Italian Grandad's Pie (Torta del Nonno)
The darker counterpart to Grandma's Pie, this Tuscan pastry tart is filled with a decadent chocolate-hazelnut pastry cream.
The antithesis to the Grandma’s Pie (Torta della Nonna), this Tuscan pie hasn’t attracted as much fame as granny’s. ‘Torta del Nonno’, or Grandad’s Pie, involves a moreish chocolate-hazelnut cream encased in sweet Italian pastry. You may use a shop-bought pastry for this, though I will give you a recipe and walkthrough for a classic ‘pasta frolla’ sweet Italian pastry too. The filling couldn’t be simpler. A much easier affair than Grandmother’s Pie, I make the filling using Nutella. Many Italians actually use this method nowadays instead of making a chocolate pastry cream, but I add a few enhancements to make this chocolate-hazelnut spread taste a little more chocolatey and sophisticated. If you want to replace Nutella with a plain hazelnut spread or a pistachio spread - please do - simply replace the added cocoa with the same amount of cornflour. It’s good to have options, but you might need another name. Grandad’s Mistress’ Pie? I’ll leave that one up to you! Let’s go!
