Desserts and traditions Mountain cuisine Sweets and desserts Italy Piedmont

Verbano Bread and Milk Cake

Name: Verbano Bread and Milk Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 8 persone
Cuisine: Italy, Piedmont
Ingredients: 300 g Stale bread; 700 ml Whole milk; 35 g Unsweetened cocoa powder; 100 g Raisins; 100 g Sugar; 2 pcs Eggs; 20 g Butter; 1 sprig Rosemary

A mountain cake made with stale bread and milk, enriched with cocoa and raisins and scented on the surface with rosemary or bay leaves.

Preparation 20 min

Cooking 50 min

Resting 1 h

Total time 2 h 10 min

Servings 8 persone

Difficulty Facile

Seasonality

Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Celebrations and special occasions Sunday lunch Traditional Vegetarian

Ingredients

For 8 persone

For the cake

Stale bread broken into pieces

300 g

Whole milk lukewarm

700 ml

Unsweetened cocoa powder

35 g

Raisins soaked and dried

100 g

Sugar

100 g

Eggs

2 pcs

For the baking tin

Butter

20 g

For flavouring

Rosemary or bay leaves

1 sprig

Before you start

You will need

Large bowl

Baking tin or earthenware dish

Oven

Contains or may contain: Glutine, Latte, Uova.

Method

Soak the bread

Break the stale bread into pieces, cover it with the lukewarm milk and leave it to soften completely.

Prepare the mixture

Mash the soaked bread and add the cocoa, sugar, eggs and raisins. Mix until you have an even mixture.

Prepare the baking tin

Butter a baking tin, traditionally an earthenware one, and pour in the mixture, levelling it out.

Add fragrance

Scatter a few rosemary or bay leaves over the surface.

Bake

Bake until the cake is firm and the surface is thoroughly dry.

Leave to cool slightly before slicing.

Good to know

Tips

Allow the bread enough time to absorb the milk completely. The texture should remain moist yet firm after baking.

Variations

Family recipes may use different quantities of cocoa, sugar and raisins. Both rosemary and bay leaves are documented as aromatic garnishes.

Storage

Store covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm.

History and territory

Behind this recipe

The Distretto Turistico dei Laghi describes bread and milk cake as a typical mountain cake made with milk and stale bread, cocoa and raisins, garnished with rosemary or bay leaves and traditionally baked in an earthenware dish.