Another much loved Italian classic, Torta Della Nonna – Grandma’s Pie. Although a traditional Tuscan recipe it is well known all over the country. It can be found in almost every cafe, patisserie and trattoria’s menu.
Looking at the name one imagines a simple, warm, honest and comforting pie and that’s exactly what it is. I would have loved to tell you a story of a grandmother coming up with the recipe that she baked for her grandchildren visiting at the weekends. But it was actually made by a chef to please his customers complaining about the never changing dessert menu. It became a constant hit with its simple but honest ingredients.
My first encounter with this delight was on my trip to Milan eighteen years ago, shortly after I met my husband. I’ll never forget that first trip; so young, so in love, so happy to be stuffing my face with delicious Italian desserts. It was years after when I made my first Torta della Nonna, around the time my husband and I both quit smoking. That was quite an unfortunate timing as we finished the whole pie in a day and a half, in two : ) it was that good.
It’s traditionally a two crusted tart filled with pastry cream and topped with plenty of pine nuts and a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar. No frills, no surprises, just comforting and homey. As it is such a simple combination both the crust and the pastry cream need to be their best. There is also a single crust version of this pie and the nuts are sprinkled directly on to the pastry cream before baked.
The crust I use for this pie is one I learned to make from my sister in law’s neighbour, Signora Pina. An extremely sympathetic and chatty lady she is. Also and amazing cook and baker that I feel very lucky to have met. Everytime I see her I grab a different recipe of hers.
The crust has a soft but crumbly texture at the same time and it’s not as delicate as my other pate sucree recipe. You know how you are not suppose to knead and over handle the pate sucree, otherwise it will be tough… Well this crust is very forgiving in that sense and it actually benefits from a little kneading. I like to flavour my crust with lemon/orange zest, you can use vanilla too. We’re gonna use more than half of the dough to line the tart tin than prick the bottom with a fork. We’ll then fill it with pastry cream.
Then we place the rest of the dough directly on the cream and pass over with the rolling pin, pressing down to get rid of the excess. We then pinch the dough all around to make sure it sticks well. You can also press down with a fork.
After pricking the top with a fork, we brush a little milk over it and scatter the pine nuts. I’m not gonna specify the amount of pine nuts here but the more the better : ) As it is a very expensive seed, almond is also widely used.
I make my favourite pastry cream for this pie as it is delicious. I sometimes flavour it with vanilla seeds and orange/lemon zest in others.
Because there is no prebaking involved, a long bake at a low temperature is best. That way you won’t end up with an underbaked and soggy base. I have a couple of tips to ensure this doesn’t happen; first I bake my pie on the lower part of the oven as opposed to the middle. This way the base is closer to the heat source then the top. And secondly I bake my pie in a 180 C (350 F) preheated oven for 20 mins, then lower the temp to 160 C (320 F) for another 35-40 mins.
I love it still slightly warm and prefer it with my morning coffee or afternoon tea rather than as a dessert after dinner. Also very delicious once cold and will keep for three days in the fridge.
The ingredients listed below is just right for a 20-22 cm (8-9 inches) tart tin, I suggest you double the crust recipe even if you don’t need it. You can always store the other half in the freezer for a few months. If using a bigger tart tin you definitely will need to double it and you can cut cookies out of the leftover. You will also need more pastry cream for a bigger pie, I suggest you increase your ingredients by at least half.
- PINA'S SWEET TART CRUST
- 250 gr (1¾ cup) flour
- 100 gr (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 100 gr (1/2 cup) butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- zest of 1 lemon/orange
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- .
- PASTRY CREAM
- 450 ml milk+2 Tbs
- 4 egg yolks
- 75 gr (1/3 cup+1 Tbs) granulated sugar
- 30 gr (about 4 level Tbs) corn starch
- 30 gr (2 Tbs) butter
- zest of 1 lemon/orange
- .
- FOR THE TOP
- pine nuts
- 1-2 Tbs milk
- powdered sugar
- To prepare the tart crust place the flour and slightly room temp butter into the bowl of your stand mixer. After a few turns on medium low speed add in the rest of the ingredients. As soon as it comes together tip it on to a lightly floured work surface and knead gently for a couple of minutes. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for half an hour.
- PASTRY CREAM To make the pastry cream bring milk to boiling point with the lemon/orange zest.
- Whisk egg yolks with sugar using an electric whisk for a few minutes until pale. Then add the corn starch and mix well.
- Pour the hot milk slowly into the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
- Pour it all back into the sauce pan. Cook over medium low heat until it thickens for about 5-6 minutes, stirring all the time.
- Remove from the heat and mix in butter, beat until smooth and completely blended.
- Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming, making sure that the plastic is in contact with the cream.
- Butter and flour the sides of the tart tin and place a piece of parchment on the bottom.
- Divide the rested dough into two, the large one being about ⅔.
- Slightly knead the big piece of dough and roll to about 3-4 mm (1/8th in), gently place on the prepared tart tin and remove excess. Prick the base with a fork.
- Add a couple of Tbs of milk into the pastry cream to soften it and give it a good whisk so that it's nice and smooth.Place into the tart base.
- Slightly knead and roll the other piece of the dough and place directly on to the cream, making sure that it is completely covered. Go over it with your rolling pin to remove the excess pastry and pinch the edges to make sure that it sticks well.
- Prick the top with a fork and brush with a couple of Tbs of milk. Scatter over the pine nuts.
- Place in the oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) and bake for 20 minutes (on the lower rack).
- Lower the oven temp to 160 C (320 F) and bake for a further 35-40 mins.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 mins before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar and serve.
There is also a chocolate version of this pie called “Torta Del Nonno”- Grandpa’s Pie : ) I have a gorgeous Chocolate Pastry Cream recipe if you are interested.