Pinolata

To prepare the pinolata, start with the cream: in a large saucepan pour the milk 1 and heat it over low heat. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, pour the egg yolks, add the granulated sugar 2 and beat them with a whisk 3.

Then add the flour by sifting it with a sieve 4 and mix again with the whisk to combine the ingredients 5. At this point, when the milk is hot, turn off the heat and pour it gradually over the egg, sugar, and flour mixture using a ladle 6. Add it little by little, continuing to stir with the whisk to avoid lumps.

Strain the cream obtained and pour it into the saucepan where you heated the milk 7; cook the cream over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk 8 until it comes to a light boil. The cream will be ready when it becomes thick enough to coat a wooden spoon. Then turn off the heat and transfer the cream obtained to a large container 9. Cover with plastic wrap in contact with the surface and set aside at room temperature to cool.

While the cream cools, proceed to prepare the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the room-temperature butter cut into pieces, pour in the granulated sugar 10 and start beating 11; with the beaters still running, add the egg yolk 12.

When the yolk is incorporated, pour in the whole egg 13 and continue to beat with the beaters; then add the flour and baking powder, previously sifted together, a little at a time, using a spoon 14. Work the mixture until you obtain a smooth and soft dough 15.

Take it out of the stand mixer, work the dough with your hands, and form it into a loaf wrapped with plastic wrap 16. Place it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it becomes very cold. After the necessary time, line an 11-inch diameter cake pan with parchment paper 17 (for this procedure, you can consult the Cooking School: how to line a cake pan with parchment paper). Then take the loaf out of the refrigerator and divide it in half: roll out the first half with a rolling pin to create the base of the cake 18 and obtain a disc of the same size as the cake pan and about 0.2 inches thick.

With the help of the rolling pin, unroll the dough disc onto the cake pan 19 and use your hands to perfectly adhere the dough to the bottom 20 and the edges. Then retrieve the cream that has cooled and pour it into the mold using a spatula to spread it evenly over the entire surface 21.

Now you can also roll out the other half of the dough 22 to create the covering disc of the same diameter and thickness as the previous one. With the help of the rolling pin, gently place it over the cream 23 and adhere the edges to the base 24 to close the cake.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with the fresh milk, then brush the surface of the cake using a brush 25. After that, sprinkle the pine nuts 26 to decorate the surface. Then bake the pinolata in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 40 minutes (if using a convection oven, bake at 320°F for 30-35 minutes). When the cake turns slightly golden on the surface, take it out of the oven 27 and let it cool at room temperature. Then remove the pinolata from the mold, and if you want, sprinkle it with powdered sugar before serving!