This traditional Italian cake made with amaretti cookies and dark chocolate is a delicious dessert full of simple ingredients you’ll find in the pantry of any home. The only exception to this is the amaretti cookies, but you should be able to find them at the local grocery store or Italian market.
1 zester or small grater for making grated orange zest
2 medium bowls for mixing ingredients
1 Wooden spoon for stirring
1 blender to crush cookies, not required (you can also crush by hand)
1 sieve or colander to drain the raisins
1 10-inch cake pan to bake the torta paesana cake
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a small saucepan, warm the milk slowly over a low flame until heated through but without bringing it to a boil.
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 (pre-squeezed) and set aside until later.
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. You can discard the orange juice.
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.