About the Recipe
Torta Paesana (also known as Torta del Paràd or Torta del Nonno) is a traditional dessert from the Lombardy region of Italy, specifically around Lake Como. It originated as a way to use stale bread. It is made by soaking stale bread in milk, then mixing it with cocoa powder, crushed amaretti cookies, nuts (typically almonds or pine nuts), raisins, candied fruit, sugar, eggs, and butter. The mixture is baked in a pan. It is served as a dense, moist cake for dessert or as a snack, often associated with holidays and family gatherings.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups (300 grams) stale bread
4 cups (1 liter) whole milk
2 medium eggs
1 cup (120 grams) hard amaretti cookies
1/2 cup (100 grams) dark chocolate
1/2 cup (120 grams) granulated sugar
5 tbsp (70 grams) raisins
5 tbsp (50 grams) pine nuts
Zest and juice of one orange
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350° F (180°C) In a small saucepan, warm the milk slowly over a low flame until heated through but without bringing it to a boil.
Step 2
Cut the stale bread into little cubes and place in a bowl. Add the pre-grated orange zest into the bowl with the bread. Add the warm milk to the bread and combine everything together with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to soak for 30 minutes, mixing occasionally. In another bowl, mix the raisins and orange juice and set aside until later.
Step 3
Grind the amaretti cookies into a powder, either with a blender or by placing them in a bag and crushing them by hand. Add the ground amaretti to the bread mixture. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie, double-boiler or microwave until liquid and stir into the bread mixture. Beat the eggs and add them to the bread mixture. Now add the sugar and pine nuts to the bread mixture and stir. Using a sieve or colander, drain the orange juice from the raisins and add the raisins to the mixture.
Step 4
Grease and flour a 10-inch cake pan and then pour the mixture into it evenly. Place it in the oven on the middle rack for roughly 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. When finished, take the torta paesana out of the oven and leave it to cool. Remove the torta paesana from the cake pan and serve on a cake plate.