Dessert
Chocolate and Anise Breadcrumb Cake
Dry bread takes the place of flour in this small chocolate cake. Star anise perfumes the cream, while pieces of chocolate and crushed amaretti or vanilla wafers run through the batter.
- Servings
- 8
- Cuisine
- Italian
Bring it to the table
Dry bread is the starting point
The bread needs to be dry enough to grind finely. Use sound, unspoiled bread; drying is a texture step, not a way to rescue moldy bread. Beat the eggs and sugar until pale before adding the infused cream.
At the table
Cut into wedges once cooled, or serve warm if you prefer soft chocolate pockets. Add whipped cream and a little cocoa powder if desired.
Before you start
Gather your ingredients.
Full quantities and serving adjustments are in the recipe card below.
See the ingredient checklist
- 3/4 cup heavy cream — plus more to replace liquid lost during steeping
- 4 star anise pods
- 2 tsp aniseed — optional
- nonstick baking spray or soft unsalted butter — for the pan
- 4 slices dry sourdough or country-style bread — each about 1/2 inch thick
- 2 large eggs — at room temperature for mixing
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt — or use half as much Morton kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 oz amaretti cookies or vanilla wafers — coarsely chopped
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate — 60–70% cocoa, chopped; or semisweet chocolate chips
- whipped cream — optional, to serve
- cocoa powder — optional, to finish
A few useful notes.
The base recipe uses an 8-inch round pan. If changing the batch size, choose a suitable pan and check doneness rather than simply multiplying the baking time.
Dry, unspoiled bread should grind finely. Never use bread with mold or an off smell.
Amaretti and vanilla wafers bring different flavors; use whichever option you prefer.
The cooking plan
How to make Chocolate and Anise Breadcrumb Cake.
If the bread is not completely dry, place the slices in a 250°F oven for about 20 minutes, until crisp and dry, then let cool. Use only unspoiled bread.
Bring the cream, star anise and optional aniseed just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let infuse for 30 minutes.
Strain into a measuring cup, pressing the spices to recover the cream, then discard the spices. Add fresh cream as needed to restore the measured starting volume.
Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Line the base of an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment and grease the sides. Process the dry bread in a food processor or blender until finely ground.
Beat the eggs, sugar and salt with an electric mixer on high speed for about 4 minutes, until pale and airy. With the mixer running, gradually add the infused cream. Mix in the fine bread crumbs and baking powder, then fold in the cookies and chocolate with a spatula.
Scrape into the prepared pan and tap it gently on the counter. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden and the top springs back when lightly touched.
Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Turn out onto the rack, remove the pan and let cool. Peel away the parchment, turn the cake right-side up and slice. Serve with whipped cream and cocoa powder if desired.
Let’s cook
The full recipe.
Check off ingredients as you get them ready.
Changing servings? The ingredient list scales automatically. Adjust quantities named in the steps to match, and choose pans and cooking times for your batch.
Chocolate and Anise Breadcrumb Cake
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Ingredients
¾ cup heavy cream plus more to replace liquid lost during steeping- 4 star anise pods
- 2 tsp aniseed optional
- nonstick baking spray or soft unsalted butter for the pan
- 4 slices dry sourdough or country-style bread each about 1/2 inch thick
- 2 large eggs at room temperature for mixing
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt or use half as much Morton kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 oz amaretti cookies or vanilla wafers coarsely chopped
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate 60–70% cocoa, chopped; or semisweet chocolate chips
- whipped cream optional, to serve
- cocoa powder optional, to finish
Equipment
Equipment images are illustrative. Exact products may vary.
Instructions
- If the bread is not completely dry, place the slices in a 250°F oven for about 20 minutes, until crisp and dry, then let cool. Use only unspoiled bread.
- Bring the cream, star anise and optional aniseed just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let infuse for 30 minutes.
- Strain into a measuring cup, pressing the spices to recover the cream, then discard the spices. Add fresh cream as needed to restore the measured starting volume.
- Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Line the base of an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment and grease the sides. Process the dry bread in a food processor or blender until finely ground.
- Beat the eggs, sugar and salt with an electric mixer on high speed for about 4 minutes, until pale and airy. With the mixer running, gradually add the infused cream. Mix in the fine bread crumbs and baking powder, then fold in the cookies and chocolate with a spatula.
- Scrape into the prepared pan and tap it gently on the counter. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden and the top springs back when lightly touched.
- Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Turn out onto the rack, remove the pan and let cool. Peel away the parchment, turn the cake right-side up and slice. Serve with whipped cream and cocoa powder if desired.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!A couple of useful answers.
Is there flour in the batter?
No added flour is used. Finely ground dry bread supplies the crumb base, along with the chopped cookies. The bread and cookies still commonly contain wheat.
Why measure the cream again after steeping?
Some cream stays behind with the spices or evaporates. Top it up to the original measured volume before mixing the batter.
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