In the interest of research, I want to add that there is a similar dish in southern German/ Austrian cuisine. Same-ish method but eggs are separated and the beaten egg whites added at the end as an extra step. Instead of adding candied peel etc there are raisins and/ or fruit (apples, plums (!)) added before baking. Very good warm but THE BEST cold next day as breakfast.
Wow this writing has me thinking I’m sitting on that warm plinth with a foil tray right beside you! I can’t believe I’ve been to Bologna and missed this treat. Have you heard of Rovani? A similar but more syrupy rice cake from Ithaca in Greece? I think you’d both love it. I’m going to attempt both!
Thank you for a great article and recipe for a wonderful cake - a bit Proustian for me. I visited Bologna many years ago, in part inspired by the truly great Marcella Hazan. Marcella has a recipe for torta di riso in “The Classic Italian Cookbook” which is similar to yours. The rice is cooked for 2 and 3/4 hours until it becomes ‘a dense pale, brown mush’. This requires patience, a good stove, and a certain amount of judgement. I have also found recipes that recommend 40 minutes and around 1 hr.). Marcella stresses the importance of leaving the cake for at least 24 hours. It really does change the texture.
Skye Gyngell has a recipe for torta di riso in ‘How I cook’. Skye uses Grand Marnier and decorates the cake with candied orange slices. She writes about eating the cake as a child in Sydney where they served very good hot chocolate and lots of different Italian cakes and pastries. Her favourite was a ‘simple, not too sweet cake’ from Bologna traditionally eaten at Easter time.
A warning to others, this recipe was delicious. HOWEVER I actually got serious food poisoning from it, due to the cooling of the cooked rice, and then reheating it, and then cooling it again once baked. Does the author have any thoughts on this? I have to say I won’t be making this again due to my rather traumatic experience. Many thanks.
Hello! Oh my gosh, I'm so SO sorry to hear this, and I hope you're fully recovered. We didn't experience anything like this during recipe development by Cissy, or in subsequent testing by myself and an independent tester, and this is the first time anyone has reported an issue like this with the recipe. BUT I',m really glad you've flagged this and im going to take a look at the method to see if I can add some extra information about cooling times to make sure its safe for any future bakers. Thank you for taking the time to let us know, and I'm very sorry this was your experience. <3
This was such a pleasure to read and an incredibly interesting recipe. I love the sound of this cake.
To add to the list: there's a baked rice pudding cake with Mango in Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz that has always intrigued me, but the vibe couldn't be more different. I really want to go to Bologna now!
But WHERE is the photo of the tortellini keyring??? You can buy tortellini jewellery here, should anyone be interested. It is on my list. …
https://www.maccaferrigioielli.com/pages/il-tortellino
😂 love this energy!
Also Bologna, of course.
This might have been a rec of Milli’s, come to think of it.
In the interest of research, I want to add that there is a similar dish in southern German/ Austrian cuisine. Same-ish method but eggs are separated and the beaten egg whites added at the end as an extra step. Instead of adding candied peel etc there are raisins and/ or fruit (apples, plums (!)) added before baking. Very good warm but THE BEST cold next day as breakfast.
My grandma used to make it this way, it’s a classic in Czechia / Slovakia too. Great way to use preserved fruit. We call it ryžový nákyp :)
Wow this writing has me thinking I’m sitting on that warm plinth with a foil tray right beside you! I can’t believe I’ve been to Bologna and missed this treat. Have you heard of Rovani? A similar but more syrupy rice cake from Ithaca in Greece? I think you’d both love it. I’m going to attempt both!
Hasn’t Cissy set the scene so gorgeously?!?! I can’t believe I’ve never been to Bologna! V ready for your Rovani.
Thank you!
Sounds delicious, will def check it out!
Thank you for a great article and recipe for a wonderful cake - a bit Proustian for me. I visited Bologna many years ago, in part inspired by the truly great Marcella Hazan. Marcella has a recipe for torta di riso in “The Classic Italian Cookbook” which is similar to yours. The rice is cooked for 2 and 3/4 hours until it becomes ‘a dense pale, brown mush’. This requires patience, a good stove, and a certain amount of judgement. I have also found recipes that recommend 40 minutes and around 1 hr.). Marcella stresses the importance of leaving the cake for at least 24 hours. It really does change the texture.
Skye Gyngell has a recipe for torta di riso in ‘How I cook’. Skye uses Grand Marnier and decorates the cake with candied orange slices. She writes about eating the cake as a child in Sydney where they served very good hot chocolate and lots of different Italian cakes and pastries. Her favourite was a ‘simple, not too sweet cake’ from Bologna traditionally eaten at Easter time.
I can’t wait to make this! Would a loose bottom tin work or fine to use a regular square tin and just lift out?
I used a loose bottom square tin! Just make sure it’s lined with parchment x
A warning to others, this recipe was delicious. HOWEVER I actually got serious food poisoning from it, due to the cooling of the cooked rice, and then reheating it, and then cooling it again once baked. Does the author have any thoughts on this? I have to say I won’t be making this again due to my rather traumatic experience. Many thanks.
Hello! Oh my gosh, I'm so SO sorry to hear this, and I hope you're fully recovered. We didn't experience anything like this during recipe development by Cissy, or in subsequent testing by myself and an independent tester, and this is the first time anyone has reported an issue like this with the recipe. BUT I',m really glad you've flagged this and im going to take a look at the method to see if I can add some extra information about cooling times to make sure its safe for any future bakers. Thank you for taking the time to let us know, and I'm very sorry this was your experience. <3
This was such a pleasure to read and an incredibly interesting recipe. I love the sound of this cake.
To add to the list: there's a baked rice pudding cake with Mango in Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz that has always intrigued me, but the vibe couldn't be more different. I really want to go to Bologna now!
This sounds divine.
As someone allergic to almonds, do you think I could substitute the ground ones for flour/semolina?
FUN!! I ! LOVE ! RICE !