Grandma's Cake

Torta della nonna: the classic recipe!

Written by Wetta on in Cakes
Servings: 12Cook time: 50 minCalories (per serving): 356 kcal

Ingredients

  • 350 g 00 flour (for shortcrust pastry)
  • 140 g powdered sugar (for shortcrust pastry)
  • 4 egg yolks (for shortcrust pastry)
  • 200 g butter (for shortcrust pastry)
  • 1 pinch of salt (for shortcrust pastry)
  • 70 ml milk (for custard)
  • 5 egg yolks (for custard)
  • 200 g sugar (for custard)
  • 70 g cornstarch or potato starch (for custard)
  • 1 vanilla bean or vanilla extract (for custard)
  • pine nuts (for garnish)

Directions

  1. For the shortcrust pastry: use the ingredients listed for the shortcrust pastry, being careful not to confuse them with those for the filling and to follow the measurements exactly. Place the cold butter and flour in the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand (this process is called “sanding”).

  2. Add the sugar, egg yolks, and salt, and mix with a mixer for one minute until the mixture is smooth.

  3. Remove the dough from the mixer, shape it into a ball, and let it rest in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap.

  4. For the custard: Pour the milk, sugar, and egg yolks into a small saucepan (preferably nonstick) and mix well with a whisk.

  5. Add the sifted starch (or potato starch) and the seeds from a vanilla bean (or a packet of vanilla extract).

  6. Turn on the heat and stir until the cream has thickened well. Pour it into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap touches the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming.

  7. After 30 minutes, remove the shortcrust pastry from the refrigerator, divide the dough into two parts, and roll out the first part to line the bottom of a 24-cm-diameter cake pan. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C in conventional mode.

  8. Prick the dough with a fork to prevent it from puffing up while baking.

  9. Roll out the second half of the shortcrust pastry as well, and, using parchment paper, cut out a circle the size of the cake.

  10. Remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator, fill the cake, and cover it with the shortcrust pastry disc (use parchment paper to help you—this is the trickiest part!).

  11. Prick the top as well, sealing the dough tightly with the edges cut from the bottom crust, and finish by sprinkling with pine nuts to taste.

  12. Bake the cake for about 50 minutes at 180°C in conventional mode.

I’m also following Bake Off 2017, and after the second episode (you can watch it here if you haven’t seen it yet: LINK), Knam made me crave torta della nonna.

Since I didn’t have all the ingredients (and didn’t want to make it as complicated as hers—let’s face it…), I tried this recipe, which is much simpler but still very good!

For those who may have missed it, and for your convenience, Knam’s recipe (dedicated to his wife Alessandra, Ed.) is here: LINK.

Oh, and for those who don’t know: pine nuts are crazy expensive! :D

I highly recommend pine nuts for the garnish (but be careful—they’re really expensive! A 50-gram packet is more than enough!)

This is how it turned out for me… let it cool before eating it, and please be careful about how you store it: no more than 3–4 days in the fridge! Remember, it has custard in it!

torta della nonna