Delicious Rice Cake Recipe

History and origins of the Rice Cake

This delicious baked cake, which has its origins in the city of Bologna in Emilia Romagna, dates back to the end of the 17th century. The rice cake in the original recipe is made with rice, milk, sugar, amaretti biscuits, candied fruit, almonds, and is flavored with lemon zest. These are the ingredients of the original recipe with rice.

Delicious and perfect at any time of the year, the rice cake comes from the ancient tradition of the “Festa degli Addobbi”, literally Feast of the Decorations, which dates back to the end of the 17th century.

The Feast of the Decorations was celebrated on the occasion of the “Corpus Domini” religious feast and colored the whole city thanks to the lively drapes that citizens hung on the windows together with many flowers.

In particular, during the procession in which the Corpus Domini was transported, the parishioners opened their houses to the neighbors and offered the rice cake, also renamed cake of the Decorations.

Over time, the dessert has become typical of all religious festivals in the Bolognese area, for example in the countryside it was prepared on the occasion of the patron saint, and today every family has its own personal and tasty version of the rice cake.

Rice Cake recipe from Tuscany, a variation from the original recipe

Rice is a wonderful and versatile food! You can make endless recipes using rice, but I particularly like to use rice for making cakes, cookies, desserts, and the irresistible frittelle di riso.

Here is a very simple recipe I’ve learned from my mother and grandmother. This recipe was made very often as it is made using very simple, poor, and genuine ingredients that one always has at home.

Ingredients needed for the Cake with Rice

• 300 gr of rice
• 1 liter and a half of milk
• 300 gr of sugar
• 150 gr of melted butter
• 5 eggs
• the zest of one lemon
• a small glass of rum
• a pinch of salt

How to make the Rice Cake Recipe

1. Boil the milk in a pot and add some sugar and a pinch of salt

2. Add the rice to the milk and continue cooking over a low flame until rice has fully absorbed the milk and let cool

3. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the remaining sugar, and add the rice when it has cooled completely (it will take about 40 minutes)

4. Add the lemon zest, the rum, and the butter and mix well

5. Cook in the oven at at 180 °C (360 °F) for an hour

It is a delicacy 🙂

Rice and Amaretti Cake

I love using amaretti biscuits to make fabulous cakes and desserts. The original recipe for the rice cake, that is from the Emilia Romagna region in Italy, actually provides the use of Amaretti biscuits, made from almonds and having a bitter taste.