L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018 T orta della Nonna is a ti- meless Tuscan classic, typically served as des- sert after Sunday lunch. Why wait until Sunday though? I think this is per- fect to eat any day of the week, and at any time throughout the day. If you like a traditional sweet Italian breakfast, Torta della Nonna would accompany your morning cappuc- cino perfectly! Before moving to Rome six years ago, I lived in Tu- scany (Versilia) for 14 years and I was (and still am) a big fan of this wonderful dessert. Torta della Nonna, translated to Grandma's cake, is a cake that has become an integral part of typical Tuscan cuisine. I suppose you would call it a cake, although it is like an enclosed custard tart. It is then covered with pine nuts and a generous dusting of icing sugar. There are two versions to this des- sert, as some sustain there isn't a pastry covering and pine nuts are scattered directly onto the custard filling. The majority of people though insist that Torta della Nonna must have a pastry covering enclosing the custard, with the pine nuts scattered on the top before baking. Before serving, it is then sprinkled with icing sugar. According to some, the real ori- gin of this dessert is attributable to the Aretino territory, while others opt for a more recent Florentine origin. Some sources say that the cake was born as a bet by a Flo- rentine cook and restaurateur. Ap- parently some customers asked him to surprise them with a new dessert as they were tired of the desserts typically on offer. He introduced them to this simple cake which was a huge success and greatly appre- ciated by all. If truth be told though, Torta della Nonna, most probably has a history that is family based. No great historical names are asso- ciated with it, nor was it born from war or great political leaders. The name itself tells us that a grand- mother was probably the one re- sponsible, and once upon a time, the Nonna of the household held an important leadership role in the home. One way to try and work out exactly when this cake was created is to look at the main in- gredients, and it's interesting to see that the pastry and the "crema pasticcera" (custard) are all mile- stones from the Renaissance. We also know that, although simple custards were made by ancient Romans, crema pasticcera really became popular in the 18th cen- tury. Pastry such as shortcrust pa- stry was regularly used in Europe at the end of the 16th century. It is assumed that these separate in- gredients were put together in the 19th century. Some say that the first Torta della Nonna was filled with ricotta and not crema pasticcera, so it was a cheese based cake. This would make it a descendant of sweets made by the Romans and then the Arabs at a later stage, such as cakes traditional to Sicily. Here we digress though, ricotta cakes are very different from the des- serts made with custard and the Torta della Nonna has always be- longed to Tuscany. One of the variations of this dessert is the "Torta del Nonno," with the addition of cocoa and the use of almonds instead of pine A simple, yet delicious treat of sweet pastry, cream and nuts: this is torta della nonna. Photo:Toni Brancatisano TONI BRANCATISANO nuts. Other variants include the addition of black cherries inside the cream, although I would per- sonally ever call that Torta della Nonna. TORTA DELLA NONNA Ingredients Pastry ■ 2 eggs ■ 450g flour ■ 160g sugar ■ 200g butter ■ zest of 1 lemon ■ pinch of salt Ingredients Filling ■ 500ml milk ■ 125g sugar ■ 4 egg yolks ■ 40g flour '00' ■ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ■ 50g pine nuts and icing sugar to decorate INSTRUCTIONS 1. To make the pastry dough, sift together the flour, sugar, and pinch of salt into a mound on a work surface, and make a well in the centre. 2. Add the butter, eggs and le- mon zest and gradually incorpo- rate the dry ingredients using your fingers. 3. Mix well and knead lightly with extra flour if necessary. 4. Roll out the pastry in between two pieces of baking pa- per. 5. Line a 24cm round cake pan or deep tart tin and refrigerate. Roll out the remaining pastry between two pieces of baking pa- per and also refrigerate. 6. Pour the milk into a sauce- pan and add the lemon zest. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and set aside. 7. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy, and then gently mix in the sifted flour and the vanilla extract. 8. Add half of the milk and mix well until combined. Add the re- maining milk, whisk and then re- turn to the saucepan. 9. Cook over a low heat, whi- sking constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon. 10. Remove from the heat and let cool, covered with a piece of plastic kitchen food wrap. Push the plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming on the top of the cu- stard as it cools. 11. Preheat the oven to 160°C. 12.Remove prepared tart tin from refrigerator and poke some holes in the pastry base using a fork. Spoon the custard filling into the pastry. 13. Remove extra rolled out pa- stry from refrigerator and place on top of custard filling, seal the ed- ges well and trim off excess pa- stry. 14. Use the fork again and poke holes into the pastry top. Scatter with pine nuts and bake for an hour or until the pastry top is cooked and slightly golden. 15. Dust surface with icing su- gar and serve Torta della Nonna either warm, lukewarm or cold. Note: *It is delicious eaten accompa- nied with a scoop of vanilla gelato * You can also make the pastry dough by putting all ingredients into a food processor and proces- sing everything until a ball forms. some say pine nuts should be sprinkled directly on top of the cream, but the original recipe calls for a "pie-like" pastry top first. Photo:Toni Brancatisano An Italian classic: la torta della nonna

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