Portuguese Rice Cakes ...

The Portuguese express love, faith and friendship through their cooking. Portions are large, and guests are always welcome at the table!

These sweet cakes are a cross between a muffin and a cupcake. They are a little sweeter than a muffin and more plain than a cupcake as there is no frosting to be found. There is no need for it. A frosting would ruin this cake’s simple, rustic beauty and overwhelm the delicate taste.

Ingredients
1 cup (150g) uncooked white rice
⅓ cup plus 1 teaspoon (50g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
⅓ cup (76g) butter, softened
⅔ cup (135g) sugar
3 eggs
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
Put rice into a food processor, blender or coffee grinder and blend until fine. Be certain that the rice has been ground well or it can cause the cakes to be a little crunchy!
Whisk together rice flour, baking powder, salt and all purpose flour in a bowl and set aside.
In a clean bowl, cream together sugar and butter with and electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating them well before each addition. Add in the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine.
Stir flours into the butter and sugar mixture, making certain it's well incorporated.
With a bit of butter, grease the inside of a cupcake/muffin tin and line the sides with strips of parchment paper cut 3 inches wide and 5 ½ inches long (for large cakes). You'll need 2 strips per cupcake cup with the ends overlapping to form a higher edge (photo of how it should look below). Make certain that they overlap well or the cake can ooze out (it'll still taste good, just won't be as pretty!)
Allow rice cakes to bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle sugar on top and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool at least 5 minutes before serving. They are best warm with a cup of espresso or a latte.

Enjoy!

Sandy Friend