| Torta della nonna | |
| Country: | Italy |
| Region: | Arezzo, Tuscany |
| Main Ingredient: | Flour, eggs, butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, full milk, powdered sugar, pine nuts |
Torta della nonna is a dessert typical of the Tuscany region of Italy.
Torta della nonna originated in the comune (municipality) of Arezzo, in Tuscany. It is a sweet pastry cake filled with vanilla-flavored custard and covered with pine nuts and confectioner's sugar. The creamy filling is flavored with fresh lemon zest. A flat pie pan or a taller springform pan can be used to bake the cake.[1] Torta della nonna is usually served as the last course of the classic Italian Sunday meal.[2]
The origin of this dessert has been debated. According to some, its true origin can be traced to the Arezzo region, while others point to a more recent Florentine origin. Some sources say that the cake was born from a bet of Guido Samorini, a Florentine cook and restaurateur. According to the most common version, some customers, tired of the few desserts that the restaurant's kitchen offered, asked him for a surprise for the following week. Samorini presented them with the torta della nonna "that was so pleasing for its taste and novelty".[3] A passage from Pellegrino Artusi, however, casts doubt on the veracity of the story, and hints that the cake already existed many years earlier; the writer describes the cake saying: "...I found the dessert with pine nuts and custard a pleasant pie, a poor pastry..."[4]
One variation of this dessert is torta del nonno, which includes cocoa, and almonds instead of pine nuts. Other variations include the addition of cherries inside the custard filling.[5]