October harbors the first days of cold weather. We long to spend more time at home, and indulge in a sweet treat, perhaps accompanied by a nice cup of herbal tea.
Let’s stick with the classics, and make a traditional “Torta della nonna con crema al limone” (Grandma’s lemon cream cake).
Here’s how to prepare it:
Ingredients
for the short crust pastry
- 250 grams flour type 00
- 2 egg yolks
- 120 grams butter
- 120 grams sugar
for the topping
- Confectioners’ sugar
for the lemon cream
- 400 ml milk
- 3 egg yolks
- the juice of 1 lemon
- 100 grams sugar
- 50 grams corn flour or flour type 00
Preparation
Make the short crust pastry
Knead the flour, yolks, butter and sugar together to form a soft, smooth ball. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Make the cream
Pour the milk in a saucepan and warm it up on low heat. Meanwhile, beat the yolks with the sugar, corn flour, and LIMMI lemon juice.
Pour the yolks mixture into the warm milk, and continue stirring the cream on low heat until it thickens. Thereafter, transfer the cream to a bowl and let it cool down.
Butter and flour a cake pan (of 22 cm diameter). Remove the previously prepared pastry crust from the refrigerator. Take a big piece of short crust pastry dough, roll it out (with a rolling pin), and lay it over the bottom and sides of the cake pan without overworking it with your hands.
Using a fork, punch holes in the short crust, and pour the previously cooled lemon cream in it.
Roll out the remaining piece of dough using a rolling pin, place it over the cream, and thoroughly seal the edges.
Bake it for approximately 20-30 minutes in the oven, pre-heated to 180° C.
Once the cake is cooked and golden-brown, let it cool, and then remove it from the cake pan.
Cover the top with a generous amount of confectioners’ sugar.
This cake is absolutely delicious when paired with black Teas flavored with LIMMI lemon juice, or with a few drops of LIMMI Sweet, for an even fruitier taste.
Black tea, which in China is called “red tea”, is dried in the sun, oxidized and roasted. Its oxidation level exceeds that of any other types of Chinese tea. It has a rather strong taste and generally contains more caffeine than green, oolong or white tea.
