There are so many recipes out there for torta della nonna. Some of them include ricotta, some have a pastry lid, some are baked with a layer of flaked almonds and are more like a custard tart. I cannot profess to know which is the most traditional or authentic torta della nonna, or whether this recipe is even close to the Italian pastry.
I can tell you that this tastes fantastic, doesn’t need to be blind-baked and you could flavour the custard with anything you fancied, from lemon, orange, almond or even liqueurs, it’s extremely versatile.
I’ve adapted the recipe from one I found in Delicious Magazine and I used my favourite short crust pastry recipe from Julie Jones’ book 
Italy is a country I’m longing to visit after studying Italian at school and the sheer amount of delicious recipes and ingredients that come from there. Cannoli are on my list of recipes to try and I really need to try and make some kind of tiramisu again as it’s such a delicious dessert and all of the versions I have on here are a bit sad.
Torta Della Nonna
Ingredients
- ***Shortcrust Pastry***
- 460 g Plain Flour
- 250 g Unsalted Butter
- 100 g Icing Sugar
- ½ Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 2 Egg Yolks + 1 Egg Yolk for glazing
- 4 Tbsp Milk
- ***Custard Filling***
- 4 Medium Egg Yolks
- 50 g Plain Flour
- 500 ml Milk
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 50 g White Chocolate Chopped
- 50 g Pine nuts
Instructions
- Make the pastry by placing the flour and butter in a food mixer with the paddle attachment and gently mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the icing sugar and mix through.
- Add the egg yolks, vanilla bean paste and the milk and mix until it begins to form a dough.
- Take the dough out of the food mixer and split it in half. Shape each portion into a block about 1cm thick, this will make it easier to roll out. Cover it in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Next make the custard filling while the pastry is resting, place the egg yolks, flour, milk, caster sugar and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan and whisk to combine.
- Stir over a gentle heat with a wooden spoon or spatula for 10 minutes until thickened and it coats the back of the spoon.
- Stir the white chocolate into the custard until it has melted and is smooth, put the custard in bowl and set it to one side to cool.
- Take a 23cm loose bottomed tart tin and roll out the pastry between two sheets of greaseproof paper so that you don't add any extra flour. When the pastry is rolled out big enough to cover the tin lay the pastry over the tin, pressing it into the sides and base of the tin.
- Trim the pastry a little, but leave a bit of excess pastry, pour the cooled custard into the pastry case and spread it out evenly. Place in the fridge to chill as you roll out the pastry top.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C FAN/ gas 4 and roll out the other piece of pastry so that it is big enough to cover the top of the pie, take the pie from the fridge and with a pastry brush, brush egg yolk mixed with a litter water around the exposed edge of the pastry, then lay the rolled out bit of pastry on top and press them together.
- Trim the excess from the pie and then using a flower plunger cutter, cut out different sized flowers and put these all over the top of the pie and brush with egg wash, then sprinkle the pine nuts over the pie, or decorate however you like with the excess pastry.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden, leave in the tin to cool so that the pastry and custard continue to cook more. Then remove from the tin and place on a rack to cool.
- Can be served warm or cold.
Do you have any Italian desserts or recipe you absolutely love or recommend that I should give a try? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading.
Angela
Susan Burg
Yes, this is the traditional recipe. I live in Florence Italy and make this regularly. Brava!
patisseriemakesperfect
Oh excellent – that is so good to know. Thank you!
Marie-Anne
Thank you for sharing your Torte Nonna recipe however, I am following from South Africa and don’t know what size egg is a medium. We have large weighing 51gr and Extra large – 59 and then Jumbo which I never use. Can you put in the weight of your eggs in the recipe please?
patisseriemakesperfect
Hi Marie-Anne, I’m so sorry about that – usually my recipes do contain weights for the eggs. A medium egg in the UK weighs around 40-45g so I would use a large egg if you can’t get anything smaller than that. I hope that helps and thank you for taking the time to email me.
kellie anderson
Oh wow, this looks so impressive! The decoration is exquisite, and the filling looks beyond delicious. Pinned 🙂
patisseriemakesperfect
Thanks Kellie! It’s a delicious recipe, I really loved every bit of this.
Sara | Belly Rumbles (@bellyrumbles)
How beautifully decorated is your torta della nonna. It looks as pretty as a picture, almost too good to eat. I did say almost, as it looks and sounds scrumptious.
patisseriemakesperfect
yes I’m afraid I just had to cut into it and make sure it was cooked 🙂
Angela Roberts
That looks beautiful and I just know it tastes amazing. True comfort pie.
patisseriemakesperfect
Thanks Angela – oh and nice name 😉
Lucy @ Bakingqueen74
Just love the flower decoration on the crust, what a lovely effect. Using a plunger cutter is brilliant too!
patisseriemakesperfect
Thanks Lucy – I tried to make a plait to go around the edge, but my pastry was getting too warm and it was getting late and I was running out of patience 🙂
SewWhite Sisley
This is the prettiest pie ever! I love it so much and I can’t wait to make it.
patisseriemakesperfect
It tastes really cakey inside which is so good.
supergoldenbakes
I have never tasted this but it looks fantastic and just the type of tart I would love (no blind baking a huge plus!)
patisseriemakesperfect
I was dubious when doing my research, but it makes a really cakey dessert and the pastry bottom is really tasty.
helenfern
This is one beautiful torta!! I’d love it if you shared it at our What’s for Dinner party!
http://www.lazygastronome.com/whats-for-dinner-sunday-link-up-171/
patisseriemakesperfect
Thank you very much