I once had a friend who said this recipe never worked for her. She had tried twice to make it and both times it had been ruined. On closer inspection about ‘what went wrong?’ I discovered the first time she dropped it on her way to the oven; the second time, she made it to the oven and then forgot it until it was burnt to a crisp. She said from that time on she would rely on me to make her cakes.
This is a rich cake and rather dense. It is full of flavour and should be eaten in small slices (lots of them). It is easy to make and provides an ideal foil for coffee or tea; even a little dessert wine goes well with it. Use ordinary ricotta, not the low-fat version and the cake will turn out much better.
Torta della Nonna
Serves 8-10
Crust
- 500 gm plain flour (unbleached if possible)
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 orange, grated zest of
- 1 tspn vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 200gm caster sugar
- Pinch salt
Filling
- 4 egg yolks
- 180gm sugar
- 60gm plain flour
- 500ml milk (full cream or low fat)
- 300gm fresh ricotta
Decoration
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 handful peeled blanched almonds or pine nuts
- Mascarpone to serve
Method
1. Cream the eggs and sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients, adding the flour last. Mix until well amalgamated. Remove from bowl and put onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Lightly whisk yolks and sugar, then sift in flour carefully to keep lumps from forming. Add milk in a thin stream, stirring gently.
3. Once mixture is smooth, gently heat, until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Once it reaches a very slow boil, count to 120 while stirring gently and it is done.
4. Transfer mixture into a bowl and let it cool thoroughly. Mix in ricotta.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C.
6. Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out the dough and use half to line a 25 centimetre fluted pie dish. Pour in the ricotta mixture and cover with remaining dough, tamping edges down firmly to seal them.
7. To Decorate: Whisk egg yolk, brush it over the top of the pastry and scatter nuts over the torta. Bake for approximately one hour, let it cool and serve with mascarpone.
NOTE: Add a small amount of liqueur to the custard and ricotta mix for a full-bodied flavour. Limoncello or Grand Marnier would provide a subtle difference.
Glynis Macri - Glynis Macri has been visiting Italy for the past 20 years absorbing all that the country has to offer in the way of food and wine ...
