Torta di Riso al Profumo d' Arancio

I un-ashamedly lifted this recipe straight from another blog


I saw it posted the other week and it just sounded so lovely, that I not only had to give it a try, but share it with all of you too.

Don't worry though, I did ask permission first!

Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things is a great blog written by a fantastic foodie and fellow Canberran who shares her food, philosophy and photographs with such style and enthusiasm, and generosity too! Thankyou Lizzy!
http://www.bizzylizzysgoodthings.com/2/post/2012/10/torta-di-riso-al-profumo-d-arancio.html#comments


Lizzy has said that this recipe reminded her of her childhood, and a similar recipe her mother made. My memories of rice pudding are the traditional type, made of rice simmered with milk and sugar and flavoured with nutmeg instead of vanilla or orange; My hubby remembers only cooked rice mixed with sugar and cream to a wet type of dessert with no nuances of flavour at all; My kiddies are more familiar with our own family version of rice simmered with pandan and cardamon with a palm sugar syrup... I guess however you make it, a memory is only a taste away.....

I certainly was impressed with the idea of this dish. I'm always looking for desserts that would translate well to catering/ cafe menus, and I think that a slice of this torte is much more elegant that a sloppy pudding in a bowl indeed- no matter how nice it tasted!

Torta di Riso al Profumo d'Ara
 or: Orange Rice Cake

1.7 lt lactose free Milk
1 Vanilla Pod
rind of half a Lemon
1 cup White Sugar
300gr Aborio Rice
6 Eggs, separated
1/4 cup Orange Liquor
1/3 cup Raisins
zest of one Orange





For the flavourings, peel the lemon thinly in nice big strips to make it easier to fish out of the pot later, and scrape all the lovely little seeds from the vanilla pod

Combine the milk, vanilla seeds and pod, lemon rind and sugar in a large sauce pan and bring to the boil

Add in the rice, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly- like a risotto- until the rice is just softened and the milk mixture is nice and creamy.
Pull out the vanilla and lemon strips, then let the rice cool

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks

Mix the egg yolks with the orange liquor until creamy looking, then stir into the rice mixture. Make sure it gets really well mixed through as this is the 'glue' for the whole cake

See how fine a microplane can zest an orange? So beautifully without any of the bitter white pith at all. I much prefer using one of these than a zester or grater

Toss in the orange zest and raisins and give it another really good stir

Add in about a quarter of the egg whites and mix through to lighten the mixture up. Then carefully fold through the rest of the whites, making sure you don't get carried away and knock all the air out of the mix.

Gently pour the mixture into a lined 24 cm cake tin.

Bake at 180*C for an hour, covering the top after about halfway through so it doesn't over brown

Let the cake cool in the tin and rest overnight in the refrigerator for it  to firm up and for the flavours to really settle in

Now for a bit of extra yumminess!

I really didn't want to waste that poor little nude orange, so while the cake was baking I made so candied orange slices.


I cut the orange into thin slices, then popped them into a very small saucepan with an obscene amount of sugar- about 1 1/2  cups, and just enough water to make sure the slices were covered.
Stir it around for a while to make sure the sugar is dissolved properly, then leave it on a gentle simmer for the hour or so until the slices and their skin are translucent and have that shiny, glossy look that says they've absorbed about as much sugar as they can handle. You might have to put a little more water in now and then, or at least turn the slices over to make sure they're all getting their share of sweetness.




Place your cake on a serving platter, top with the candied oranges or dust liberally with icing sugar, and enjoy!

Such a lovely moist cake that still holds its shape perfectly and slices beautifully- just use a wet knife to help things along
The vanilla and lemon add a solid grounding for the risotto, with the orange giving it a stronger scented flavour that is just lovely and sweet

I have to admit, that I had wondered if all the mucking about to make a perfectly good rice pudding into a cake was going to be worth it- but it certainly was indeed, and I'll be making this a regular for sure

So Dear Readers, what type of Rice Pudding do you remember from your childhood, and does it differ greatly form your family favourite now?









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In My Kitchen Garden

Slowly, ever so slowly, Spring is creeping into my garden


Canberra is a tricky place in Spring. Late frosts burn off early seedlings, and it's really not worth planting tender little lovelies until October.... until this year that is, when Winter returned with a vengeance last week leaving snow on our ranges and sad little spots where my veggie seedlings used to be before dying of frostbite.

Despite all this, there is some rustling in the undergrowth as a weekend of gorgeous sunshine has bought out the best of my rhubarb and my strawberries are covered in blossoms with the promise of fruits to come.

Would you like a tour?




Unfortunately everything is fenced off as much as possible due to a veggie loving German Shepherd :) There are also many wine barrels, pots and even old car tyres scattered around so I can take advantage of as much space as possible.

I don't aim to be totally self-sufficient with my garden, my arms are just not up to it I'm afraid. I certainly grow enough in the warmer months to stop us buying much, and then I process and freeze as much as I can for the rest of the year, but it's just to cold and frosty here to grow much over Winter at all.




Here are my three raised beds, I rotate the plants each year. At the moment there is some little lettuces, carrots, silverbeet, perennial spinach, leeks and cabbages hiding in them- plus little pea and bean seedlings at the base of the green arches.

What a beautiful cabbage indeed! They were very slow growing over winter, but just about ready to eat now

Various strawberries popping up all over the place

One of my many wine barrels. This one is planted out with a Green Tea Camellia with some ornamental kale and pansies at the base. I like to think that Kitchen gardens should be beautiful as well as useful, but everything out there is edible- just in case :)

Horseradish emerging after it's long winter nap

A blueberry plant and raspberry, with strawberries on the ground

The tiny tip of galangal! Hopefully it will like our climate and grow well over the hot months. I'm also planting ginger and turmeric..... it's worth a try anyway

Pots of potatoes and peanuts

Another barrel with a tiny cold climate Macadamia tree in the middle, surrounded by pretty pansies, and today's ingredient: Rhubarb. I have three other plants in the ground that are very generous and vigorous, but are sadly green stemmed.Yuck. I have solved my food fussiness by planting out these very red stemmed red beauties so I can mix the two together and overcome my colour issues

I also have growing:
Olive tree, kaffir lime tree, orange and lime grafted tree, lemon tree, finger lime tree, elder tree, carob tree, curry leaf tree, loganberry, blackberry, youngberry, asparagus, globe artichokes, garlic, giant garlic, celery, broccoli, kale, onions, leeks, jicama, rosemary, culinary lavender, rose, corriander, mint, basil, basilmint, laksa mint, chocolate mint, bay tree, curry bush, lemongrass, chives, calendula, parsley, pineapple sage, thyme, violets and violas. I think that's it? But of course I've only just started my Spring planting... there are all the veggies to go in yet!



The first rhubarb of the season, a mix of green and red stems. So many delicious choices, but I decided to make Pepperpot Fruits. I know I have teemed rhubarb and strawberries many times before, but they really do go so well together and are ready to pick at the same time- always a winner!

Pepperpot Fruits


Nice bunch of Rhubarb
Couple of handfuls of Strawberries
1/4 cup White Sugar
1/4 cup liquid (juice/wine/water)
1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon Shichuan Peppercorns










Trim and tidy up the rhubarb

Slice large strawberries in half, but leave smaller ones whole

Mix fruits together and toss with the sugar so the lovely juices start to draw out of the fruit

Pretty little peppercorns

Place the two types of peppercorns into a small mortar and pestle, and grind until fairly fine

Pop the fruit, liquid and peppers into an oven proof dish and toss them all around to mix through well

Cover with foil, and bake at 180*C for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through without being smushy. Don't stir to check, instead stick a knife tip or fine skewer into a piece of rhubarb to see if it's done.

This is one of those desserts that is better served cold. The flavour of the pepper is a lovely back note to the sweetness of the berries and the earthiness of the rhubarb, giving a tingling hint of mystery to the dish.
It can be served simply with some (lactose free) cream or ice cream, or I actually like to serve little pots of it with a few lovely cheeses. The pepper helps it match well with the savoury without being overpowered by the sweet.

So Dear Readers, how is your Spring shaping up, and what do you have growing in your kitchen garden?







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Chocolate Fondant Puddings

I know I only just made a chocolate recipe last time Dear Readers, but with post-Easter chocolate still hanging around, I thought I'd use it up with a recipie more suited for our wintery weather and make some Chocolate Fondant Puddings, AKA Chocolate Lava Cakes.


What lovely impressive little cakies these are indeed!

Molten chocolate flowing from the centre, with a raspberry or two on the crest of the wave. Mmmm...


These are perfect desserts for when you want a bit of Wow for a dinner party, and they can even be prepared a few days ahead of time, or frozen for a few weeks if you're really that organised- or like me and just like to have a few things on hand for chocolate emergencies!


It took a few goes to work out the kinks in my recipe, this one was Too Soft- collapsing into a sog on the plate, this one was Too Hard- just a plain old cake, but finally I got it Juuuuuust Right!


I didn't want a light and fluffy version of these that almost souffles up before collapsing, or a plain raw-cake batter mix either (yes, I've been served one of those and it wasn't at all nice) I decided instead to go for a heavier almond meal base that would really stick-to-your-ribs for winter, but be perfect as a small serving to end an elegant meal.

The raw mix sets quite stiffly and the heaviness of the almonds means you need to cook it a bit lower and slower than you might think. I also tried baking these from frozen, to try for the perfect molten centre, but the heavy mix put too much pressure on the softer baked shell.  I timed them exactly for my oven and it's quirks, but you might need to try one out in yours before you want to impress anyone with perfection. That also means that the sacrificial pudding will need eating so it doesn't go to waste- what a shame! I won't tell anyone you got one extra, I promise.


Chocolate Fondant Puddings

makes 4

200g Dark Chocolate (I used Lidnt 85% because that's what I had handy, but really it was very rich and strong. 70% would have been much better)
200g Butter
1/4 cup Almond Meal
1/4 cup Castor Sugar
4 Eggs
Pinch of Salt
Frozen Raspberries
4 1/2 cup capacity ramekins



Melt the butter and chocolate together. You can use a pan, a water bath, or just the microwave, it doesn't really matter as long as they are combined nicely

Add in everything else

then stir really well until smooth and silky looking with no lumps

Grease your ramekins really, really well. You don't want the little Lavas to stick on their way out now.
Fill your ramekins nearly to the top, then pop just a few frozen raspberries into the mixture, and push them into the middle of the cake

Tap the ramekins sharply on a flat surface to remove any air bubbles and settle the raspberries in place

Now you can put the little cakies away in the fridge and forget about them for a few days, or until your dinner party. You can even freeze them if you like, but let them defrost thouroughly before baking


Bake these little lovelies at 180* for exactly 13 minutes. Pull them out, then let them settle for just 2 minutes more before turning them out carefully onto the serving plates

Aren't they just lovely!

I served these with a swipe of raspberry sauce underneath and some extra berries scattered around. If you have some lactose free cream or ice cream around, that would be nice too.

Cut into your little pudding, and watch the magic happen! Oozy, molten middle spilling over the crust of cakiness, Yummo!

More elegant than a self sacing pudding, and a bit of foodie theatre as well. What a perfect ending for a winters evening.

So Dear Readers, what do you think is the perfect chocolate dessert for winter?








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Summer Pudding

How did your Christmas go, dear Readers?








Was it chestnuts roasting on an open fire?

Or throwing another shrimp on the barbie?


Well, after days of feasting, its time to let my days be merry and lite, and enjoy something a little less rich but no less yummy than the traditional pudding served this time of year- bring on beautiful berry Summer Pudding.

Summer pudding is a traditional British dessert, first served as a health food in health spas in the 1800's. Much lighter than thick rich pastry, it originally combined slices of bread and lashings of fresh raspberries and red currants so I guess that qualifies it as health food, well at least if its gluten free for me that is.

The berries are either macerated overnight in sugar to get their ruby juices flowing, or heated gently without cooking to achieve the same liquid love.

Thinish slices of bread are then dipped in the juices,kinda like sponge fingers for tiramisu, then used to line a basin to create a shell for the berries.
A bit of squishing overnight transforms soggy bread into berrylicious bounty, fit to serve to those you love, and I promise they will never guess that its "health food".

I've decided to up the ante with my pudding though. Forced to use frozen ones as my berry bushes are still a bit immature, I've added a little extra zing with the addition of Chambord, a delicious black raspberry liquor, and a good dollop of leftover Christmas cranberry jelly to tap into the tartness normally supplied by the red currants. I also sneak in my secret weapon of a tablespoon of arrowroot to ensure my pudding holds together when turned out, instead of tumbling into a delicious but embarrassing mess.

This is another no real cooking, no real measuring recipe. The amounts you need are really dependant on the size of the basin you use. Play it by ear, and just add more as needed.

Summer Berry Pudding

Fresh or frozen berries, enough to well fill your chosen basin

Loaf of nice gluten free bread, whole not sliced

Couple of tablespoons castor sugar

One good tablespoon cranberry jelly

One good tablespoon Chambord

One tablespoon arrowroot powder

One tablespoon water

Place berries, sugar, cranberry sauce and liquor into a saucepan. Heat gently until the berries soften just a little and the juices and sauce meld together into lush loveliness.

Strain the berries thoroughly but without squishing then, keeping all the juices.

Mix the hot juices with the blended arrowroot and water and it will thicken just a little.

Carefully remove the crusts from the load of bread. Make sure you keep these so you can freeze them and use them as crumbs later.

Slice into about half cm slices, but be careful as you know how crumbly gluten free bread can be. Cut a nice round to sit in the top of your basin, then slice the rest of the bread in half into little soldiers.

Line your basin with cooking wrap, I used a freezer bag, try and have it long enough to hang over the edge a little.

Starting with the round bit, dip each piece of bread into the pretty purpliness that is the berry juice, generously soaking them. Line the basin with upright strips. Try and keep your pieces tightly together, but patch with scrappy bits as needed.

Spoon all the berries into the bread lined basin, then top with more bits of soaked bread to cover
Pour any remaining juices over your pudding.

Pull the wrap over the pudding, covering well. Place a heavy weight on your pudding to compress it and make it set firmly.
Leave overnight in the refrigerator.

Un-weigh and uncover the top of your pudding, then carefully invert it onto your serving dish.







Decorate with a few extra berries and maybe some mint leaves for color, then drizzle with any extra juice collected in the plate or left in the bowl.

Cut into nice big wedges and serve with some thick lactose free cream for extra extravagance.

Yummm... Perfect with a nice chilled glass of bubbles, on a hot sticky summers night.

So Dear Readers, do you enjoy a traditional pudding, out would you give something lighter a try?
























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