Well this has been a very long time coming – and I really wanted to start with a big post sharing lots of photos from my trip (which will be coming shortly) but I thought I had better get cracking and put up a recipe before you forget From the Kitchen completely! Right then, one month traveling around Italy, so many food experiences – pastries, pasta, seafood, coffee, wine and liqueurs but the first recipe I want to share is a little old-school comfort cake, a traditional torta very popular in Tuscany: Torta della Nonna. Two light layers of pastry enclose a gently sweet and lemony custard, all topped with lightly golden toasted pine nuts and a sprinkling of icing sugar. There are many versions of this torta – some use ricotta, some just custard, some enclose the custard like I have as a kind of pie, whilst other recipes have no ‘lid’, just the custard in a pastry base, topped with the pine nuts. Whichever way you choose to make it, it really does have that magical nurturing factor, as if prepared with a loving hand – and tastes equally good with tea, coffee or a wee glass of Vin Santo.
1 whole egg
2 tbsp icing sugar
Whiz butter, flour, baking powder, icing sugar, salt and lemon zest in a food processor, just until it forms ‘breadcrumbs’. Add egg and egg yolks and pulse until it all comes together in a clumpy ball. Tip out onto a lightly floured bench and roll into a fat log. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. While it chills, prepare the custard.
Heat the milk and lemon zest in a saucepan over a medium heat until it just starts to simmer. While the milk is warming, in a separate bow, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla extract, sugar, cornflour, and flour until the mixture is completely smooth. Once the milk is simmering, add half of it to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the milk and egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk and continue whisking over the heat until the custard is very thick and smooth. Remove from the heat, pour into a container, cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill. Once chilled, stir through the ricotta.
Remove pastry from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 170ΛC (340ΛF). Cut the pastry in half and roll out one half to line the base and sides of a 23cm fluted, removable base tart tin, which needs to be at least 3cm deep. Pour chilled custard on top and smooth with the back of a tablespoon. Roll out remaining pastry and cut to fit gently on top of custard. Seal the sides with the top by squishing gently around the rim. Sprinkle with pine nuts andΒ bake 40-45 minutes until golden. Serve at room temperature with a good dusting of icing sugar, andΒ an optional blob of softly whipped cream.
A cake with filling! Sounds fantastic – I am surely going to try this! Your pictures are breath taking gorgeous – light is outstanding!
Hi Medha! Thanks so much for your lovely comments, and I really hope you enjoy it π Sarah
Beautiful pictures! This recipe sounds wonderful. Can you tell me what size measuring utensils (cups and spoons) you use? I assume UK, rather than USA, but thought I better ask. Thanks, Christina
Hi Christina – I use a cup measurement which = 250 ml, annoyingly the US version is 240ml, and the UK 284ml – so my measurements are closest to the US measurements. For more info you might want to check out this site π http://foodconverter.com/how-to.php
Thanks for the info on your measuring devices. The differences you outline are the very reason why I, despite being from the USA, use a scale and metric for everything I can! Once I converted to weights and metric, I could never understand why anyone would use anything else, it's so much easier to me. And a gram is a gram the world around. But USA Americans seem to be allergic to weights, for some reason I cannot understand. I hope to try this recipe soon, it sounds simply delightful! Oh and thanks for the handy dandy conversion site, somehow I had missed that up until now. Christina
Hi Christina n o problem! I know what you mean about grams, it would make life so much easier, but you would be surprised how many people won't even look at a recipe which requires them to weigh everything! It's not usually so critical in cooking but baking….argh!!! π
What a lovely blog! I can not wait to make this beautiful, rustic cake…this is my type of baking, flavors and ingredients. π
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment Cristina – I really appreciate it, and hope you enjoy the torta! π
Once again amazing pictures! So jealous of your fabulous vacation. I'd love to try my hand at this one day!
Hi thanks so much Ashley – I do hope you try it! π
Could you expand upon what you mean by cooking the custard until it is "very thick"? I made this cake yesterday for some friends who are coming over today and cooked it until it was a thick pudding–should I have cooked it longer? Can't wait to try it later today!
Hi the custard should be very thick, like thick porridge (but not lumpy!). How did you get on?:)
Hi Sarah. Could this be made a day in advance or is it best eaten the day it is made. Thank you, Bev
Hi Bev – one day in advance should be just fine…no longer though! π
I had this cake at an Italian restaurant in St.Augustine Florida. Thought it was the chef's nonna's recipe. Decided to "google" it to see if I could find a similar cake only to come accross this.Sounds exactly like the cake I ate which was to die for especially with a good strong espresso. Can hardly wait to try baking it Thanks for this.
I'm so glad you found it – and I really hope you enjoy this version! Happy baking π
Hey Sarah….I donβt know if the time has lapsed to leave comments, but Iβm hoping you can help me. I decided to make the Torta della nonna for Easter instead of the Neapolitan Pastiera that I usually make. I had the Torta when I was in Florence and have been looking for a recipe that sounded most authentic, which yours does. So, I just popped it in the oven. The cream is scrumptious and the crust tastes great raw, but it totally disintegrated so I had to piece it together. Any suggestions as to what I may have done wrong?
By the way, I live in St. Augustine, Florida and Iβm guessing your previous comment ate at the restaurant Terra e Acqua. Iβve had it there and even though the owner is from Florence, it wasnt as creamy as what I remember having in Florence.
Hi Angela – I’m so sorry your crust fell apart – I’m thinking you mean after it was cooked? It is very difficult for me to say why, assuming you followed the recipe exactly…mine was short but held well. Can you think of any variance to the recipe?
Made this for a dinner party yesterday. It was wonderful! Light, airy and delicious. Thanks!
Thanks so much – I’m glad you enjoyed it! π