Bread and Apple Cake: Grandma Velia's Recipe
That time of year is upon us when the most comforting of comfort foods is apple pie.
- 3 sweet apples
- 500 ml of milk
- 350 g of stale bread
- 100 g raisins
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 3 heaped tablespoons of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of bitter cocoa
- 1 small glass of rum
- 2 tablespoons of white flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 100 g of peeled almonds
- oil or butter to taste
- 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs or cornmeal (for the pan)
- icing sugar to taste (optional)
- Peel the apples, cut them into cubes and set them aside.
- Turn the oven on in static mode at 180°C.
- Grease the pan with a little oil or butter and sprinkle it with breadcrumbs or cornmeal.
- Cut the stale bread into small cubes and transfer it to a large bowl.
- Pour the milk over the top and mix well, pressing down with a spoon until it's completely soaked and smooth. The excess milk should be just at the bottom, not too much.
- Combine the apples, raisins, lemon zest, sugar, cocoa, rum, flour, salt, and coarsely chopped almonds.
- Mix everything slowly until you obtain a soft and moist dough, but one that does not release liquid.
- If it's too wet, add a little breadcrumbs.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, level it with a spoon, and bake for 45 minutes. The surface should be golden and slightly crispy.
- Let cool completely before removing the cake from the pan.
- If desired, dust with icing sugar before serving.
One example is the recipe for Grandma Velia's bread and apple cake, which we chose from among the many in Qualcosa di buono (Vallardi): the new book by Gabriele Cattarin, known online as "Rapanello," which is the name of the highly followed YouTube channel where for years he and his wife have been posting recipes for dishes he learned as a professional and then as a cooking enthusiast.
We chose Grandma Velia's bread and apple cake because it's a very special and ancient recipe that Cattarin inherited from the grandson of a grandmother who, in turn, inherited it from her own grandmother. It's a recipe that has spanned generations and speaks volumes about the cuisine of the past, especially the ability to avoid waste. In this case, stale bread, along with apples, is the cake's main ingredient.
Gabriele “Rapanello” Cattarin's home recipes
Simple, fragrant, and homey, it's perfect for giving you a taste of this book, which will prove to be a great help in the kitchen. Gabriele "Rapanello" Cattarin has compiled over 100 easy recipes, using common ingredients and all very affordable, with the same style that has inspired his large social media community for years. In short, authentic dishes that we cook every day at home, from golden savory pie to pasta alla zozzona, from baked cabbage pie to saffron-flavored perch. Finally, yes, many traditional desserts, from Piedmontese bonèt to this bread and apple tart, so fragrant and so authentic that you'll immediately want to make it again.
