| Torta paesana | |
| Alternate Name: | Black cake, milk cake, bread cake, torta papina, torta paciarella, michelacc |
| Country: | Italy |
| Region: | Brianza |
| Type: | Dessert |
| Main Ingredient: | Bread, milk, cocoa, biscuits, amaretti di Saronno, sugar, pine seeds, raisins, candied orange and citron, anise |
| Variations: | Anisette, rhum, butter, eggs |
Torta paesana, also known in English as black cake, milk cake or bread cake, is a cake of the Lombard cuisine, notably from Brianza.[1] Its main ingredients are stale bread, milk and cocoa, often enriched with biscuits, amaretti di Saronno, sugar, pine seeds, raisins, candied orange and citron and aromatized with anise.[2] As a traditional cake, without a codified recipe, it presents a great number of variants.[3] It is homemade or sold in bakeries during autumn, for city festivals[4] or religious celebrations.