Making the oldest cake in the world

Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel.  Send your feedback to: exe.chef@horizonmanor.com

It is said to be the oldest cake in the world and dates back to the 16th century. Originated from Austria, it is named after the city of Linz. Not so far from Vienna, Linz is close to the borders of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. Linzer torte comprises a crumbly pastry base, a jam filling and a lattice top. The ingredients used to make linzer torte are flour, egg yolks, sugar, unsalted butter, lemon zest, cinnamon, lemon juice and jam filling. Linzer torte is conventionally a two-layer affair — one almond cream, the other raspberry preserves with the lattice work on top. However it’s not unusual to find three- or four-layer versions. I always prefer a single layer, but feel free to stack yours, if you want to come up with your own signature style. You can layer each slice with whipped cream or butter cream icing. Linzer torteIngredientsButter unsalted 150gFlour 250gCastor sugar 150gHazelnuts 100gEgg 1 noVanilla extracts few dropsLemon zest 1 lemonCinnamon powder a pinchClove powder a pinchBaking powder 10gRed currants jam 300gMethodSift flour with baking powder and keep aside.Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, add flour and continue to cream.Roast hazelnuts in oven and crush them to smaller pieces.Add the crushed hazelnuts, spices and egg to the above mixture and mix well.Keep the dough covered in refrigerator for 1 hour.Divide the dough into quarters, roll out three quarter of the dough to a thickness of 1.5cm in a greased baking tray (for a 22cm baking tray).Refrigerate again for 30 minutes, spread red currant jam on top.Shape the remaining dough into strips and lay them on top of the jam as a grid.Bake in a pre-heated oven for 40- 45 minutes at 190C.Remove and allow to cool, cut into desired shape and serve hot with ice cream.PineapplePineapple is called pineapple because the Spanish explorers thought pineapple looked like a pine cone, so they called it ‘pina’. The English added ‘apple’ to associate it with juicy delectable fruits and thus came out the word pineapple. It is an excellent source of vitamin C. Consuming pineapple helps in digestion and has refreshing effect during summers. Chunks of pineapple are not only used in desserts such as fruit salad, but also as a main ingredient in savoury dishes, like hamburgers, and as a pizza topping. Crushed pineapple is used in yoghurt, jam, sweets, and ice cream. Pineapple juice is served as a popular beverage. The following recipe is one of my favourite in which pineapple is used as a main ingredient in a kebab and can be served as an appetiser.Ananas kebabServes 4Ingredients  Pineapple 1 noCottage cheese 150gPotato 500gCumin seed ½ tspGinger, chop ½ tbspGreen chilli 2-3 nosSalt to tasteBlack pepper top tasteCoriander leaves, chop 3 tbsp Corn flour 3 tbspOil for grillingMethodPeel and core the pineapple and cut into small dices, squeeze to remove the juice and keep aside.Boil the potato and mash them in a mixing bowl.Grate the cottage cheese in the potato and add the pineapple dices.Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add cumin seeds followed by chopped ginger and green chilli and cook for 5 minutes.Once the ginger is cooked add this to the potato mixture.Add chopped coriander leaves and adjust the seasoning.Mix well to combine the ingredients.If the mixture is wet, sprinkle some corn flour to bind the mixture.Divide the mixture into equal portions and flatten them to shape them like kebab.Heat oil in a frying pan and shallow fry them over medium heat to give a nice brown crust to the kebab.Once browned from both the sides, remove on a kitchen paper to remove excess oil.Serve hot with a choice of tangy dip and salad greens. Note: Please note that the pineapple used should be sweet, so it’s advisable to use the canned pineapple rather than the fresh one. Also the pineapple dices should be squeezed out to remove the juice otherwise while cooking the kebabs will break apart.