A crispy base, a heart of lemon cream and to top it off, crunchy pine nuts. “Granny cake” is what they call this delicacy in Italy. It is a declaration of love to Tuscany and to all grandmothers of the world who sweeten our lives.
Has to be alla crema!
Originally, the torta con crema e pinoli comes from Tuscany, but today it is known throughout Italy. The filling consists of crema pasticcera, one of the cornerstones of Italian baking. It is similar to vanilla pudding in taste, but is smoother and can be flavoured as desired, for example with lemon or fruit syrup. This makes the cream the perfect filling for fluffy bignè (a kind of choux pastry), for cornetti (Italian croissants) as well as for cakes and crostata.
The crostata
Torta della Nonna - Granny cake - is also a crostata, in Italy the umbrella term for all short pastry cakes. The word is derived from crosta (crust). As far as toppings and fillings are concerned, there are almost no limits to your imagination: fresh fruit, cream, jam or a combination of all of these. Our recipe focuses – typically Tuscan – on lemon cream and pine nuts. If you want to go one step further, decorate with Italian meringue. It melts in your mouth just like Grandma's cake.
📖 Recipe
La Torta della Nonna
Ingredients
For the crema pasticcera with lemon flavour
- 800 ml milk, whole
- 200 g whipping cream, (Schlagsahne, 30–35% fat)
- 3 lemons, untreated just zest no white pith!
- 1 vanilla pod, or 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract)
- 8 large egg yolks
- 180 g sugar
- 60 g flour, all-purpose
- 30 g potato starch, or maize starch
- 1 pinch salt
ry Dough (Pasta Frolla)
- 250 g butter, cold, unsalted, cubed
- 160 g sugar, powdered (gives a finer texture than granulated)
- 320 g flour, all-purpose flour
- 1 lemon, just zest
- 3 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To finisch
- 50 g pine nuts
- sugar, powdered - for dusting
Optional for serving
- whipped cream , or Italian meringue
Instructions
Make the Lemon Pastry Cream
- In a saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Add the finely grated zest of 3 lemons and the vanilla pod (split and scraped). Heat until steaming, just below boiling. Remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl until pale and creamy. Sift in flour and starch, and whisk until smooth. Strain the infused milk mixture to remove the zest and vanilla pod, and gradually whisk it into the egg mixture in two additions. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth (about 5–7 minutes). Strain the cooked cream again if needed to ensure a smooth texture, then transfer to the chilled bowl. Stir vigorously until it cools to about 50 °C (warm, not hot). Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate.
Make the Pastry
- In a large bowl, mix flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the cold butter and rub it in quickly until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overwork. Shape into a disc, wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the dough is chilling, prepare the lemon pastry cream (Step 1) to save time.
Blind Bake the Tart Base
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (top/bottom heat). Roll out two-thirds of the dough and line a 24–26 cm tart tin (bottom and sides). Prick the base with a fork. Line with parchment and fill with baking beans or dried legumes. Bake for 25–30 minutes. Let cool. (Optional) For extra crispness, brush the baked base with egg white and return to the oven for 2–3 minutes.
Assemble and Bake
- Spread the chilled crema pasticcera evenly over the cooled tart base. Roll out the remaining dough and place it on top. Trim the edges and press gently to seal. Prick the surface with a fork. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts. Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the top is lightly golden. Let cool completely.
To serve
- Dust with powdered sugar. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Italian meringue
For this you need: 100 g egg white, 200 g sugar, 30 ml water. Heat water and sugar. When the syrup has reached a temperature of 115°C, beat the egg whites until stiff. When the syrup has reached 121 °C, mix it slowly, almost drop by drop, with the beaten egg whites. Now continue beating until the beaten egg whites have completely cooled down again. Pour into a piping bag and decorate the cake as desired. Put it under the hot grill for about 1-2 minutes. Better not to move from the grill as the meringue will brown quickly.
Buon appetito!
Margaret says
This recipe is very confusing. It calls for 3 lemons in the filling but doesn’t explain what to do with them. Do you mean grated zest? If so, when does it get strained out? Don’t you strain the pastry cream to remove eggs clumps?
Why is the pastry the first step if you have to blind bake it? Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to do that and make the filling while it’s baking?
Is there a video to clarify?
Ale says
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! You're right—some of those steps needed more clarity. I’ve updated the instructions to make things less confusing (like specifying that it’s the zest of 3 lemons and clarifying when to strain the pastry cream). There’s no video now, but that’s a great suggestion for the future. I appreciate the helpful feedback!