Tag Archives: Easy

Torta Della Nonna (Grandma’s Custard Pie) easy step by step

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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! 🙂

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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.

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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.

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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).

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6. Pierce the pastry with a fork, then fill with the custard.

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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.

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8. Bake at 180° C (356° F) for 40 minutes and let cool.

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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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A Delicate Menu For Two

Today’s menu is a delicious dinner for two, with 3 elegant and delicate courses,

quite easy to prepare.

Risotto with fresh peas and corn salad

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Salmon with lime and balsamic vinaigrette

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Mango Panna Cotta

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Serve with chilled white wine.

Mango Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is one of the most appreciated Italian desserts and is well known all over the world. This amazing dessert is probably widely appreciated, not only for its wonderful velvety texture and delicate flavour but also for the simplicity of the preparation method. The traditional recipe is usually prepared with cream, sugar and vanilla pods and served with fruit, chocolate or caramel sauce. In addition to the traditional recipe, there are many variations which include different ingredients, in order to get more creative and complex flavour combinations (we have already prepared a double chocolate panna cotta, in a previous post).

In this recipe, I added the mango pulp with a hint of lemon flavour, to celebrate the warm season. The result is an extremely velvety, exotic and charming dessert!

You’ll love it!!!

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 Tips.

1. To make a slightly lighter dessert you can replace 50 ml of whipping cream with 50 ml of whole milk.

2. It’s important to strain the mango puree well, because the mango pulp contains little hairy bits which can compromise the smoothness and texture of the dessert.

3. In this recipe, I added 1 tablespoon of honey, but half a tablespoon was actually enough for my taste. With half a tablespoon of honey you get a less sweet but more delicate panna cotta, which in my opinion, suits an adult taste best. You can taste the mixture with 1/2 tablespoon of honey and then decide whether you want to add more or not. For children, the preparation with a tablespoon of honey is perfect!

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Mango Panna Cotta.

Preparation: 20 minute + 3 hours in the fridge

Easy

Ingredients

for 2 servings

150g (5.2 oz) mango (+ a few pieces of fresh mango)

1 tablespoon of honey

the zest of half a lemon (or 1 drop of lemon essential oil)

2 gelatine leaves

200 ml ( 6.76 us fl oz) whipping or double cream

a few mint leaves

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Method

1. Leave the gelatine leaves to soak for about 10 minutes.

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2. Pour the cream into a small saucepan with the honey and the lemon zest (or lemon essential oil). Cook over a moderate heat for a few minutes, until the cream is quite hot (but do not boil). Then add the gelatine leaves, stir very well and turn off the heat.

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3. Peel the mango and cut it into pieces. Puree the fruit in a blender with the warm cream.

4. Using a strainer, pour the mixture into small one-portion pots and let cool. Then put the pots in the refrigerator to set for about 3 hours.

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5.  Serve the panna cotta with some fresh mango and a few mint leaves on top.

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Panna Cotta al Mango.

Difficoltà: facile

Preparazione: 20 minuti + 3 ore nel frigorifero

Ingredienti

per 2 panne cotte

150 g di mango (+ qualche pezzo di mango da aggiungere alla fine, come guarnizione)

Scorza di mezzo limone (oppure 1 o 2 goccia di olio essenziale di limone)

1 cucchiaio di miele

2 fogli di colla di pesce

200 ml di panna

qualche foglia di menta

Metodo

1. Mettete a bagno, in acqua tiepida, i fogli di gelatina per 10 minuti.

2. Riscaldate la panna in un pentolino (a fuoco basso) con il miele e la scorza di limone (oppure l’olio essenziale di limone). Aggiungete la gelatina, mescolate per qualche minuto e spegnete il fuoco.

3. Togliete la buccia al mango, tagliatelo a pezzi e frullatelo bene insieme alla panna (ancora calda).

4. Usando un colino, filtrate la panna e versatela negli stampini. Lasciate raffreddare e poi mettete in frigorifero per 3 ore a rassodare.

5. Servite con dei pezzi di mango fresco e qualche foglia di menta.

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