The Crumble Cake made with leftover Pandoro (or Colomba) filled with ricotta and chocolate chips is a simple and quick dessert to prepare — perfect both for presenting these must-have holiday cakes in an original way and for recycling leftovers in a “nothing gets wasted” spirit!

A clever recipe to avoid wasting anything even after the holidays, when the pantry is full of leftover chocolate and festive cakes.

A super indulgent dessert that’s ready in just over 20 minutes, with an inviting look and irresistible taste.

Preparing the Crumble Cake with leftover Pandoro or Colomba is very easy: simply crumble the Pandoro (or leftover Colomba), soften it with a little milk, use the resulting mixture to create the cake base in a springform pan, mix the ricotta with a bit of heavy cream and chocolate chips, spread a layer of the ricotta cream on the base and cover everything with the remaining crumbled Pandoro (or Colomba).

For an even more delectable result I sprinkled the crumble cake with extra chocolate chips and almonds so it stays slightly golden and crunchy on top; to prevent it from burning during baking I covered it with a sheet of aluminum foil for the last few minutes.

You’ll get a dessert that’s crisp on the outside but soft and creamy inside — so good that next year you’ll deliberately buy extra Pandori and Colombe just to make it.

Perfect for breakfast, an indulgent snack or as a finale to a meal, because it’s so pretty and tasty that nobody will notice it’s a recycling recipe.

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Cooking time: 15 Minutes
Cooking methods: Oven (convection)
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: New Year's Eve, Christmas

499.96 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 499.96 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 54.71 (g) of which sugars 34.13 (g)
Proteins 12.83 (g)
Fat 25.98 (g) of which saturated 11.95 (g)of which unsaturated 2.19 (g)
Fibers 1.25 (g)
Sodium 225.79 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

1 lb Pandoro (or Colomba)
as needed milk
butter (for the pan)
1 1/4 cup ricotta
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 sachet vanillin (vanilla powder)
3.5 oz dark chocolate chips
3.5 tbsp heavy cream
as needed almonds
1 oz chocolate chips

Tools

Bowl
Springform pan
Electric mixer

Steps

Crumble the Pandoro or Colomba by hand or with a food processor, put it in a bowl and add a few tablespoons of milk. You don’t need much — just enough to soften the mixture. I used 3 heaping tablespoons. In any case, the exact amount depends on the consistency of the cake you’re using.
Put the ricotta, vanillin, heavy cream and powdered sugar in a bowl and lightly whip with an electric mixer. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula to avoid deflating the mixture.
If you want to flavor the ricotta cream differently, you can replace the vanillin — if the cake is not intended for children — with the flavor of your favorite liqueur such as amaretto or limoncello.
Take a springform pan and lightly butter it, create a first layer with the Pandoro (or Colomba) mixture about 1/8–3/16 inch thick and press well with your fingers. Pour the ricotta cream and spread it evenly over the base, leveling with a spatula.
Cover the cake with the remaining Pandoro (or Colomba) mixture without compacting it — leave it crumbly. Garnish with a few chocolate chips and almonds.
Bake in a preheated convection oven at 356°F for about 15 minutes. For the last 5 minutes cover the cake with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.
To make slicing easier, I recommend refrigerating the cake for at least 30 minutes once it’s cold.
You can enjoy it as is or dust it with powdered sugar.

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NOTES

To soften the Pandoro or Colomba you can replace the milk with espresso coffee, a sweet alcoholic syrup, or strained orange juice.

Instead of ricotta you can use a spreadable fresh cheese mixed with heavy cream, or Greek yogurt.

STORAGE

The crumble cake made with leftover Pandoro or Colomba filled with ricotta and chocolate chips keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.