Coming down to the wire of our very last few days in Vienna, Emma and I had mentally prepared ourselves to leave Austria without completing our last dessert on the list–Linzer torte, aka Linzertorte, Linzer cookie and Linzer tart. A torte is generally defined as a round, multi-layered, elaborate sweet cake or tart, containing not just cake, but also jam, mousse, whipped toppings or other fillings. We’d asked all over city at various restaurants and bakeries, and I swear I could read their minds — why would you want that when we’ve got all this other amazing stuff?
On the day before our departure, as we sat down to enjoy our lovely breakfast at the Ritz Carlton-Vienna, I decided to live a little (or rather, continue to indulge) and peruse the dessert bar (again). With so many delicious offerings competing for my attention, the lovely chocolate and whipped cream confections usually won out. However, today I was going to give the boring brown cake a try. So I hesitantly put a slice on my plate, and leaned in to read the name of this dull-looking, simple dessert….and OMG was that LINZER CAKE? I barely refrained from dancing a jig. Grinning ear to ear, I returned to the table and victoriously presented the prize to Emma while asking, “Guess what this is?
Rotating the piece of cake from side to side, we decided that it looked a lot like coffee or cinnamon cake with the light dusting of powdered sugar. The appearance was unassuming and simple looking. We both took a forkfull. I found the taste pleasant, with a cinnamon spice and nutty flavor. The texture was moist like banana bread and not as grainy as expected. Emma’s discerning palette was not as easily impressed. However, as part of the breakfast buffet, one could indulge in copious amounts of torte if desired.
Thank you, Ritz Carlton Vienna for helping us complete our dessert hunt during our 2023 summer tour!
Linzer Torte rating is 3.88/5 stars:
