• Make pastry:
• Pulse toasted almonds and sugar in a food processor until nuts are finely ground. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves into a bowl, then add to ground nuts in processor and pulse to combine.
• Lightly beat yolks, extracts, and zest in a small bowl with a fork. Add to food processor along with butter, then pulse until dough forms a ball. Form one third of dough into a disk, then roll out between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 10-inch round. Transfer to a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 10 minutes. Roll out remaining dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 12-inch round, then transfer to another baking sheet and chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Simmer water, sugar, brandy, and apricots in a small saucepan, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until apricots are tender and liquid is syrupy, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer mixture to cleaned food processor and pulse until almost smooth. Spread mixture onto a plate and chill 15 minutes.
• Bake torte:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Remove bottom of springform pan and invert, then lock on side. Remove larger dough round from refrigerator and peel off top layer of plastic wrap, then invert round into pan (pastry will break in spots). Press dough evenly onto bottom, then discard plastic. Fold in edge of dough and press 1/2 inch up side of pan (side will be thicker than bottom). Press gently to close any cracks.
• Bake pastry until lightly browned, about 20 minutes, then cool completely on a rack, about 30 minutes. (Dough will puff up as it bakes but will settle as it cools.)
• Spread filling into crust with an offset spatula or back of a spoon.
• Peel top layer of plastic wrap from smaller dough round, then cut round into 1/2-inch-wide strips. (Chill strips again if necessary.) Arrange half of strips over filling about 1 inch apart, pressing ends onto edge of torte. Arrange remaining strips across first strips to form a simple lattice. Press edges together with your fingertips.
• Bake until top is browned, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Before serving, remove side of pan and dust edge of torte with confectioners sugar.

STRAWBERRY AND APRICOT LINZERTORTE HEARTS

Steps:

• In a food processor pulse almonds with granulated sugar until chopped fine. Add confectioners' sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, zest, and salt and pulse until combined well. Add butter and pulse until combined. Add whole egg and yolk and pulse until dough just holds together. Divide dough into fourths and form into disks (dough will be sticky). Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 325° F.
• Roll out 1 dough disk (keeping remaining disks chilled) between sheets of wax paper into a 1/4-inch-thick round (10 to 11 inches in diameter) and freeze between wax paper on a tray until very firm, about 10 minutes. Roll out and freeze remaining 3 dough disks in same manner.
• Remove top sheet of paper from 1 round and with a 3 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter cut out hearts, chilling scraps. (If dough becomes too soft to work with at any time, freeze on wax paper until very firm.) With a 1-inch heart-shaped cutter cut and lift out centers (making 2 additional decorative heart cutouts in some cookies) from half of large hearts.
• Arrange whole hearts and cut-out hearts 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets and bake in batches in middle of oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges are pale golden. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. (Cookies will continue to firm up as they cool.) With a spatula carefully transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining 3 dough rounds and scraps in same manner.
• On a work surface arrange whole hearts, bottoms down. Drop 1 teaspoon of either jam on each cookie, spreading almost to edges, and top with cut-out hearts. Spoon some remaining jam into centers. Cookies may be made 4 days ahead and chilled between layers of wax paper in an airtight container. Bring cookies to room temperature before serving.