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Inicio » Recipes » Breads and Pastries

Bread Cake: the Colombian way to use up stale bread

Publicado: Mar 17, 2020 · Modificado: Aug 4, 2026 Por Angela Giraldo · 959 Palabras · 5 minutos de lectura

Bread cake turns stale bread into a dense, sweet loaf: the bread soaks in milk for half an hour, then bakes with eggs, butter and condensed milk into something between a cake and a bread pudding. It is the Colombian answer to leftover bread, and it needs an hour in the oven and an hour to rest. Serves twelve.
Total: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes
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I love this bread cake recipe since it is possible to make it with leftover bread at home, and instead of sending it to the trash, the best option was to try this preparation, and it has been an excellent option to make a rich, soft cake and sweet.

Bread cake

Can we use any bread?

This recipe is ideal since it has no limits when using any bread that we have at hand, it is even quite popular to take advantage of the one that is already old or hard and that nobody would dare to eat.

It is necessary to remember many grandmothers because they used large quantities of bread, which they had in the kitchen. They even used hard breads that they gave them in coffee shops or pastries to prepare cakes at home with texture, smell, and taste unmatched.

Thus, to make the bread cake, we must not discriminate any ingredient because some sweet, salty, hard, or soft breads can use. Each of these gives it a special touch thanks to its initial salt or sweet taste.

What should highlight this bread cake?

As I said before, any bread can use, but the critical thing to keep in mind is that it must cut very well so that it was in small pieces.

Dish with Bread cake

It is also essential that it soaked in the amount of milk indicated in the preparation, since this alone is crumbling, and this will be the final and ideal texture to make the cake.

It is also essential to add raisins to the mixture, since this is traditionally an ingredient that contributes to the fruit, however, you can use other elements such as a sandwich in pieces, candied fruit or chocolate pieces.

Prepare a delicious homemade pizza or auyama cake.

Original recipe in Spanish

Bread Cake FAQ

More baking

  • Mantecadas — the small ones.
  • Baguette — the loaf this recipe uses stale.
What kind of bread works best?

Plain white bread that has gone properly stale: baguette, bread rolls, sandwich loaf. Dry bread soaks up the milk without collapsing into paste, which is the whole point. Avoid anything strongly flavoured, like rye or sourdough, and skip brioche, which is already too rich.

How stale does the bread need to be?

A day or two old, dry enough that it is unpleasant to eat but not rock hard. Fresh bread turns to mush in the milk and the cake never sets properly. If yours is still soft, spread the pieces on a tray and dry them in a low oven for fifteen minutes.

Is this the same as bread pudding?

Close relatives. The technique is the same, but this version is denser and firmer, closer to a cake you slice than to a spoonable pudding, and the condensed milk makes it noticeably sweeter. It is also served cold, not warm with sauce.

Why is my bread cake soggy in the middle?

Either it needed longer in the oven or it was cut too soon. Test with a skewer in the centre: it should come out clean and dry. Then let it rest at least an hour before slicing, because it keeps setting as it cools and cutting it warm collapses the middle.

Can I leave out the condensed milk?

You can, and the cake will be less sweet and slightly less dense. Add a little more sugar and an extra splash of milk to compensate. What you lose is the caramel note the condensed milk gives, which is a fair part of the flavour.

What can I add to it?

Raisins are traditional, and dried fruit or chopped nuts all work. Grated orange or lemon zest lifts it, and a splash of rum with the raisins is common. Whatever you add, fold it in at the end so it stays distributed rather than sinking.

How long does it keep?

Three or four days covered in the fridge, and it firms up further as it sits. It is a cake that arguably improves on the second day, once the bread has finished absorbing everything and the texture evens out.

📖 Recipe

Bread Cake (Colombian Stale Bread Pudding)

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Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour
Resting: 1 hour hour
Total Time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes
Course: Breads
Cuisine: Colombian
Keyword: bread cake, old bread cake
Servings: 12
Calories: 370kcal
Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

  • 600 g stale bread (about 1⅓ lb; plain white bread, a day or two old)
  • 100 g butter, melted (about 7 tbsp)
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 liter milk (about 4¼ cups)
  • 4 eggs
  • 200 g condensed milk (about ⅔ cup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Raisins or chopped nuts, to taste
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Instructions

  • Chop the bread into small pieces and put it in a bowl with the milk. Let it soak for about 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until it has absorbed all the liquid and falls apart when pressed.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients one at a time, in this order: eggs, butter, sugar, condensed milk, baking powder, vanilla and salt, and finally the raisins or nuts. Keep stirring as you add each one so the mixture stays even.
  • Preheat the oven to 285 °F (140 °C) and prepare a tin or baking dish, greased with butter or lined with parchment paper.
  • Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for an hour. To check it, push a skewer or toothpick into the centre: if it comes out clean and dry, it is done.
  • Take it out and let it rest for at least an hour before slicing. It carries on setting as it cools, and cutting it warm collapses the middle. Serve cold.

Nutrition

Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 565mg | Potassium: 286mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 468IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 260mg | Iron: 2mg
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