Rice Cake (Torta Di Riso)

"Posted for the Zaar World Tour-Italy. From the "Northern Italy Cooking" cookbook. I haven't made this yet, but plan to. This recipe is from Bologna, which is in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Arborio rice is a short, thick-grained Italian rice. Note: prep time does not include cooling time."
 
Download
photo by Annacia photo by Annacia
photo by Annacia
Ready In:
2hrs 25mins
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
6-8
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  • Butter a 10-inch spring form pan.
  • Sprinkle pan with fine unflavored breadcrumbs and shake off excess crumbs.
  • Combine milk, sugar and lemon zest in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
  • Stir in rice and reduce heat.
  • Simmer uncovered 45 minutes to 1 hour or until all the liquid is absorbed; stir occasionally to make sure mixture is not sticking.
  • Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Beat eggs until foamy in a large bowl.
  • Add cooled rice mixture, almonds, candied citron and 1/4 cup rum.
  • Mix thoroughly.
  • Pour rice mixture into buttered pan and level top with a spatula.
  • Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out dry.
  • Pierce holes in top of cake with fork and sprinkle with 2 to 3 Tablespoons rum. Cool to room temperature, them remove cake from pan. Decorate with whipped cream.

Questions & Replies

  1. I have been making a very similar cake for years for a gluten free friend. She is now also dairy intolerant. Is there any milk substitute that would work? Thanks, Judy
     
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. I love this. I had a split opinion on star #'s though. I rate 5 for taste and 3 for recipe accuracy so I split the difference and gave it 4. The taste is pure delight with the lemon present hitting that perfect balance, clearly present but not taking over the custard or almonds. For a baked rice pudding this is very light and easy to enjoy right after dinner and it looks elegant, all excellent qualities. As to the working of the recipe as written I found some things to be off quite a bit. First, the time stated for simmering the rice (uncovered) is 45 mins to an hr. I covered mine and placed it on the "2" heat mark with "10" being the highest. I found all of the milk absorbed and the Arborio 90% tender in just 15 mins. If I hadn't been at the puter in the kitchen I would have missed the pot sounds and the batch would have been burnt and ruined. I use Splenda in place of sugar and add it when something like this dish comes off the stove. I took a spoon tip taste and the candied lemon had made it very sweet already so I used a scant 1/2 cup of the Splenda which when baked turned out just right. A full cup of Splenda or sugar would destroy the great balance of flavors and make it hard to enjoy as ir would be too sweet. The amount I had (I made the full recipe) didn't look enough to need a 10 inch Spring-form so I used a regular pie plate and the finished depth was exactly 1 inch deep. It took the full 45 mins to color nicely on top. Would I make it again? absolutely!. Would I make a couple of changes? absolutely. This is delicious and I would recommend it to rice pudding lovers who enjoy a less creamy and wonderfully flavored dessert that is served in slices. *Next Day Update*: I warmed a piece in the micro for 20 secs this morning for brekkie and it was wonderful! It reheated beautifully and was even better in flavor :D.
     
  2. I'm wondering if you have made this yet. It would be great if you made it and played around with it to adjust the directions if necessary. The last reviewer said her rice cooked too quickly but she didn't follow your directions to cook it uncovered. I cooked mine uncovered but the rice never completely cooked. After over an hour the liquid was starting to turn into a syrup so I just continuted the recipe. The texture was definitely lacking due to the rice still being too firm. One thing that possibly could be the reason is that the rice was old. As for the other flavors... I used candied orange peel for the citron but felt it was too strong. If I make this again I will cook the rice covered and omit the peel altogether. (the lemon zest tasted great though)
     
Advertisement

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Hi! Thank you for visiting my About Me page. I live in northern California (about 2 hours north of Sacramento). My husband and I live on 10 acres where we grow alfalfa and have a small family orchard of fruit and nut trees. We also have 2 horses, 2 cats, a Dexter cow and calf, and 13 chickens.<br /><br />I am married to a wonderful guy (since 1979), and we have two terrific kids. Our daughter (born in 1981) has her college degree in microbiology. Our son (born in 1983) has his college degree in computer science.</p>
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes