For those of you who do not speak Italian, torta della nonna translates to grandmother’s cake. Dave and I had a version of this in Sicily which included fruit. I think the next time I make it I shall try it that way.

Head straight on to the recipe for Torta Della Nonna ♥
Dave left me …. for 48 hours. At home, alone, to eat whatever I wanted and to read. The Thursday before he left for Port Elizabeth the latest Lee Child novel landed on my desk. I make a concerted effort to read the books I am sent to review in the order I receive them. But I could not wait to get stuck into Night School. On the Friday morning I dropped Dave off at the airport and then went to do some shopping. This was followed by a training session at gym and drinks with a friend. I got home and watched television and at 8pm climbed into bed with Jack Reacher! 20 minutes later I turned the light off as I was exhausted. Saturday morning I followed our usual routine of coffee in bed and made breakfast for myself. I got the ingredients ready for my torta della nonna.
Today’s #daringkitchen inspiration ♥ Recipe For Torta Della Nonna ♥ can be found on Lavender and Lime Share on X
After binge watching MasterChef Australia I made my torta and then got stuck into reading. I had a 6pm date with my iPad to ‘watch’ the race taking place in Port Elizabeth. I kept one eye on the timing and the other on the rugby, which we won’t talk about. The race finished at 9pm with a great result of first place for our one friend and third for another. I then headed back to bed where I managed another 45 minutes of reading. Sunday morning after blogs and news and catching up on Facebook I took my book downstairs and finished reading it before I had to collect Dave from the airport at 10am. This is not an unusual feat for me to finish a book so quickly but it made me happy to have accomplished it. The only baking I accomplished all weekend was this torta!
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Torta Della Nonna
Ingredients
for the Italian pastry cream
- 1 l milk
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 8 egg yolks
- 150 g fructose
- 150 g flour
- 5 mls vanilla purée
for the pastry
- 300 g flour, plus extra for dusting
- 150 g fructose
- 5 mls baking powder
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 120 g butter, cubed
- 2 egg yolks
- 15 mls water
- 1 lemon, zest only, finely chopped
for the torta
- 40 g pine nuts
- icing sugar for dusting
Method
for the Italian pastry cream
- Place the milk and lemon zest into a saucepan and place on the stove on a medium temperature
- Bring up to blood temperature and sieve into a jug
- Place the egg yolks and fructose into a mixing bowl and whisk until at ribbon stage
- Slowly whisk in the flour until completely incorporated
- Temper the eggs with the sieved milk and whisk to combine
- Add the vanilla essence and return the custard to the sauce pan
- Stir over a medium temperature with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes
- Pour back into the mixing bowl and cover with cling film
- Place into the fridge to cool completely
for the pastry
- Sieve together the flour, fructose, baking powder and salt into a large bowl
- Add the butter and rub in using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
- Add the zest and mix in
- Whisk together the egg yolks and water and add to the flour
- Mix in until the dough starts to form
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball and flatten into a disc
- Cover with cling film and place into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill
for the torta
- Roll the pastry out to 3mm thick and place into a lined flan tin, setting aside the leftover pastry
- Dock the bottom of the pastry before carefully filling with the Italian pastry cream
- Roll out the leftover pastry into a 4mm thick disc
- Cover the top of the pastry cream with the pastry, sealing the edges using a fork
- Place into the fridge while you preheat the oven
- Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
- Top the pastry with pine nuts and bake for 35 minutes
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool before removing from the tin
- Dust with icing sugar before serving
Notes
This is my contribution to this month’s Daring Kitchen Challenge hosted by Ginger-Z
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime November 28:
- 2014 – Out And About: Friday 28 November 2014
- 2012 – Top Ten Home Cooks
- 2011 – Panettone
Beautiful, just beautiful.
thank you Liz 🙂
I also love finishing books (and making cakes) especially if both are good! 😀
And your cakes always look amazing!
Oh this sounds so delicious! Like the sound of adding fruit too.
I think pears would be perfect for the torta 🙂
Your baked goods are always so exquisite looking Tandy!
Thank you Tammy 🙂
I’ve heard about it, but never tried it, looks tempting:)
It is very tempting 🙂
Yum, this torta looks like it would pair perfectly with a good book! But seriously… It sounds like you had my dream weekend 🙂
It was an amazing weekend 🙂
Whoa! That looks intrigueing and yummy!! Nothing better than a good book and some good munchies! <3 – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
For sure!
I very much like the sound of this recipe and am fond of desserts that include pine nuts, so it’s a double bonus.
Then you will love this 🙂
Looks delicious in any language to me. The texture looks just perfect.
Thank you so much 🙂
Ooh yummy cake and a binge fest of reading…sounds perfect to me!
It was perfect 🙂
That looks so delicious Tandy! I can imagine curling up with a good book and having a slice of this with some whipped cream for a decadant treat xx
The whipped cream would have made it decadent indeed 🙂
Looks delicious Tandy, wish I had a piece right now;)
When my husband travels if I’m not working I do pretty much the same thing, very enjoyable.
It was most enjoyable, the book and the torta 🙂
What a lovely 48 hours and of course…what a delicious tart. I haven’t tried this one before but know of it. I will definitely be doing Sicily next time!
We cannot wait to go back to Sicily 🙂
What does “blood temperature “ mean? Boiling?
No, it is 37 degrees Celsius, and must not boil 🙂