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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.
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.
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!
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
I baked mine for 40 minutes which was too long. Had the torta not needed so many egg yolks I would have baked it again for 35 minutes as I have noted here in the recipe
This is my contribution to this month’s Daring Kitchen Challengehosted by Ginger-Z
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime November 28:
I am passionate about using regional, seasonable and sustainable produce when I cook. I live in Gordons Bay with my husband and dogs. We visit new places locally and overseas as often as we can to experience the food of the area. Follow along on our adventures!
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29 thoughts on “Torta Della Nonna | Grandmother’s Cake”
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!
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 🙂