Who remembers the dessert cart at a restaurant during the mid-1980s to early 1990s? Among the towering mountains of profiteroles, tempting trays of tiramisu, and mouth-watering panna cotta, often the winner was grandma’s cake! Perhaps it’s the comforting name that sounds good and genuine, or its simplicity, but grandma’s cake is still a must-have today! A timeless classic, a perfect dessert for a Sunday lunch that we want you to enjoy to the fullest, by preparing a delicious fragrant shortcrust pastry and a divine custard cream. There are at least two versions of grandma’s cake: an open one, which involves the base and the cream directly topped with pine nuts and powdered sugar, and a covered one, with a double layer of shortcrust pastry and custard cream in the center. We have opted for the latter, and we hope that your choice occasionally falls on this goodness from the GialloZafferano dessert menu!
Grandma’s cake INGREDIENTS
For the shortcrust pastry (for a 26 cm diameter mold):
– 450g all-purpose flour
– 200g cold butter
– 160g sugar
– 2 medium eggs
– zest of 1 untreated lemon
Calories of Grandma’s cake
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation: 30 min
Cooking: 50 min
Serving: 10
Cost: Average
Note + 30 minutes of shortcrust pastry resting in the refrigerator
PREPARATION of Grandma’s cake
How to prepare Grandma’s cake
1. To make grandma’s cake, first prepare the custard cream: in a saucepan, pour the egg yolks and sugar, 1 and mix with a spatula, then add the flour, 2. Mix again until you obtain a smooth and dense mixture, 3.
2. Pour the milk into another saucepan, flavor with the grated lemon zest 4 and put it on the heat. When it reaches boiling point, pour a small amount of milk onto the egg mixture to temper it, stirring with a spatula 5, then add the remaining milk and keep stirring. Transfer the saucepan to the heat and thicken the cream over moderate heat, stirring continuously 6, until it becomes thick and creamy.
3. Transfer the custard cream to a bowl 7 and place it on a larger bowl that you have previously filled with ice cubes 8: this way it will quickly cool down without losing color and consistency. If you do not use it immediately for the preparation, cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator 9.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the shortcrust pastry: in a mixer, put the flour and the cold butter cut into pieces 10, then activate the blades for a few moments to obtain the crumbly mixture. If you do not have a mixer, you can pinch the butter with your fingertips to combine it well with the flour. Transfer the crumbly mixture onto a work surface and create a well in the center, then pour in the sugar 11 and the eggs 12.
5. Grate the zest of a lemon 13 and work briefly the ingredients, just enough time to compact them 14, and give the shortcrust pastry the shape of a loaf. Slightly flatten the loaf and wrap it in