A dream consisting of crispy shortcrust pastry with a vanilla custard filling and fragrant pine

nuts – the kind of comfort food that only grandmothers know how to conjure up. Dolcissima!

For the pastry, rub the butter into the icing sugar and salt until well combined and free of lumps. Briefly mix in the egg, which does not have to be fully incorporated. Mix in the flour and ground almonds to a smooth dough. Shape the dough into a ball and press flat. Wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the pastry cream. Rinse the lemon in hot water, wipe dry and remove the zest with a vegetable peeler. Combine the milk, lemon zest, vanilla sugar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Mix the eggs, egg yolk, cornflour, and plain flour in a large bowl until smooth. When the milk comes to the boil, remove the lemon zest and add a third of the milk to the egg mixture, stirring briskly. Then pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk in the pan and bring to the boil while stirring constantly. Simmer the pastry cream for 3 minutes, transfer to a bowl, and cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming. Leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F/gas 4). On a floured work surface, roll out two-thirds of the pastry into a disc about 30 cm (12 in) in diameter and line a greased and dusted flan dish. Press down firmly around the sides and trim off the excess with a knife. Stir the pastry cream, pour it into the pastry case (shell), and smooth the surface. Roll out the remaining dough to a disc about 30 cm (12 in) in diameter and lay over the filling. Trim off the excess and press the edges to seal. Sprinkle the tart with pine nuts and bake for about 45 minutes, until the surface turns golden brown. Leave to cool, dust with icing sugar, and serve.