Ticino Bread Cake, a rustic dessert typical of Italian Switzerland, was created to reuse stale bread.
Moist, rich, and spiced, it was often prepared for popular festivals. Until the first half of the last century, bread cake was made for village or religious festivals.
Also known as Milk Cake, Torta da pan, Turta da ca, or Torta da pan e lacc, its recipe has been passed down for generations in Ticino families.
The basic ingredients are: stale bread, milk, sugar, eggs. Some variations include chocolate chunks, orange zest, or dried figs, generally involving the addition of pine nuts on the surface and cocoa in the batter.
Similar bread-based cakes can also be found in Italy, especially in Piedmont. In Val d’Ossola, there is a “bread and milk” or “vigezzina” cake.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 10.58 oz bread (preferably stale)
- 2.11 cups milk
- 3.53 oz sugar
- 2 eggs
- 0.71 oz butter (melted)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- to taste ground cinnamon
- to taste nutmeg
- 1.76 oz almonds (and/or walnuts)
- 2.12 oz raisins
- 1.76 oz candied fruits (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Ticino grappa (optional)
- to taste breadcrumbs
Tools
- 1 Baking pan 9.5-10.2 inches
Steps
Place the bread in a bowl, pour the hot milk, and let it rest for 2–3 hours. Then crush well with a fork or roughly blend.
Add sugar, eggs, melted butter, spices, cocoa, nuts, soaked raisins, candied fruits, and alcohol if using, to the soaked bread. Mix well.
Butter and sprinkle breadcrumbs over a baking pan. Pour the mixture and level it. Distribute the pine nuts. Bake in a static oven at 355°F for 45–55 minutes, until well-cooked and golden on top.
Let it cool completely
Curiosity:
In 1974, a contest for the best homemade bread cake in the Canton was organized in Lugano. More than 400 people participated.
The award-winning cake recipe is published in Ticino a tavola.
