Torta della Nonna. Italian Grandmother’s Cake Recipe.
It’s time to bake another classic Italian dessert, originally from the Tuscan area called Torta della Nonna, or grandma’s cake in Italian version. This jewel of Italian pastry is perfect for any occasion and combines a shortcrust pastry base (or Italian butter pasta frolla), with a luscioous Italian pastry cream filling, topped with crunchy pine nuts and powdered sugar.
Torta della Nonna has its roots in Tuscany, its name suggests that it is a traditional Italian recipe passed down from generation to generation by grandmothers, but it is rumored that this cake was created in the 1950s by a Florentine chef named Guido Samorini, who worked in a restaurant in Florence. It is believed that Samorini invented this Italian cake looking for a simple recipe that would please all his diners and used local ingredients such as pine nuts.
How is Torta della Nonna made?
Torta della Nonna is a delicious Italian custard tart, that combines a shortcrust pastry base with a homemade custard filling and a topping of pine nuts and powdered sugar. It is a dessert that perfectly balances the softness of the filing with the crunchy texture of the base and the topping. As with all “grandmother’s cakes” or traditional recipes, its preparation is simple and does not require great culinary skills, but it does require a little bit of patience.
Steps to bake our Italian grandmother’s cake:
1. Preparation of the shortcrust pastry or pasta frolla (pastry dough)that we will divide into two portions to obtain the base and the covering of our cake. We can prepare the shortcrust pastry the day before baking our cake and keep it in the refrigerator.
2. Preparation of the homemade pastry cream (Italian crema pasticcera, made with egg yolks, lemon and cinnamon) the perfect homemade cream to fill our Italian pie.
3. Baking our della nonna cake, we will assemble the cake with a layer of shortcrust pastry, the pastry cream filling and an additional layer of shortcrust pastry as topping, which we will decorate with pine nuts. We can bake this traditional Tuscan dessert the same day we are going to eat it, but it is advisable to let it cool for a few hours before eating.
4. Decorate: once cooled, we must decorate our torta della nonna with powdered sugar. This way we will have the original version of this beautiful Italian pine nut cake.
How to preserve our Torta della Nonna or Italian custard pie: Practical Tips
The ideal is to consume the Torta della Nonna the same day you bake it after letting it cool for a few hours. This way you will enjoy the crunchy texture of its shortcrust pastry that contrasts and combines perfectly with the creaminess of its cream filling.
However, if you have leftover portions of cake I recommend you follow the following steps to preserve it:
Cool completely: Before storing the cake, make sure it has cooled completely to room temperature.
Cover tightly: Wrap the torta della nonna with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container to prevent it from absorbing odors from the refrigerator.
Shelf life: Stored in the refrigerator, Torta della Nonna will keep fresh for 2-3 days.
I personally do not recommend freezing the torta della nonna, as its custard filling will lose its creamy texture.
Torta della Nonna Italian Grandmother's Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Food processor or Kitchen Aid
- Rolling Pin
- Tart pan 9-11 inches
- Saucepan
- Oven
- Fridge
Ingredients
Pastry dough
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Unsalted butter Cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp Unsalted butter Cut into cubes
- 1/2+1/3 cups Powdered sugar
- 1 unit Egg
- 1 unit Egg yolk
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- Lemon zest
- 1 pinch Salt
Custard filling
- 2 cups Whole milk
- 5 unit Egg yolks
- 1/2 cup White sugar
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- Lemon peel
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 1 pod Vanilla Optional
Decoration
- Pine nuts
- Icing sugar
Instructions
Prepare the pastry dough
- In a food processor, Thermomix or KitchenAid, mix the cubed cold butter with the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, lemon zest, salt and baking powder) until a sandy texture is obtained (do not beat too much).
- Then add the egg and the egg yolk to the flour mixture and mix again for a few seconds.
- Pour the mixture of our pasta frolla or shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured work surface and make a ball with the dough until we get a homogeneous dough with the help of our hands because when we stop beating the shortcrust pastry will have a slightly sandy texture.
- Divide the dough in two, for the base of our della nonna cake and for the topping, stretch slightly with the help of a rolling pin both halves of the shortcrust pastry, cover with plastic wrap separately and chill for at least two hours in the refrigerator. It is not necessary to roll out the dough with a rolling pin before chilling, but it will make it easier to work with the base and covering of the cake.
Prepare the custard filling or crema pasticcera
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with half of the sugar, t the cinnamon stick and lemon peel (or vanilla bean or vanilla extract if you prefer) until it begins to boil and remove from heat.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the second half of the sugar and the cornstarch.
- Pour a small amount of the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture and whisk again (the mixture will be lukewarm at this point).
- Then stir the mixture together with the milk in the saucepan while whisking over medium heat until it has thickened (if you have a cooking thermometer you can check the temperature and remove the mixture from the heat before it reaches 85 degrees Celsius).
- Remove the custard from the heat and let it cool in a large bowl with cling film in contact with the cream to protect the surface.
Assemble our Torta della Nonna
- We prepare our tart pan or pie pan of approximately 9-11 inches in diameter with baking paper and / or release spray.
- Place half of the shortcrust pastry that we have chilled in the refrigerator with the help of a rolling pin and line half the surface of a removable curly tart pan. It will not be a problem if it is unmoldable because the creamy filling (crema pasticciera) will be thick when cooling and will not escape from the springform pan.
- Pour the pastry cream filling that we have allowed to cool over the shortcrust pastry.
- Place the second half of dough on the surface of the custard to cover the cake sealing the edges with the help of a fork or with your fingers.
- Place the raw pine nuts on top crust to decorate our torta surface.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the surface of the dough has a nice golden brown.
- Let our cake cool before unmolding to prevent the shortcrust pastry from breaking, there is no strict resting time, but at least 2 hours.
- Sprinkle some icing sugar on top of the tart and enjoy your delicious cake!
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Hice la tarta y me quedó divina, gracias por la receta. Un abrazo
I’ve made it and we enjoy it a lot! Thank you for this traditional dessert that will stay at my home.
This torta della nonna is delicious. I love the crunchy texture of the pine nuts and the pastry cream reminds me of the family desserts of a lifetime.
This torta della nonna it’s a delicious treat. I love pine nuts and I like in this dessert with custard cream. I’ll baking more times. A big hug!