The Tuscan pine nut cake is a soft, buttery cake with a thick, melt-in-your-mouth pastry cream heart dotted with raisins. The top is sprinkled with toasted pine nuts
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT45M
Total time: PT300M
4.2 stars (25 reviews)
birthday cake, pine nuts, pinolata
- Make it as the first thing, as you'll need it to be cold when you will add it to the cake. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it starts to simmer, then set aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and the flour, then pour in the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring continuously with a whisk.
- Transfer the pastry cream to the saucepan and move it on a low flame. Stir it constantly until it begins to thicken, about 3 minutes. Remove it from the heat, add the raisins and let it cool down.
- Preheat oven to 175°C/350 degrees F.
- Wisk butter and sugar for a few minutes, until creamy and light.
- Add the eggs gradually, one after the other, waiting for the first to be completely incorporated before adding the next one.
- Stir in the flour sifted with the baking powder.
- Grease and dust with flour a 22cm/9in round cake pan.
- Separate the batter equally into two pastry bags. Pipe the batter of the first pastry bag onto the cake pan, then spread it evenly with a spatula.
- Spoon the cold pastry cream over the first layer of cake, leaving 2 cm all around the edges. Smooth the surface of the pastry cream.
- Pipe the batter of the second pastry bag on top of the pastry cream in concentric circles, trying not to mix it with the custard, then spread it evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle the surface with pine nuts.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool down completely, then gently unmould it onto a plate. Keep in the fridge for a few hours before slicing in.