← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 300 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 130 g Sugar
• ¾ tsp Baking powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 170 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 egg, plus 1 yolk
• 1 lemon, zest only (half for the pastry, half for the custard)
• 600 ml whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 150 g Sugar
• 40 g plain flour
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 40 g Pine nuts
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. For the custard, heat the milk with half the lemon zest until steaming. Whisk the yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in the hot milk. Return to the pan and stir over medium-low heat for 4–5 min until thick and bubbling. Stir in the vanilla, press cling film onto the surface and cool completely.
2. For the pastry, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and remaining lemon zest. Rub in the butter until it looks like breadcrumbs, then add the egg and yolk and bring together into a soft dough without kneading. Wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and butter a 24 cm tart tin. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry and line the tin, letting the edges stand a little above the rim.
4. Spread the cooled custard inside. Roll the remaining pastry into a lid, lay it on top and press the edges together to seal. Brush with a little milk and scatter with pine nuts, pressing them in lightly.
5. Bake for 40–45 min until deep golden. Cool in the tin for at least 1 hour so the custard sets, then dust with icing sugar and slice.

Tips

• Use the custard fully cooled, or it will melt the pastry before it bakes.
• Contains pine nuts; leave them off and use flaked sugar on top for nut allergies.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Marcellina in Cucina Cooking with Manuela