Grandma’s cake is a traditional Tuscan dessert, really simple but with a unique taste.
A cake filled with custard and topped with pine nuts or peeled almonds… well, I didn’t have any, so I used almonds with the skin!
Whether its origins are between Arezzo and Florence and the cake was invented by the chef Guido Samorini.
At home, it was such a hit that I soon also made Grandpa’s cake, which has the variant of chocolate custard filling.
Well, you just have to try it yourself… you can also prepare the cream the day before so the next day you’ll go faster.
About 455 Calories per person
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for making Grandma’s Cake
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (liquid)
- 1/2 lemon peel (grated)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Preparation of Grandma’s Cake
Custard Preparation
In a saucepan, put the egg yolks, sugar, half the milk, vanilla, and lemon peel. Mix well, possibly with an electric mixer, then put on medium-low heat, add the remaining milk, and start cooking.
Stir often until the custard is firm, occasionally using the electric mixer to mix everything well.
Once cooked, pour the custard into a heat-resistant container, cover with plastic wrap so it directly touches the custard, and let it cool.
Shortcrust Pastry Preparation
In a bowl, put the eggs and sugar, mix well, then add the softened butter, part of the flour, mixing again.
Then add the baking powder and the remaining flour, mix everything in the bowl until possible, then continue on a work surface to form a dough ball.
Cover the dough ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.
Final Preparation
Take the shortcrust pastry and divide it in half, create a disk, and place it in a 10-inch diameter pan previously buttered and floured.
Make sure the pastry base climbs up the edges of the pan, pour the custard inside.
Create a second pastry disk, cover the cake and seal the edges well.
Garnish with pine nuts or peeled almonds, I only had almonds with the skin.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 1 hour.
Once cooked, let it cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar, serve, and enjoy!
It will take a while to cool down, maybe put it in the fridge, and even if there’s some left over, I recommend storing it in the fridge.
