Grandma Benedetta’s stale bread and chocolate cake is a traditional farmhouse recipe, similar to the Venetian pinza. There is also a Piedmont version. Some add apples, raisins, pine nuts, amaretti, or yogurt to this anti-waste dessert. It is a compact and creamy cake, not fluffy but moist.
SIMPLE RECIPE and guaranteed success, no leavening needed.
IDEAS for using old bread
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: Serves for a 9-inch cake pan
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven, Oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 258.45 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 34.72 (g) of which sugars 18.40 (g)
- Proteins 5.80 (g)
- Fat 12.19 (g) of which saturated 3.42 (g)of which unsaturated 6.31 (g)
- Fibers 1.92 (g)
- Sodium 85.17 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 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
Stale Bread Cake
- 9 oz stale bread (2-3 days old with thin crust)
- 2 1/8 cups milk (cow or plant-based, for a lighter version you can also use water)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 2/3 cup sugar (white or whole cane; for a sweeter version, use 3/4 cup)
- 1/3 cup peanut oil (or rice – or 6 tbsps melted butter)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate; for a more chocolaty taste increase to 3/4 cup)
IN SUBSTITUTION of chocolate chips, you can use raisins.
You can add:
– crumbled amaretti
– dry cocoa cookies
– chopped nuts
– diced apples
– yogurt instead of milk
Tools
- Electric Whisk
- Cake Pan 9-inch springform
Stale Bread Cake
BAKING in a static oven at 356°F for about 55 minutes.
Cut the old bread into cubes about half an inch.
Place the cut bread in a bowl, then heat the milk and pour it over.
Mix the bread and milk to compact it. Let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.
In another bowl, whip the eggs with the sugar until you get a foamy mixture.
Lower the speed of the whisk and add the oil (or melted butter) in a thin stream.
Remove the bread and milk from the fridge and mix to chop it up.
Blend the soaked bread until you get a mixture without pieces.
Pour the whipped eggs over it and mix everything at low speed.
Then add the sifted cocoa.
Mix the batter with a spatula.
Add chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate.
Make the mixture homogeneous.
Pour the stale bread cake mixture into a previously buttered and breadcrumbed pan, or lined with parchment paper.
Level the batter of the stale bread and chocolate cake.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for about 55 minutes, adjust according to your oven.
STORE the old bread cake
The stale bread cake keeps in an airtight container: in the fridge for up to 4 days, in the freezer wrapped in food film for up to 1 month. Reheat before consuming.
