Grandma's cake

Grandma's cake is a great classic of Italian cuisine.

A shortcrust pastry filled with delicious cream, all covered with a generous layer of pine nuts and powdered sugar.

Although of Tuscan origin, it's a dessert easily found on the menus of many restaurants across Italy from north to south. There are several versions, with more or less crumbly shortcrust pastry, lemon- or vanilla-flavored cream, and varying degrees of firmness.

Of course, I also have my own version, which I must say is always a great success.

• 450 g of spelt flour
• 2 eggs
• 150 g of sugar
• 200 g of butter
• 1 pinch of salt

• 2 eggs
• 100 g of sugar
• 40 g of flour
• Lemon zest

Start by making the pastry. In a bowl, combine the cold, diced butter and the flour and work the ingredients together with your fingertips. You should obtain a sandy mixture (photo 1). Then add the sugar and salt and continue working with your fingertips. The goal is to avoid overheating the dough. At this point, you can add the egg.

Wrap the resulting dough in a sheet of parchment paper and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. The butter must solidify before rolling out the dough easily (photo 2).

While your pastry dough rests, prepare the cream. In a food processor, grind the sugar and lemon zest. In a bowl, beat the eggs with your lemon-flavored sugar. Stir in the flour. Heat the milk in a small saucepan. Once it's hot, pour it over your mixture and whisk well. Return everything to the heat and cook for a few minutes until the cream thickens. Stir constantly with a whisk to avoid lumps. The result is a pudding-like cream (photo 3).

Once ready, pour it into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, making sure it adheres well to the cream. Let it cool.

Once the pastry has rested, lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough a little with your hands. Then, roll it out with a rolling pin and shape it into a circle the size of your tart pan. Now, after lining your tart pan with the pastry, prick the surface with a fork and spread an even layer of cream (photos 4-5). Using a rolling pin, roll out another pastry disc and cover your tart. Make sure the edges are well sealed. Gently prick the surface of the tart. Finally, sprinkle with pine nuts (photo 6).