This pie in Italy is passed down through grandmothers… most likely, you won’t find this pastry in Italian bakeries, but if you have good friends in Italy, you might be lucky enough to taste this homemade pie within their family circle! But with my recipe, you can enjoy a slice of freshly baked pie at home!
You will need:
- 260g Rice (small, round, and slightly elongated)
- 120g Sugar
- 120g Almond flour
- 1 Lemon (zest for rice and juice for apples)
- 1L Milk
- 5 Medium-sized eggs
- 16g Baking powder
- A pinch of Salt
- 400g Apples
- 100g Raisins
To start, pour milk into a saucepan, add salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar (from the total amount), and bring to a boil.
Now add rice and simmer for 20 minutes over medium heat.
Once the rice is ready, cover it with plastic wrap and let it cool.
Soak the raisins in water or rum and set aside.
Dice the apples and drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.
Now separate the egg yolks from the whites. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, gradually adding sugar while continuing to beat. Once the egg whites reach a dense, snowy consistency, start adding the egg yolks one by one, continuing to beat.
Now add the soaked raisins to the cooled rice (after draining excess liquid) and mix well.
Gradually add the beaten eggs to the rice and gently mix with a silicone spatula in a top-down motion.
Add flour and sifted baking powder, then mix gently with a silicone spatula.
At the very last stage, add the diced apples. Mix with a silicone spatula.
Transfer the batter to a baking dish, 25-26 cm in diameter. In my case, the baking dish was too small, so I recommend 25-26 cm.
Bake for 45 minutes at 180°C. Be sure to check the readiness of the pie before removing it from the oven.
Let the pie cool very well, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve!
Tips: You can add vanilla or cinnamon to your pie, chocolate chips, pine nuts… and you can also flavor it with your favorite liqueur, rum, or orange zest. Almond flour can be replaced with flour from hazelnuts!
Buon Appetito!
