The grandma’s cake is a delicious tart made of a thin shell of shortcrust pastry filled with custard and topped with pine nuts and powdered sugar.
The origin of this recipe is definitely Tuscan and is contested between the provinces of Arezzo and Florence; thanks to its simplicity, it has become a classic of Italian pastry, somewhat losing its origins.
The traditional version has never been codified, so there is no recipe to follow strictly. The known variations are two: the first is made like a classic tart but without any covering, while the second version, the most famous, consists of two layers of shortcrust pastry enclosing the cream.
To prepare the grandma’s cake, I used the fine shortcrust by Luca Montersino to which I added very little baking powder and the oven-baked custard by Massari which allowed me to obtain a perfect cut.
Over time, many variations have emerged, the most famous is grandpa’s cake, a very delicious chocolate version where the pine nuts have been replaced with almond slivers.
Before proceeding with the recipe, here are other recipes to try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 313.74 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 38.14 (g) of which sugars 19.59 (g)
- Proteins 5.67 (g)
- Fat 16.39 (g) of which saturated 8.08 (g)of which unsaturated 7.62 (g)
- Fibers 0.67 (g)
- Sodium 43.65 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp egg yolks
- 1 pinch salt
- Half pod vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon zest (grated)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup eggs (whole, 2 medium eggs)
- 1/4 cup rice starch
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- Half pod vanilla
- lemon zest (zest of one untreated lemon)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup vanilla powdered sugar
Tools
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Hand Whisk
- 1 Baking Dish rectangular
- Cling Film
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Pastry Board
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Tart Pan 8.5 inches in diameter, 1.5 inches high
Procedure
Open the vanilla pod, extract the seeds and place them in the saucepan with the milk, also add the pod and the zest of half a lemon in pieces.
Bring the milk to a boil, turn off and let it rest while you weigh and prepare the other ingredients.
In a bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar, incorporate the cornstarch and rice starch to create a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
Using a sieve, strain the milk, add it gradually to the egg mixture, stirring constantly with the hand whisk to avoid lumps.
Transfer the mixture to the saucepan, place it on the heat and thicken the cream for a few minutes, stirring vigorously with the whisk (this is because the larger quantity of starches will tend to create lumps during cooking).
Pour the cream into the baking dish, cover it with cling film in contact and place it in the fridge to cool.
The oven-baked custard by Iginio Massari is ready. Before using it, mix it with a whisk to make it glossy and creamy.
Place the flour in the bowl of the stand mixer, add the butter and work the two ingredients until you get a sort of sand (many separate crumbs).
Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest, mix everything then add the egg yolks and start kneading until you get a compact dough.
Work it quickly so as not to heat the butter too much, form a dough ball, wrap it in cling film, and place it in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured pastry board to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
Cut out two discs, one larger for the base and one smaller for the cover.
Butter the pan, place the larger pastry disc, and press it well to adhere to both the base and the edge.
Prick the bottom with the tines of a fork.
Fill the base with custard, level the surface, and cover it with the smaller shortcrust pastry disc. Press the two discs well along the edge and remove any excess if necessary.
Prick the surface of the tart with a fork (this way it won’t puff up during baking), brush with a little egg white (or water), and top with the pine nuts.
Bake the cake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 40 minutes, placing it on the lowest rack. Move it to the middle rack and bake for another 10 minutes, it should be golden.
Adjust the baking time based on your oven’s power.
The grandma’s cake is ready; let it cool at room temperature, then cover it and place it in the fridge for 2 hours. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Tips
Storage
The grandma’s cake can be stored in the refrigerator for 3/4 days. Leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
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