Who remembers when in the restaurant, between the mid-eighties and the early nineties, the most awaited moment arrived, the dessert trolley? And between very high mountains of profiteroles, tempted by the tiramisu pan or tempted by the panna cotta… in the end, she often had the best: grandma’s cake! Maybe it’s because of her reassuring name, which tastes good and genuine, or because of its simplicity, but grandma’s cake is still a must today! A timeless classic, a perfect dessert for Sunday lunch that we want you to savor at its best, preparing a delicious one shortbread fragrant and a divine custard. There are at least two versions of the Torta della Nonna: an open one, which includes the base and the cream directly garnished with pine nuts and icing sugar, and a covered one, with a double layer of pastry and custard in the centre. We opted for the latter and… we hope that your choice of GialloZafferano’s roundup of desserts will occasionally also fall on this delicacy!
Don’t miss out on the irresistible variant with pistachio and the chocolate one, which takes the name of grandpa cakeor the version muffin or plum cakeperfect for breakfast!
Read the recipe in English
To make the grandmother’s cake, first prepare the custard: pour the egg yolks and sugar into a saucepan 1mix with the spatula and then add the flour 2. Mix again until you get a smooth and thick mixture 3.
Pour the milk into another saucepan, flavor with the grated lemon zest 4 put it on the fire. When it has reached the boil, first pour a small amount of milk on the egg mixture to dilute it, stirring with a spatula 5, then add it all and mix again. Transfer the saucepan to the heat and thicken the cream over medium heat, stirring constantly 6until it is thick and creamy.
Transfer the cream to a bowl 7 and place it over a larger bowl that you have previously filled with ice cubes 8: in this way it will cool down quickly without losing its color and consistency. If you don’t use it immediately for preparation, cover with cling film and transfer to the refrigerator 9.
In the meantime, prepare the pastry: put the flour and the cold butter cut into pieces in a mixer 10, then activate the blades for a few moments to obtain sandblasting. If you don’t have a mixer, you can “pinch” the butter with your fingertips to mix it well with the flour. Transfer the sandy mixture onto a pastry board and form a bowl in the centre, then pour in the sugar 11 and eggs 12.
Grate the zest of a lemon 13 and work the ingredients briefly, just long enough to compact them 14, and give the pastry the shape of a loaf. Flatten the dough slightly and wrap it in cling film 15then place in the fridge to harden for at least 30 minutes.
Once the pastry has cooled down, roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 2-3 mm 16; you can put the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to spread it out more easily. Grease and flour a tart mold with a diameter of 26 cm 17then roll up the pastry on the rolling pin and place it delicately inside the mould 18.
Press with your fingers to make the dough adhere well to the base and edges, then trim off the excess 19. Prick the base with the prongs of a fork 20 and stuffed with the now cold custard 21.
Knead the leftover pastry again and roll out the dough again to a thickness of 2-3 mm, then roll up the pastry disk on the rolling pin and unroll it on the mold to cover the cream 22. Press edges with fingers to seal 23 and pass over the rolling pin to remove the excess 24.
Brush the surface with a little egg white 25 and prick it with the prongs of a fork 26then sprinkle with pine nuts 27.
Are you ready to bake grandma’s cake 28: cook in a preheated static oven at 160° for 50 minutes on the bottom shelf, then raise the temperature to 180° and cook for another 10 minutes. If the surface gets too dark during cooking, you can cover it with aluminum foil. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool completely 29. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve your delicious grandmother’s cake 30!
