English here: Rice pudding cake with ginger and chilli

Another way to serve a danish rice pudding dessert. Although it can of course be made without chili, I do believe that, together with the ginger, it matches the sweet taste and really suits it well. They are both very discrete in the cake and gives just a hint of hot seasoning.

Ingredients – base:

1 package (approx 260 grams) Bastogne biscuits – the original with cinnamon flavor – alternative: ginger biscuits

100 grams of almonds

100 gr butter

2 tablespoons Muscovado or brown sugar

1 tsp chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tsp grated nutmeg

½ tsp salt

Ingredients – filling:

60 gr rice (the type used for porridge)

½ liter of whole milk

8 tablespoons raw cane sugar

6 sheets of gelatin

2½ dl whipping cream

400 grams of cream cheese – i.e.. Philadelphia

1 – 1½ tablespoons fresh, finely grated ginger

2 tsp chilli powder or fresh, finely chopped chilli to taste

2 – 3 teaspoons vanilla powder (not sugar) or other similar vanilla product (i.e. essence)

Ingredients – topping:

1 glass of Amarena cherries

1 dl Amaretto

½ teaspoon chili powder or some fresh very finely chopped

4 sheets of gelatine

How to:

First make a rice pudding of milk and rice. Bring milk to a boil over medium heat while stirring. Add rice and stir well. Let cook for 2 minutes without lid. Reduce to low heat and put the lid on. Let the porridge cook until it has absorbed all the milk – it takes about 40 minutes. It must be stirred periodically during that time – especially towards the end, so that the porridge does not catch at the bottom of the pot. When the porridge is ready, take it off the heat and cool completely. For instance. put cold water in the bottom of the kitchen sink and place the pot in it to cool.

The almonds are toasted lightly in a medium hot pan – stir occationally, until they begin to smell nice and get a little color – not too much though. They can also begin to make little popping noises, but they don't neccesarily do that. Let them then cool.

All the ingredients for the base, except the butter butter, is ground up in food processor until it has the consistency of very coarse flour.

The butter is melted and mixed with the 'flour'. The mass is pressed into the bottom of a greased springform with your fingers (be careful to add some at the edges) and set it aside to cool while you prepare the filling.

Soak the 6 sheets of gelatine in cold water.

Be sure that Philadelphia is at room temperature when you're using it (remove from refrigerator ½ – 1 hour before use).

Finely chop the chilli if you use whole ones and grate the ginger. Put sugar, chili, vanilla and ginger in a bowl with Philadelphia.

Whip the cream to semifirm peaks. Whip Philadelphia and spices sugar together for a minut or two, so that the sugar is dissolved.

Stir in the cold rice porridge.

Remove the gelatin from the water and melt it over very low heat with the water that clings to it. Stir it in the mass – using the hand mixer at low speed for this is a good idea. It is important that you pour the melted gelatine so that a thin beam hits right where the mixer is running, then there is less likelihood of forming threads in the mass, but make sure now to get it all mixed well in the bowl.

Gently fold the cream into the mix with a soft spatula and then pour it into the form on top of the cooled bottom. Smooth it neatly, cover with clingfilm and put the cake in the refrigerator an hour or two.

When it's time to make the top layer, put the 4 gelatine leaves in cold water for approx 10 minutes of time.

Pour Amarena berries and their juice in a small saucepan and gently warm with chili and gelatine when it's ready (after the 10 minutes soaking). Do not boil, but must just be a bit warmer than lukewarm, such that the gelatine melts.

Remove pan from heat and stir immediately Amaretto in. Allow to cool to handwarm or slightly cooler and pour over the cold cake.

Cover with clingfilm and put the cake in the refrigerator at least an hour again – but until later or next day is fine.