I get invited on a lot of day-long press trips around Italy. They usually involve visiting a hotel, food producer or wine maker. While they are all tempting, and I’d like to accept many of them, I usually end up saying no to most. First of all, a day out on a press trip means a day that I’m not writing or giving tours, so there’s that. Also, since the people doing the inviting are usually paying my way, I only accept those trips where there is at least some possibility that I will end up writing something about the trip. In other words both of us (and you in the end) get something out of the time and effort committed.
Of course, it’s very hard to know exactly what I’ll end up writing about. For instance when I went down to Positano last summer, while I knew I would get some sort of story out of my 2 day stay, I had no idea that I would end up making a video about fettucine al limone.
One type of trip I almost always say no to are winery visits. If you’re a reader of my blog, then you know I’m not a wine writer. While I love wine (duh!) I leave the writing about it to my friends who are some of the most respected wine writers around.
But a few weekends ago I changed my policy and said yes. Why? The main reason was that Domenico was invited too (that doesn’t happen often) and he really wanted to go. Also? A few of my fellow blogger friends – Gillian, Georgette, and Eleonora – were coming too so it sounded like too much fun to pass up.
The only real problem was that since I’m not a wine writer, I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to write about.
The winery we visited was Podernuovo a Palazzone. The estate was purchased in 2004 by Paolo and Giovanni Bulgari (yes, those Bulgaris) and brought back to life to create, today, a handful of  beautiful, elegant wines.
Today Giovanni runs the estate and was our host. While I’ve seen my fair share of wineries all over Europe over the years, I can’t remember seeing one this pristine or beautifully designed. The building which houses the cellar and tasting rooms is a modern structure built into the hill, blending into the landscape. We had a tour of the building, seeing where the wine is made and aged, before heading out to the vineyard.
It was kind of like walking through a Tuscan postcard. Waterfalls, cypress trees, misty fields full of end-of-winter vines just getting ready to burst into bloom. And donkeys. There were some very cute donkeys, which makes any trip worthwhile, right?
The main event of the day was, of course, lunch. And once again, I found myself at one of those incredibly beautifully situated long tables. The multi course lunch was prepared by Marisa, a local cook, and was 100% Tuscan. There was finely sliced pancetta (from the estates’s own pigs), pici all’Aglione (made from the estate’s own flour and canned tomatoes), one of the best pork roasts I’ve ever had, and much more. Almost every single bite was from food raised or grown on the estate and all paired perfectly with their three wines.
One of my aims in any blog post is giving you something to take away. You can certainly enjoy the wines,when you see them at your local merchant or restaurant. But I thought you’d also appreciate a recipe, right?
The meal ended with one of the best Torta della Nonnas I’ve ever had. This is a rustic cream-filled, pine nut-topped cake that you find all over central Italy. I do like it, but it’s never been one of my favorites, mostly I think because the versions I’ve had are overly sweet and don’t really taste nutty enough. Marisa’s was extraordinary because she put her own spin on it: a layer of tart homemade apricot jam and extra toasted pine nuts. Not only did the tart jam temper the creamy sweetness of the filling, it also was just the right amount of fruttiness to make the toasted pine nuts sing.
So, here you are: a recipe for Torta della Nonna. And also? Tuscan landscape and donkey photos. Because you can never have too much of those.
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torta della nonna
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 300 gr / 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 150 gr 3/4 cup sugar
- 150 gr / 2/3 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- grated zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Crema pasticciera:
- 1/2 liter / 2 cups of milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon of grated lemon peel
- 1 jar home made apricot jam
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a pan and bring to a simmer. Stir in the vanilla. Let the milk cool a bit.
- In a small bowl mix the eggs with the egg yolk and the sugar. Using a hand held mixture, mix until it is a bit frothy. Slowly add about a third of the warm milk, very slowly, mixing to avoid curdling. Add the rest of the milk, and finally the lemon peel and the flour, mixing well to avoid lumps.
- Place over medium heat, stirring the entire time with a wooden spoon, until it starts to thicken. It should be thick in about 3 or 4 minutes.
- Let cool to room temperature.
- To make the crust:
- Place the flour in a bowl, with the baking powder and mix well, and make a well in the center.
- Add the eggs, sugar, butter, zest and vanilla and mix those with your fingers. Slowly pull in the flour and mix it with your hands until uniform in consistency. Place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to firm up.
- Preheat oven to 180 C / 300 F.
- Line a 10 inch pan with parchment.
- Roll out half the dough into a circle and place in the bottom of the pan, letting the edges come up and over the sides of the pan. Spread a layer of jam on top, and then carefully spread the cooled crema pasticciera.
- Roll out the rest of the dough and place on top and pinch with the bottom layer.
- Sprinkle with the pine nuts and put in the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
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Fantastic write-up Elizabeth, Nico and I were so happy to spend the day with you ladies in such a fabulous location. I still can’t believe I used to do the social media for the architect who designed the winery, I opened a bottle for a friend’s dinner to great fanfare and I wish we could organize something like this every few months :). Ps. The recipe is great, I am bookmarking it for my next Sunday Funday
Great spending time with you and Nico too!
Oh my gosh the Torta sounds wonderful but that pasta dish is making me drool!
What type of pasta is that and the sauce looks so delicious. I know it is a basic but there is nothing better then a a good bowl of pasta with tomato sauce! Recipe?
I love reading your stories btw!
If you every get to California I would love for you to visit our winery and I promise you wouldn’t have to write about it. Just enjoy it:)
Thank you! For the pasta recipe you can go to my friend Eleonora’s blog, which is linked above. She wrote up an excellent recipe for it.
This looks heavenly! Do you weigh your dry ingredients using a scale or do you use measuring cups?
It depends, sometimes both. That’s why I give both equivalents.
Elizabeth: Just to let you know, I was a big hit last night because of you. I tried your Pasta Al Forno from Eat Italy and it came out wonderful. I paired this dish with Penelope Casas”s Pork Vilaroy and it just could not have been better. Thanks
Thanks so much for letting me know! So glad it worked out. Sounds like a perfect pairing by the way.
This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to make it. I do have a question, in the recipe it calls for 1 jar of apricot jam, can you tell me what size of jar, 10oz, 12oz, 18oz? I don’t want to use too much of the ingredient and then spoil the dessert.
Thank you!
Estella
Sorry! A cup more or less. Just buy a regular size jar, and then spread it on. It should be about a 1/4 inch of jam. But don’t worry too much, a couple oz. more or less won’t make a big difference. Italians always wing it.
Oh, YUM! I am so not a baker but Torta della Nonna is one of my favorites from grad school days in Florence, and I never see it here in LA, so i will absolutely give it a try! Grazie!
I was hoping for a photo of Eleonora…. I do think I saw a little pic of E.
Sorry! I usually don’t include photos of people. But she was there, sitting right across from me with her super cute son. 🙂
How could you go wrong Elizabeth?? I mean beautiful Toscana, vino and the lunch! I almost crawled into the screen when I saw the photo of the Pici…how I love Pici….then the crowning glory, the Torta! I mean, not only am I an admitted pasta junkie but then custard filling in the Torta! It’s a tough life you have…an amazing way to while away a day!
I wanted to let you know that I made your recipe for the Torta della Nonna for a baking contest at the company I work for. I really didn’t have much time to think about what to make and I saw this in our blog while preparing for my trip to Italy next week and thought “what the heck!” Well, I won the baking contest! Thank you Elizabeth! This was such a great recipe and it tuned out so beautiful! The flavors were amazing!
OMG, really?! That is so great! Did you take any photos? Post it to me on Facebook, I’d love to see it.
Hi Elizabeth!
Question regarding the Torta della Nona:
300 degrees fro 45 minutes did not brown it properly. Should it be 350?
Thanks so much. I LOVE your blog!!
I guess every oven is different, but yes, try to raise it a bit. But it shouldn’t be too browned.
Ok. Thanks so much!