Risotto Pudding Cake

Do you have any of  Sophie Dahl's cookbooks? You really should. They are treasure troves and what's best is they're easy, casual recipes, not complicated for the most part, and the flavors are wonderful. As I get older, I want less complicated. I don't mind fussing once in a while, especially for good friends and family visits, but I DO have a life outside the kitchen and blogging (and Pinterest). Don't we all?

Sophie's cookbooks are rather cozy, much like a family cookbook and with each recipe, she briefly connects them to warm memories of family, travels and friends. This risotto cake is a great example. Comforting, and yes, very much like rice pudding, but it's the Italian version. Sophie said she learned the recipe watching a mother in Sorrento making it for her family. Love the orange zest and almonds and really, it would be a treat to serve to company. Looks elegant and doesn't everyone love rice pudding? You've got to have those amaretti cookies though, they make the dish.

Sophie Dahl's Risotto Pudding Cake
From Very Fond of Food by Sophie Dahl

Ingredients:
4 cups milk
3/4 cup Arborio rice
Grated zest of one orange, plus extra to decorate
1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup tablespoons amaretti biscuits, crushed

Method:
Preheat oven to 325
Mix the milk, rice and orange zest in a pan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the rice has absorbed the milk. It took me about 1/2 hour.
Cool the rice mixture.
When cool, beat the eggs and sugar and add to the rice.
Butter a 9 inch springform pan and cover the bottom with crushed amaretti biscuits. Pour the rice mixture in and bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden. Let cool for one hour. Serve with crushed amaretto biscuits and orange zest. Tastes even better after it's refrigerated.