Risotto Rice Pudding Cakes with Home Made Compote

This rice pudding recipe is one I am particularly proud of.  A nice day trip to the Saskatoon berry farm with Heather led me to some inspiration in creating a dessert risotto that is smothered in some leftover Saskatoon berry compote.  Not only will I teach you to make risotto the right way, I will share with you a quick and delicious recipe for any fruit compote you want to have with these rice pudding cakes!

Heather and I took a nice trip this weekend out to the Saskatoon Berry Farm.  If any of my fellow Albertans haven’t been there, than you are in for a treat!  It’s a great outdoor market with all kinds of potted plants, antiques, trinkets, and a delicious restaurant.  One of Heather’s absolute favorite things in the whole world (other than me of course!) Is their rice pudding.  We ate one order at the restaurant, AND took another one home to enjoy.  They serve their rice pudding with their signature Saskatoon berry compote.  It’s hella good!

This made my brain swell with all kinds of tasty ideas.  I had to make my own version of this delicious dessert, and Risotto was a great way to do it!  I’ve definitely made my fair share of this Italian classic and how can you go wrong with a sweet version made into addictive and crispy risotto cakes, topped with delicious berry compote.  Say it with me now……HOLY CRAP YES!

So I want to clarify first off that is is definitely not a traditional risotto recipe.  The techniques are the same, but to make this a dessert I wanted it extra creamy.  Risotto is made with arborio rice, a high starch rice, that when stirred vigorously for about a half hour, yields a creamy rice dish can can be enjoyed with all kinds of flavors.  As you can see I used vanilla almond milk for extra creaminess (not traditional!) and I used maple syrup, vanilla bean, and just a touch of cinnamon.  It’s definitely a bit of work to make this risotto, but the rice pudding cakes can be frozen and thawed very easily.

Important Steps in Making Traditional Risotto

• The first step is toasting the arborio rice in the pot.  I heat up vegetable oil in a pot and add in the rice.  Toasting the rice adds a nice extra flavor that you won’t regret.  Move onto the next step after there is some color developed on the rice.
• The next step is adding in the liquid.  In savory versions I like to use stock for risotto, but in this case I used almond milk.  I pour in the liquid in small amounts.  For every 1 cup of arborio rice I end up adding at least 3 cups of liquid depending on the consistency I want.  I probably add in a half cup of liquid at a time.
• This step is the most important.  Stir the rice often throughout the cooking process.  Stirring vigorously releases the starches and you end up with delicious, creamy mouth watering risotto.
• I then season the risotto right at the end.  If I season it at the beginning I may have to add more liquid or rice to balance the flavors out.
• Make sure your fore arms are nice and strong for all the stirring you will have to do!!  Haha

The next part in this rice pudding risotto recipe is cooling down the rice so that the cakes can be made.  They will be sticky!  When pan frying them I make sure to use a fair bit of oil and shake the pan.  This will ensure the rice cakes don’t stick to the pan.  Look at that color!  It’s all flavor baby!

For the compote I totally used leftover Saskatoon berry compote, and man is it fricken delicious!  The best part of these rice pudding risotto cakes is that you can use whatever type of fruit for the compote you want!  All you need is 2 cups of your favorite frozen fruit, 4 tablespoons of maple syrup (the good stuff, not the table syrup!) and you are good to go!

The original inspiration for this dish was that we used to make savory versions of this recipe at The Main Dish.  We would change the flavor every week  but would always have risotto cakes in our display coolers, and they sold really well!

5 from 6 votes

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Risotto Rice Pudding Cakes with Berry Compote

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 12 Cakes

Ingredients

Risotto Rice Pudding Cakes

• 1.5 cups arborio rice
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3.5 cups vanilla, unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 tbsp maple syrup

Berry Compote

• 2 cups frozen fruit
• 4 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Risotto Rice Pudding Cakes

1. Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a pot and add in the arborio rice.  cook on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes to develop flavor in the rice.

2. In stages, add in the almond milk while stirring vigorously.  This process should take 25-30 minutes so adding in the liquid slowly is crucial.  The rice should be al dente (slightly firm) and very creamy, the consistency of pudding.  Add in the other ingredients right at the end of cooking.

3. Scrape the finished risotto onto a baking tray and cool down.  Roll 2 oz. balls and make patties.  Heat up the rest of the vegetable oil and sear the patties on both sides, Serve warm with the berry compote.

Berry Compote

1. Heat up the frozen berries and maple syrup in a small pot.  Slowly heat the mixture to a simmer and cook until the mixture becomes a nice sauce and coats the back of a spoon.  Cool and serve on the risotto rice pudding cakes

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