Torte di Pane (Bread Cake)
Torta di Pane
(Bread Cake)
MAKES ONE 9" CAKE
TICINO'S BEST-KNOWN dessert, torta di pane has long been the canton's favorite use for leftover bread.
18 cups 1" bread cubes cut from 1-2 loaves 3-day-old crusty Itlian country bread
6 cups milk
8 amaretti cookies, crushed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2½ cup raisins
2 oz. assorted pitted dried fruits, such as apricots, dates, and prunes, chopped
2 oz. assorted candies fruits, such as lemon, orange, and citron peel, chopped
1½ cups sugar
5 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
6 tbsp. grappa
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp. pine nuts
1. Put bread cubes into a large bowl and set aside. Scald milk in a large saucepan over medium heat, then pour over bread cubes. Let bread cubes soak at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until crusts soften, about 3 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 300º. Using your hands, mash bread and tear up crusts. Add crushed cookies, eggs, raisins, dried and candied fruits, sugar, cocoa powder, lemon zest, and grappa and stir until well combined.
3. Grease a 3"-deep, 9" round cake pan with 1 tbsp. of the butter. Transfer bread and fruit mixture to prepared pan, gently smoothing top with back of spoon. Scatter pine nuts on top and dot with the remaining butter.
4. Bake cake until pine nuts and top of cake are lightly browned and a wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with some crumbs sticking to it. 2 hours to 2 hour and 15 minutes, tenting cake with foil if nuts and top brown too quickly. Let cake cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert onto a plate, remove pan, and invert back onto rack to let cool completely.
5. Serve cake with vanilla lemon custard, if you like.
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