The Teaspoon: Torta de Pan or Bread Cake

by Diana

One of my favorite Venezuelan cakes is called Torta de Pan or ‘Bread Cake’. A dessert which main ingredient is nothing more than leftover bread, yes, that one that sits on the kitchen for a while and becomes all hard and dry. We want the unwanted bread! You only need a few basic ingredients to bring that poor old bread back to life and a shot of rum to spice it up. The truth is though that without sugar and milk, the result is nothing less than useless breadcrumbs forgotten in the kitchen’s cupboard.

The reason why I am sharing this recipe today is because it beautifully reflects that we are a hard working culture characterized for making the most out of what we have. Unfortunately, when the resources run out it can be very difficult to take advantage of things and to create new unexpected dishes like Torta de Pan. As milk and sugar are very hard, if not impossible, to find at the moment, most people cannot afford to waste a bite of bread. This is sadly, another traditional Venezuelan recipe impossible to make for Venezuelans at home.

Ingredients
(serves 8 portions)

500 gr hard bread, cut into pieces
400 ml of milk
150 gr raisins or dry fruit
3 tablespoons of rum
100 gr unsalted butter
400 gr of sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
125 ml condensed milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Preparation method
In a bowl combine the raisins with the rum and let it macerate for an hour, so the raisins can absorb the rum flavour.

In a separate bowl place the hard bread cut into pieces and pour over the milk. Leave it there for about an hour as well until the bread becomes magically soft again.

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F and butter a baking tin of about 30 centimeters diameter and line with non-stick baking paper. Set aside.

Now on a third bowl and using an electric mixer cream the butter with the sugar until soft and smooth. Add the eggs and the vanilla and continue mixing for a couple of minutes. Incorporate the condensed milk, cinnamon, and cloves. Add the softened bread and continue mixing. Finish with the soaked raisins.