The Rice Cake is a homemade cake. It is easy to conserve it because there’s no cream or custard in it. So you can find it in a grandma’s cupboard.
Rice cake is also a regional cake. It is a typical cake from Emilia Romagna, in particular from Reggio Emilia and Bologna city. Every family has its own version of the recipe. But for all, the main secret is to give the right texture to the cake. The best way to do that is to cook the rice slowly.
The cake was born thanks to the Emilian rise weeders (Mondine) of the past century. These women used to hard work in the rice field, sometimes in other countries in the north of Italy. So, when the season of the harvest ended and they come back home, they bring with them not only their salary but also some rice. The rise weeders afterward cooked their cakes using the rise they bring at home.
But there is another version of the rice cake. it is an older version of the cake. It comes from the fifteenth century indeed. At that time the city of Bologna and other Emilian cities used to celebrate the “Celebration of the decorations” or “Corpus Domini“. It was a religious festivity. For the occasion, the cities showed red drapes on their home and building windows. Moreover, the women prepared the rice cake. During the celebration, they offered it to friends and family.
The older version of the rice cake has candied fruit in the dough. This version was expensive and only nobles can afford it. Otherwise, the rise weeders recipe was for the lower classes. The working women of the rice field in fact come from very poor families. With the passing of the century, the Bologna city version of the rice cake remains the same. Today the recipe in Bologna still has candied fruit.
Take a pot and boil milk with a pinch of salt then add rice. Cook the rice with milk. When it is done, add the sugar, the lemon peel and liqueur.
When the mixture is cold add the egg yolks one by one. It is important to add the second eggs only when the first is well blended and so on.
Whip the egg whites very thick and add to the mixture one tablespoon at a time. Mix the texture and then pour the preparation into a buttered and floured mould. Then let it rest for at least two hours.
After the two hours of rest, you can cook the cake in the owen for 45 minutes at 356 °F. When it is done put some sugar on top and brush some liqueur, then served the cake.
Traditional way to present rice cake is cutting it in rhombuses. Then brush the top with liqueur such as amaretto liqueur or anise. The Italian culinary academy of Bologna has its official recipe. In Bologna the rice cake has candied citron on it. Rice cake has to be creamy and with an unmistakable scent of vanilla.
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