Italian Recipes: Torta di Pane (Bread Cake)

This is a good way to use old, dry bread. The recipe is more or less one that I scribbled down from a magazine in a waiting room.

  • Cut/break 1/2 kilo of dry bread into smallish dice
  • Soak it overnight (in the fridge) in about 1 liter of milk; I also add a few tablespoons of amaretto or other liqueur
  • Mix two eggs with 50 gm melted butter, 200 gm sugar, and 50 gm cocoa powder (unsweetened is fine)
  • Add a grating of lemon peel, raisins, pine nuts or other nuts. I also tend to toss in any other dried fruit I have around, e.g. figs.
  • Mix in the soaked bread; I use an electric mixer, which also helps pulverize the bread into smaller pieces, but the batter will not be smooth in any case
  • Bake at 175 C / 350 F for about an hour   It’s okay if it comes out a bit puddingy. It tastes best when warm, and reheats well in the microwave.

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