Easter Cake

Hey foodies,

Today I'm sharing a very old traditional Swiss-German recipe: the Easter rice cake.

It's a pastry made with shortcrust pastry and a filling of almonds and rice (or semolina). This pastry (or at least a similar cake) has been known since the year 962, and the first written recipe for the Easter cake appeared in 1598... So there's nothing older or more traditional! ;-)

Now that we've covered the history, let's get to the recipe.

For a tart ring with a diameter of 30 cm, you will need:

Shortcrust pastry

- 180gr soft butter

- 100gr sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 300gr flour

- 1 pinch of salt

Rice mixture

- 400gr milk

- 100gr round rice (e.g. Camolino)

- 1 pinch of salt

Filling

- 80gr butter

- 80gr sugar

- 1 pinch of salt

- 3 egg yolks (approx. 70gr)

- zest of one lemon

- 80gr ground almonds

- 180gr heavy cream

- Rice mixture

- 3 egg whites (approx. 180gr)

- 1 pinch of salt

Finishing

- Apricot jam

- 100gr raisins (optional)

Shortcrust pastry

Since the pastry needs to be pre-baked in the ring first, we start by preparing the shortcrust pastry.

To do this, place 180gr of soft butter and 100gr of sugar in a bowl and mix until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.

Add 1 egg and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Mix briefly for 30 seconds, then switch from the whisk to the flat beater.

Add 300gr of flour and 1 pinch of salt and work the dough at low speed for 1 minute, no more. If necessary, finish by hand. If you mix too much, the gluten will develop and the dough will puff up during baking.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat).

Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper. Using 3 mm thickness guides and a rolling pin, roll out the dough evenly.

Then place it in the freezer for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, prepare a perforated baking sheet, a perforated mat and the tart ring.

Once the chilling time is up, place the dough on the perforated sheet/mat and cut out the dough using the flower-shaped ring.

Roll out the remaining dough, this time to 5 mm. Cut strips 3 cm wide. I used a strip cutter here to make things easier. If the dough is too soft, don't hesitate to put it back in the freezer for a few minutes — it's much easier to work with cold dough.

Place the strips along the edge of the ring and press them firmly. Then trim the excess with a knife.

Prick the tart base with a fork.

Bake for 15 minutes at 180°C in the preheated oven.

Don't worry if the dough is still pale after 15 minutes. Since we'll be baking it again with the filling, this is perfectly fine. Don't turn off the oven.

Rice mixture

For the filling, you first need to cook the rice pudding.

To do this, place 400gr of milk, 100gr of round rice (e.g. Camolino) and 1 pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring everything to a boil.

The mixture should cook for about 30 minutes until it becomes a porridge. When the rice is ready, transfer it to a bowl and place it in the refrigerator to cool.

Filling

If you turned off the oven earlier, preheat it again to 180°C (top/bottom heat).

In the mixer bowl, place 80gr of butter, 80gr of sugar, 1 pinch of salt and 3 egg yolks. Beat everything until fluffy.

Zest 1 lemon using a microplane grater.

Add 80gr of ground almonds, 180gr of heavy cream and the rice mixture. Mix everything well.

Set the mixture aside.

In another bowl, whip 3 egg whites into stiff peaks with 1 pinch of salt. Make sure your bowl is clean and grease-free, otherwise the egg whites won't whip up properly.

Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the other mixture using a spatula.

Finishing

Using a small offset spatula, spread apricot jam over the pre-baked shortcrust pastry. A thin or thick layer — it's up to you! ;0)

Sprinkle 100gr of raisins according to your taste and preference. Of course this is optional — if you don't like them, you don't have to add any.

Spread the rice mixture over the top. You can fill it generously, as it won't rise during baking.

Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes at 180°C.

Let the cake cool in the ring.

Slide a knife between the cake and the ring to easily remove it.

To decorate the cake, I use an Easter stencil and snow sugar. Do not use icing sugar — it may melt in humid conditions.

As a finishing touch, I added some dried flowers on top.

And here is the Easter cake!

I wish you a lovely Sunday and a wonderful Easter! :O)

Jenny

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.