Anyone have a recipe for Italian Custard Cake? (It's more like a pie...)

[Smokering]

DH and I bought a slice of "Italian Custard Cake" from an Italian stallholder at a market the other day. It was amazing, and now I'm craving it with the determination of a woman in her third trimester. I'm not sure why he called it a cake - it looked like a flattish pie. Top and bottom "crust", but not pastry - sort of soft, biscuity dough. The closest analogy I've got is an apricot slice you can buy here in the supermarket, with a dried apricot/apricot jam-type filling in between two fairly soft doughy layers. Or in bakeries, you can buy a similar slice with stewed apple in the middle. It was that kind of dough, sort of.

Then the filling was a thin layer of custard, but solid enough to hold together - not liquidy, and not like a custard square/vanilla slice-type filling either. I'm not sure I would have picked it as custard without the name, actually.

Anyone know what I'm talking about? I've googled Italian custard cake and Italian custard pie without success - most of the recipes are for a cake made with bought sponge and custard poured over the top, which is definitely not what I'm after.

Help? Please? :)

[ollyoxenfree]

It sounds like it might be a version of a Torta della Nonna (Grandmother's Cake). I'm not sure, though, since most of the recipes don't fit your description. Perhaps try using Google images to find one that looks like the one you enjoyed, and seeing if there is a recipe? 

Here's one version.

Mario Batali makes one with ricotta and pine nuts. 

Or possibly an Italian Cream Cake with pasticciera cream. It's usually made as a cake with 3 or 4 layers, but maybe it was baked in a different form. Was there a slight rum flavour? It's traditional to brush the sponge cake with a rum syrup before layering with the pastry cream. 

HTH. 

[Smokering]

Torta della nonna - that's it! The version we ate didn't have ricotta, lemon or pinenuts - it was very plain (but not in a boring way... it was all about the texture). Hunting for a good recipe now - some of the recipes make the dough seem too pastry-ish. Thank you so much!

[mumkimum]

Since I was sitting here reading this - I just thought I'd add some thoughts about the pastry.

Italian tarts often use pasta frolla (sp?) which, although it sounds like a pate brisee pastry is not as flaky (it has the extra egg in it and is a bit softer and more 'pillow-ey').  The above recipe is a pasta frolla (I'm pretty sure), so although they might not sound like they'll be the same as what you ate, you might be surprised.  The great thing about pasta frolla is that it's a dough that likes being kneaded and worked by hand (as opposed to pate brisee, which doesn't).

Off to think about all kinds of custard pies now.   

[ollyoxenfree]

Yay, I'm glad that narrowed things down a little. I love custard-y treats. I might try to make that torta della nonna myself. I have a South African Milk Tart recipe that sounds delicious too. If you like custards, you might check it out. It's crustless, so it would be quick to prepare. 

[Smokering]

Yes, I love milktart! DH is South African, so it's a favourite dessert of his. I remember early on in our dating life, his mother served me a piece and I unthinkingly said "I bet this would be really good with lemon", thus cementing her opinion that I was a seditious upstart and no good would come of me. Oh well. :p