Carrarina rice cake: the soft dessert with anise liqueur!

The Carrara rice cake has a sweet softness capable of enveloping our senses with delicate flavors and intense aromas.

The Carrara rice cake is superfine goodness. The paternity of this dessert is disputed between Carrara and Massa , but what matters in the end is its softness and creaminess. To make it you need a lot of eggs, which cook slowly in the oven, balancing perfectly with the sweetness of the sugar and the lack of flavor of the rice.

If you want, you can replace the anise liqueur with rum, brandy, orange liqueur or anything else you like. Here's the recipe!

Preparation of the Carrara rice cake

1. Put a pot of water on the fire and bring it to a boil. When it boils, throw the rice away and cook it very al dente for only half of its nominal cooking time. Carefully place the boiling pot under the tap and let the cold water run slowly for a few seconds , stopping the cooking .
2. Drain the rice and, to make it cool completely and quickly, spread it on a baking sheet.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the cream . In a bowl, open the eggs and beat them lightly together with the 300 grams of sugar. You don't have to whip them, they just have to take on a uniform consistency.
4. Put the milk in a saucepan with a couple of lemon peels, only the yellow part. Bring it to a boil and turn it off immediately . Let it cool and remove the peels.
5. Add the small glass of liqueur to the eggs, then the warmed milk slowly, always beating with a whisk otherwise the heat of the milk will cook the eggs . Continue until adding all the milk, always beating and obtaining a very smooth and velvety mixture in the end.
6. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Take a large pan, the cake must be quite low. For these doses a round cake pan with a diameter of 28-30 centimeters is fine, but if you want you can also use a rectangular pan. Grease the pan with the knob of butter. Spread a light layer of sugar on the bottom of the cake which will caramelize in the oven.
7. Pour in the rice, distribute it evenly on the bottom and compact it with wet hands. Carefully pour the cream over the rice. The cream shouldn't mix with the rice, it should form a layer on top of it. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. The surface of the dessert must be well browned .
8. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool completely before removing it from the pan. Even better if, when cold, you keep it in the fridge with the whole pan for a couple of hours. Now you can cut it into slices and serve it.

If you liked this recipe, try also the fantastic red velvet cake!

storage

This cake will keep for about 2-3 days in the refrigerator, in a container with an airtight lid. We do not recommend freezing.