Homemade Ricecakes

What comes to mind when you hear the word "ricecakes"? Probably those bland, puffed rice things people eat when they are trying to lose weight and still feel like they are eating something. If you were to ask my kids what comes to mind when they hear the word "ricecakes" it would be a different story altogether.You see, in our family, a "ricecake" is a breakfast food, kind of like a pancake.

What? You mean you have never heard of these before? There is probably good reason for that. It would have to do with the fact that you were not raised in the same house I was. (Sorry.) This is a family recipe. In fact, my mom ate it growing up as well.

I believe my grandma came up with ricecakes when she had 5 little kids and a very small budget. White rice was cheap and this was just another way she could use it in a meal.

In our home, we eat brown rice and so I make brown ricecakes. I think I have made some modifications to the way both my grandma and my mom made them. This recipe is a great way to serve my kids whole grains and protein. And my girls LOVE them!

Today, I will be sharing with you my version of ricecakes. Keep in mind that this is one of those "dump" recipes. It is based more on how the ricecake batter looks than the exact amount of ingredients. I will try to give fairly specific measurements and instructions for those of you who didn't have the opportunity to learn this alongside your mother as I did.

Ricecakes

3 cups cooked brown rice
3 eggs
1-2 Tbsp. oil (I generally use olive oil.)
1 Tbsp. sweetener (I used honey today, but have used agave and sugar in the past.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk

1. Preheat griddle. I have a gas stove and preheat my griddle on medium heat.



2. Add rice to a bowl. Break up rice if it is stuck together.





 
3. Add 3 eggs. Mix together. The consistency should not be runny, but the eggs should be able to easily coat all of the rice.



  4. Add remaining ingredients. I let my kids dump in as much cinnamon as their little hearts desire. I actually have no idea how much milk I normally add. This is not a very runny batter. It should still be fairly thick. If it is too runny, I have added a little ground flaxseed or flour before and that still turns out great.

5. Oil griddle. (I use butter on mine.)

6. Give the batter a quick stir; scoop 2 spoon fulls of batter per rice cake. (I just use my large regular flatware spoon for this.) Squish and flatten into a circular shape. It should be around 3/8" thick.



7. Allow to cook until the edges look cooked and the ricecake is thickening up. These take longer to cook than regular pancakes and will fall apart if you try to flip them too early. Flip ricecakes.




8. Allow to cook on second side. This side does not take very long, maybe one minute.

9. Remove from pan. Give the batter a quick stir and start more ricecakes cooking.

10. Serve with butter and real maple syrup. Makes about 9 - 4" wide ricecakes. (This morning I had to make more than this amount. My girls ate 4 each!)