See, according to the definitions I’ve advanced below, a Linzer torte — at least as I know it — is a tart. But if what Gerhard from Austria is telling me is true, that true Linzer tortes have a cake base, then the definition fits. I need to find a recipe for one of those. The one Mr. G sent me is in German, and my German, she iz no so good.

That’s an excellent question (thanks, Christine G.). The distinctions between cakes, layer cakes, tortes and gâteaux are rarely discussed. Most people simply assume they’re just different words people use to describe the same things, but that’s not really true. The distinctions between them can be fine but they’re real and worth noting. I’m not aware of any definitive resource on the subject, so all I can do is try to create my own. Pastry enthusiasts, chime in if you want to add or correct anything.

Cakes are single-layered sweetened and enriched “breads” for lack of a better word. Usually round and almost always flat, their primary ingredient is grain or grain flour (wheat, oat, barley or the like). Cakes can be sweetened with sugar, molasses or honey and enriched with eggs, solid fat or oil. They can be leavened naturally (yeast), mechanically (egg foam) or chemically (baking powder or soda).

…so whenever somebody finally succeeds after much trial and tribulation, I like to call attention to it. Julie over at Pass the Ketchup just turned out her first successful batch. As they used to say on Hee-Haw…sa-LOOT!.

Reader Ruth wrote in to ask about the baking class I did over the holiday season at my daughter’s grade school. I meant to follow up on that but didn’t — so thanks, Ruth!

I may have mentioned that the organizer of these after school classes felt that baking was a subject better suited to older kids than to children my daughter’s age, and I had to agree. Fifth and sixth graders were much more responsible around heat sources and hot objects. I expected at least a couple of burns and/or cuts over the course of the six classes, but no one received a single injury. Which is not to say that they kids listened as well as I’d hoped they would. The science mostly passed right by them, and I frequently had to get, shall we say…insistent when it came to impressing the proper procedures on the group. I had only five, but lord, they were handful at times.

Reader Meredith asks: why do they call a short crust “short”? Great question. For that matter what’s “short” about shortcake or short bread or shortening? A short crust is “short” because it never gets tall. That sounds like a glib answer to the question, but it’s true. “Short” cakes and crusts are short because they don’t rise or get puffy. And it’s all due to the fat they contain.

Fat, by lubricating (or generally gunking up) the bonding sites on gluten molecules, prevents gluten networks from forming. This has the effect of making those crusts or cookies or biscuits tender. But since gluten networks are also what trap steam bubbles, fat (also called “shortening”) has the added effect of keeping those same items rather flat.

Linz, Austria is a city with an interesting history, some of which we’ll probably get around to later in the week. However I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that these days Linz is mostly remembered as the childhood home of Hitler. Hey, the guy had to come from somewhere, right? Unfortunately for the PR team at the Linz chamber of commerce, Linz was the place.

Or well he didn’t come from there. Hitler was actually born in a small town called Braunau am Inn which is smack on the German-Austrian border. What, you didn’t know that Hitler was actually Austrian? Well now you do! Of course Hitler didn’t recognize much difference between the peoples of those nations. To him (and a lot of others) the German-speaking peoples of Europe were all one large volk, divided by artificial political borders. This what made the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, a relatively simple and painless affair.

You’ve seen one, I promise you. It’s a tart-like creation with a layer of raspberry preserves on the top, criss-crossed by strips of short crust. Of course it’s no ordinary short crust, but one that’s well infused with almonds, either ground almonds or almond flour. Sure, sometimes people use hazelnuts or walnuts, but almonds are […]

Linzer torte is a holiday treat in most places, however it’s popular in the States around Valentine’s day because it’s red and homey-looking. So I figure…why not? This might also be helpful for all the folks (and there were several of you) who asked for Linzer cookie recipes this past December. Alas, with a packed […]

…but tomorrow I’ll judging a science fair much of the day. Hope there are some buttercream exhibits. Don’t be surprised if it turns out to be a light posting week all the way around. More soon I promise! – Joe