When people immigrate to a new country, they often carry with them reminders of their homeland and a few cherished belongings. Old family recipes are both – cherished and reminders of home. Mary Cannici says of her grandmother’s special cake recipe, “This recipe immigrated to this country from Sicily when Nonna was a little girl and her family came to Ellis Island.” The cake is a wonderful combination of a creamy ricotta cake and an egg-rich pudding. Farina, a finely ground cereal grain with a mild taste, is used as the thickening agent. Serve this versatile and easy-to-make cake with fresh seasonal fruit and you have the perfect dessert for brunch or dinner! Easter and Mother’s Day are just around the corner!
Nonna’s Breakfast and Dessert Farina Cake
Recipe by Mary Cannici
Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
1¼ cups (8¾ ounces) sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup farina
16 ounces (2 cups) whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
2. Bring milk, sugar, and butter to simmer in large saucepan and cook, stirring often, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Slowly whisk in farina until smooth.
4. Remove saucepan from heat, stir in ricotta and vanilla.
5. Let mixture cool slightly, then stir in beaten eggs until combined.
6. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm.
Serves 15 to 18
Linnell’s Notes:
1. Farina can usually be found in stores that carry natural foods. Sprouts, Whole Foods, and health food stores often carry farina in the bulk bin section. Cream of Wheat is made from farina.
2. Be careful not to add too much of the farina at one time. Add small amounts of it slowly, stirring constantly, to prevent lumps from forming.
3. Although the egg custard flavor is more pronounced when the cake is served warm (after the 10-minute cooling period), it is trickier to serve warm since the texture is like a rough custard. After the cake sits for a while, it firms up and can be cut into squares.
Enjoy!
What about this? 
This looks delicious.
I made this cake this past weekend (from Cook’s Country magazine) except I sprinkled a tiny bit of nutmeg on top before baking (instead of cinnamon). It is sooooooo delicious, people. Very custard-y and satisfying. Good warm, good cold. I can’t even decide which way I like it better. If you like Cream of Wheat, you will LOVE this cake!
Thanks for stopping by Laney Be! Great suggestion, too – nutmeg would be wonderful on top of this cake, especially for those who don’t care for cinnamon.
I love how I can actually taste the custard texture and flavor through this picture! I think if I ever immigrated to another country, I would teach my children the American tradition of Girl Scout cookies 🙂 hehe
I love this! It looks so good. I have never heard of this type of cake can’t wait to try it. We love everything to do with cakes and baking, if you love it as much as we do you might like our blog, especially our recipe on welsh cakes. http://teaandsympathynewyork.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/welsh-cakes-st-davids-day-recipe/
enjoy.x
Just made this cake, only I halved the recipe. Excellent! This recipe is a keeper.
My thanks to you for contributing.
Sorry…can Cream of Wheat be used as the farina?
Hi Lori – I have not tried using Cream of Wheat in the recipe. However, according to Cooksinfo.com, “Cream of Wheat® cereal is based on Farina, though it is not quite the same thing. The farina used for Cream of Wheat is ground a little finer than farina generally is, and a small proportion of other ingredients is also added to the Cream of Wheat cereal. The two, however, can be substituted for each other.” I say go ahead and give Cream of Wheat a try. Please let me know how your cake turns out. And many thanks for stopping by What About This!
I use cream of wheat for years in my Greek galatopita (similar without the ricotta) My grandmother used C of W for her galatoboutiko wihich is similar only with filo. This tradition in my family goes back to the 20’s! It doesn’t matter one bit in the outcome. I’m going to try the ricotta. Sounds yummy!!!
I just used Cream of Wheat because I couldn’t find farina. It turned out great! Do you know if this is also called Migliaccio?
Hi KT. Thanks for dropping by What About This. Glad you liked the cake! I don’t know if it’s the same as Migliaccio. Please let me know, if you find out the answer.
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