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Tuscan rice pudding tart: budino di riso recipe

cake
Desserts

Among the sweet treats you can find at many bars or pasticcerie all year round there is budino di riso: a kind of soft rice cupcake or vanilla-scented rice pudding baked in short pastry and sprinkled with icing sugar. A long time ago in the countryside of Siena it was called “budinone”, a special dessert that families used to prepare for special occasions by mixing a few ingredients: milk, rice, eggs and sugar, then baking it without the crumbly pastry used today to contain the scented soft rice cream.

Budino di riso [Photo credits: Serena Angelini]
Budino di riso [Photo credits: Serena Angelini]

Modern "budini di riso" are perfect for a Tuscan style picnic, so I think spring is the perfect season to try this recipe. Many thanks to Serena Angelini (Pici e castagne) for the recipe and the amazing photos.  

Ingredients

For the rice mixture

  • rice 250 g
  • 1 liter milk
  • 1 shot vin santo
  • seeds extracted from a vanilla bean
  • ground almonds 2 tablespoons
  • 1 egg
  • 1 knob of butter
  • sugar 50 g

For the pastry

  • flour 500 g
  • butter 300 g
  • icing sugar 150 g
  • salt
  • 4 egg yolks + 1 egg
Budino di riso [Photo credits: Serena Angelini]
Budino di riso [Photo credits: Serena Angelini]

Method

  • Prepare the pastry by mixing the flour with the butter, sugar and a pinch of salt
  • Add the egg yolks and the whole egg
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Cook the rice in milk following this method:

  • Pour the rice into a bowl, cover with cold water and massage the rice with your fingers until the water becomes white.
  • Drain, rinse the rice under cold running water and repeat until the water runs clear
  • Cook for a minute in boiling water, then drain it and rinse under cold water
  • Pour the rice in a saucepan with the milk and cook over low heat for 20 minutes
  • When the rice is cooked it will form a creamy sauce.
  • Combine the ground almonds, the other egg, butter, Vin Santo, sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C
  • Roll out the pastry and line 12 muffin tins
  • Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes with a weight inside (for example, dried beans)
  • Remove the dried beans and distribute the rice mixture into the pastry shells
  • Bake for about 20-30 minutes
  • Remove your "budini di riso" from the moulds and sprinkle with icing sugar Original recipe (in italian).