Rice Pudding Cake with Blueberry-Peach Compote

My younger brother had a birthday this past week. I told him a couple of weeks ago to find a cake he wanted me to make for his birthday celebration. We looked at a couple of things together and then he told me he wanted a cake made out of oats with rice pudding in between the layers. Gross? Yeah. I told him I didn't think that was going to work.
So, then I thought that maybe I could find a rice pudding cake. Sure enough, I searched on epicurious.com, and found this Rice Pudding Cake that appeared in Bon Appetit Magazine about 12 years ago.
I decided this was the cake for Andrew.
I know it might sound a little strange, but it was a huge success.
You just make rice pudding as you normally would on the stovetop, let it cool a bit and add a egg yolk/sugar mixture. You let that cool a little and then add in the egg whites that have been beaten to stiff peaks. Then you bake the "cake" in the oven for an hour and it becomes firm enough that you can slice it into cake slices.
The compote originally called for cherries and apricots, but I had blueberries and peaches in the freezer, so I just used those. It was delicious.
For any of you rice pudding lovers, you should really try this take on rice pudding!

Rice Pudding Cake with Cherry-Apricot Compote Bon Appétit May 1997
(TORTA DI RISO CON COMPOSTA DI CILIEGE E ALBICOCCHE)
Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings
4 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup arborio rice or medium-grain rice

Pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

1/2 cup chopped blanched slivered almonds (about 2 ounces)

1/4 cup chopped candied orange peel (I used crystallized ginger)

2 teaspoons (packed) grated lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

4 large eggs, separated

Powdered sugar

*Cherry-Apricot Compote

Bring milk to boil in heavy large saucepan. Stir in rice and salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until most of milk is absorbed and mixture is thick but still creamy, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes (mixture will resemble thick rice pudding). Add 1/2 cup sugar and stir 2 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 1/2-inch-high sides. Dust pan with breadcrumbs. Mix almonds, candied orange peel, lemon peel and almond extract into rice mixture. Whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl to blend. Stir into rice mixture.

Cool completely.

Beat egg whites in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into rice mixture in 2 additions. Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Bake until cake is golden and firm to touch, about 1 hour. Transfer to rack and cool completely in pan. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
Run small sharp knife around cake to loosen. Release pan sides from cake. Place cake on platter. Sift powdered sugar over cake. Cut into wedges and serve with Cherry-Apricot Compote.

*Cherry-Apricot Compote Bon Appétit May 1997
(COMPOSTA DI CILIEGE E ALBICOCCHE)
Delicious with the Rice Pudding Cake or with biscotti or vanilla ice cream.

Yield: Makes 6 servings
1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cup dry white wine (I used white grape juice)

2 teaspoons grated orange peel (I used lime peel)

1 1/2 pounds apricots, halved, pitted, sliced, or one 1-pound package frozen sliced peaches (no sugar added) (I used frozen peaches)

1 1/4 pounds fresh Bing cherries, pitted, or one 1-pound package frozen pitted dark sweet cherries (no sugar added) (I used frozen blueberries)

Combine first 4 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

Bring to boil. Add apricots and cherries; simmer until fruit is tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

Chill until cold, about 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Coming Tomorrow- Whole Wheat Pitas