Torta Della Nonna (Grandma’s Pie) is a delicious and delicate pie made with a soft shortcrust pastry and filled with plenty of thick Italian custard (Crema Pasticciera) and garnished with lots of pine nuts and icing sugar. It’s a Florentine recipe, but is also quite popular in Liguria; in fact many bakeries and coffee shops make this wonderful cake in Genoa. I thought it might be difficult for you to come and have a taste so here is the recipe for you to enjoy! 🙂
Tips.
1. It can be quite a difficult to cover the pie with the thin layer of pastry, but you can simplify the recipe using only one layer of shortcrust for the pie case.
2. You might need less custard to fill the pie crust, I used a little less.
Torta Della Nonna.
Preparation time: 50 minutes + resting time
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Medium difficulty
Ingredients
For the pastry (with the ingredients listed here, follow the method in this recipe)
350 g sifted flour
165 g butter
165 g of sugar
3 egg yolks
a pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 drops of vanilla extract
For the custard or crema pasticciera (with the ingredients listed here, follow the method in this recipe)
1 litre of milk
8 egg yolks
140 g caster sugar
90 g sifted flour
the grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon (possibly organic)
To garnish
icing sugar to taste
100 g pine nuts
Method.
1. Prepare the shortcrust pastry and place in the refrigerator to cool for 40 minutes.
2. Prepare the custard and let cool, stirring occasionally.
3. Place the pine nuts in water with ice for 30 minutes (so that they won’t burn when you cook them), then dry them with a kitchen towel.
4. Cut the dough into two pieces, keeping in mind that one pieces should be a bit bigger than the other for the pie crust.
5. Using two pieces of baking paper, roll out the bigger piece of dough (5 mm thickness) to make a tart case with a slightly higher edge. Place the baking paper with the pastry onto the cake tin ( 22 cm wide).
6. Pierce the pastry with a fork, then fill with the custard.
7. Roll out a disk of pastry (5 mm thick), then cover the pie and seal the two layers of pastry. Using a pastry cutter, cut and remove the excess pastry, then top with the pine nuts.
8. Bake at 180° C (356° F) for 40 minutes and let cool.
9. Place in the fridge for at least an hour, then garnish with icing sugar.
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Torta della nonna.
Tempo di preparazione: 50 minuti + il riposo
Tempo di cottura 40 minuti
Media difficoltà
Ingredienti
Per la frolla (con ingredienti scritti qui, seguite la preparazione di questa ricetta)
350 g farina setacciata
165 g burro
165 g di zucchero
3 tuorli d’uova
un pizzico di sale
1/2 bustina di lievito per dolci
2 gocce di estratto di vaniglia
Per la crema (con gli ingredienti scritti qui, seguite la preparazione di questa ricetta)
1 litro di latte intero
8 tuorli d’uova
140 g di zucchero semolato
90 g farina setacciata
la buccia di un limone grattugiato, non trattato e possibilmente bio
Per decorare
zucchero a velo vanigliato q. b.
100 g di pinoli
Preparazione
1. Preparate la pasta frolla e mettetela in frigo a raffreddare.
2. Preparate la crema pasticciera e lasciatela raffreddare, mescolando di tanto in tanto.
3. Mettete i pinoli in acqua con del ghiaccio per 30 minuti (per evitare di bruciarli durante la cottura), poi asciugateli bene con la carta da cucina.
4. Tagliate la pasta in due, tenendo presente che un pezzo dovrà essere un po’ più grande dell’altro per la base della torta.
5. Stendete il pezzo più grande tra due fogli di carta da forno (lo spessore deve essere di circa 5 mm) , come per fare una crostata con il bordo alto. Aiutandovi la carta da forno, trasferite la sfoglia di pasta su una teglia (larga 22 cm).
6. Bucherellate la frolla con una forchetta e riempite con la crema pasticciera.
7. Stendete un disco con la pasta rimasta (di spessore 5 mm), poi ricoprite la torta e sigillate i bordi. Tagliate la pasta in eccesso e ricoprite la torta con i pinoli.
8. Cuocete in forno a 180° per 40 minuti, poi fate raffreddare.
9. Mettete la torta a rassodare nel frigo per almeno un’oretta. Prima di servire, decorate con abbondante zucchero a velo.
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This Torta is wonderful, Serena 🙂 I definitely bookmarking this one!
It’s worth it, Linda! It is really delicious! 🙂
Wow! I want a huge slice of this right now, Serena!! Beautiful! 😀
Ok, I prepare the tea and the cake for you! 🙂
Un classico che amo e che tu hai preparato egregiamente! Complimenti!
Grazie mille! Devo ammettere che ho dovuto impastare due volte la parte superiore! Essendo molto sottile, tendeva a rompersi facilmente…Ma alla fine il risultato era ottimo! 🙂
Partecipa al contest di Ostriche “In viaggio a tavola”. Ti piacerà, scommetto!
How amazing does this look? You do a GREAT job of showcasing the food in the pictures! Do you take your own photos?
Hi Jessica! Thank you so much for stopping by! Yes, I take my own photographs; I have a room that I use as a studio with professional lighting equipment…I have to say, I love writing my own recipes, but I enjoy taking pictures of the dishes even more! 🙂
Well, the pictures are incredible. They look so professional. Both are amazing! Keep up the great work!
Jessica, Turquoise Compass
Thank you Jessica! 🙂
That pie looks so heavenly Serena! This one is going on my must-try list! Thank you for sharing this gorgeous creation 🙂
Thank you so much, Naina! It is a beautiful and delicious pie, created by a famous chef in Tuscany. Of course, I don’t have the original recipe, this is my adaptation, but I think it comes close… 🙂 Have a wonderful week!!
Grandma knew her stuff. Spectacular presentation, and I can only imagine the heaven that is this combination of textures. It’s always nice to come upon something rather special on the internet.
Thank you so much, Sarah! The name might suggest that this recipe comes from a sweet old lady, but It was actually invented by a famous chef from Tuscany…This pie is very popular in Italy….It’s amazing!!! 🙂
Your pictures are stunning & so appetizing too! A lovely fabulous tart! 😊
How can Grandma’s Pie not be absolutely delicious? I love pinon nuts and I love custards and creamy things, so I know that this would really put a smile on my face with the first bite! Thanks sharing!
Thank you darling for visiting! 🙂 It is quite something this cake! It takes some time and care but it so yummy!!!!…I am glad that I have the chance to share these lovely traditional recipes, that are delicious but so popular outside of Italy…
This looks delicious. 🙂
It really is…It takes some time to prepare but it’s sooooo worth it! It is special 😉
This looks amazing! Thank you for liking my blog 🙂
My pleasure!! 🙂
Can the custard cream pie be made using amaretti biscuits as a base.
I have had biscuits sandwiched together, filled with the custard and rolled in crushed almonds. Deliziso
Absolutely! Wonderful variation! 🙂
Wow, this is a gorgeous dessert…very elegant. ! I love puddings & custards; your custard looks amazing!
Thank you! It is a traditional recipe, very well known in Italy but not abroad. It is delicious! 🙂
Sieht alles gut und lecker aus. ein schöner Blog
Danke! Thank you for stopping by!
Really nice and testey
Thank you so much! I am really glad that you liked it 🙂
What type of flour is best for this recipe?
Any fine flour for making cakes will do. I used double zero Italian flour, that’s normal white flour for cakes in Italy.
Is it OK to leave off the top layer of pastry? When I tasted this in Milan recently, there was no topping and it was delicious.
Hi Bridget! Of course you can! I think I say something about it in the recipe, at some point. It’s a lot easier if you don’t cover it, sometimes the top layer can break.
You didn’t gave instruction on how to make the custard.
I am so sorry for the delay in reply, Vanessa….There is a link to the Italian custard recipe on the top of the page….However you can find it here: https://foodfulife.com/2014/09/05/traditional-recipe-crema-pasticciera-italian-custard-cream/