To better synchronize the downtime in all these recipes, start making the Norwegian rice porridge first, then the almond cake. Don´t be intimidated by the many components. With a little planning, the timing works out well.

One recipe of the Norwegian Rice Porridge makes 2000 grams; for the Belgium Rice Cake, you need 1000 grams. If you only want to have enough to make the cake, reduce the recipe of the rice porridge by half. However, I think you will regret not making all of the rice porridge as it is so delious by itself.

Norwegian Rice Porridge

• Preheat your oven to 130C°/266F°
   
• Pour 1600 grams of whole milk and 400 grams of heavy cream into a large saucepan. With a paring knife, cut the vanilla bean lengthwise in half, then scrape out the seeds and add the seeds and pod to the saucepan.
   
• Heat the milk, cream, and vanilla bean over low-medium heat, until warm. Give it a quick whisk.
   
• Next, make porridge rice. In a heavy-bottomed pot, add 800 grams of boiled water and 300 grams of porridge rice, stir and cook over medium-low heat until most of the water has been absorbed by the rice. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt when the rice has cooked through. It is important that you stir at times; it takes about 5-7 minutes.
   
• When the rice is almost done, make sure the milk-cream-vanilla mixture is still warm.
   
• Then carefully pour the warm milk and cream mixture ( the vanilla bean as well) into the rice pot, stir, and set over medium-low heat for 2 minutes.
   
• Then place the lock on top of the pot and place it in the middle of the oven at 130C°/266F° for about 1 1/2  to 2 hours. Stir every 30 minutes; you need to stir in the pot to make sure it cooks evenly.
   
• The consistency of the rice porridge should be creamy and thick, but not too thick as it thickens more as it cools. Mine was done at 90 minutes.
   
• Remove from the oven; carefully remove the warm vanilla bean pod from the rice porridge, cool slightly, then squeeze out any goodness that has clung to it and add it to the rice porridge.
   
• To make the Belgium Rice Cake, Reserve 1000 grams of rice porridge in an airtight container in the refrigerator until very cold.
   
• Serve the leftover Norwegian Rice immediately while still warm with a piece of butter on top and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon and sugar; it is so delious.
  
   

Almond Meringue Cake 
 

• Preheat the oven to 170C°( 350F°) for 30 minutes before baking.
   
• Line and lightly grease the sides and the bottom of a 25 cm ( 10-inches) springform with parchment paper.
   
• In a food processor, grind half of the almonds 125 grams and pulse until fine, then add the remaining 125-gram almonds and pulse so that you have a mixture of fine and semi-rough. and  I like mine to be a little course, which provides a better texture.
   
•  Refrain from running the food processor continuously, as over-processing these almonds will release the nuts oils. Set aside for now.
   
• Wipe the inside of a mixer bowl and the whisk attachment with a paper towel dampened with a little lemon juice to eliminate any trace of grease. I know it adds a little time to the process. Still, it´s worth every extra second, as this step is so crucial to make sure your egg whites whip up well.
   
• Whip 135-gram egg whites in a perfectly clean bowl at medium-low speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. You want to establish that eggs are free from fat and are going to create foam. Next, add a pinch of cream of tartar.
   
• Turn the mixer to medium speed. The whites will start to froth and turn into beautiful bubbles, keep whipping until you can see the wires of the whisk, leaving a soft trail in the whites. About 2-3 minutes, when you lift the whisk, the meringue should hold its shape.
   
• Turn the mixer to low speed, and slowly add the 250 grams of confectionary sugar over the whites, a tablespoon at a time, so it doesn't crush the foam you so diligently build up.
   
• Once you have added all of the confectionary sugar, continue to whisk on medium speed until the meringue is glossy and thick, about 3 minutes. The meringue mixture should be stiff but still glossy and easy to work with, so be careful not to overmix the meringue mixture.
   
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the coarsely or super-fine ground almond flour and gently fold in until incorporated.
   
• Scoop the almond meringue mixture into the prepared springform pan, use your spatula to spread evenly, and eliminate any air bubbles.
   
• Bake off immediately on the middle rack of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. It´s often ready when you can smell the smell of toasted nuts in the kitchen.
   
• Let the cake cool in the springform on a wire rack until cool. 
   
• The meringue top is very fragile; it is best to flatten the top with a spatula to make sure the cake layer has the same level.
   
• Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge until needed this will make the meringue cake less fragile.

Belgium Rice Cake
 

• Preheat your oven to 200C° (400F°). Keep in mind that the oven temperature will need to go down to 175C° (350F°) 10 minutes after the rice cake has been in the oven.
   
• Grease and line a 23 cm ( 9-inches) springform pan with parchment paper; set aside for now.
   
• Remove the cold rice porridge from the fridge, and give it a quick whisk to loosen up. Set aside for now.
   
• For the Belgium rice cake, I use a blender to combine it all. If you don't have a blender do the same thing in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and have your mixer at medium speed until combined. About 20 to 30 seconds.
   
• In a blender or in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, blend or whisk together 245 grams of superfine sugar, 70-gram of cornstarch, 150 grams eggs from about 3 large eggs, 45 grams egg yolks from about 3 large egg yolks, 450-gram heavy cream, 700-gram whole milk, and 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste until well combined. Then pour the mixture into a large saucepan.
   
• Split one large vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds, adding both the seeds and pod to the saucepan. Give it a quick whisk. 
   
• Whisk ( at all times) the vanilla mixture over medium heat ( never on high heat) until the vanilla mixture thickens slightly and when you see the first bubbles pop up on the surface, remove the saucepan from heat. 
   
•  Add 1000 grams of Norwegian rice porridge to the warm pastry cream. Combine with a balloon whisk or a wooden spoon.
   
• Remove the vanilla bean pod from the pastry cream, squeezing out any goodness that has clung to it, and put it back into the pastry cream. Give it a quick whisk to combine with the rice pastry cream.
   
• Immediately pour the warm rice pastry cream into the prepared springform pan, bake immediately at 200C° (400F°) for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 175C° (350F°) and bake for another 50 minutes. The top will become dark brown, don't worry, it won't taste burned. If your rice cake does not look brown on top when done, bake it a bit longer ( about 5 minutes) until the top is dark brown.
   
• Remove the warm rice cake from the oven, be careful as it is so warm; let cool on a wire rack for about 3 hours or until completely cool. Then refrigerate the rice cake still in the springform in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, to firm up. The rice cake is most delious if served cold.

Assembly
 

• Before you start to assemble the cake and serve the rice cake, Make sure both the Belgium Rice Cake and Almond Meringue cake are cold for this next step, as you need to invert the cake twice. 
   
• Remove the cold Belgium Rice Cake from the refrigerator. Run a small offset spatula around the edge of the cake, and leave the cake still in the springform. Invert a flat plate over the springform and carefully flip the rice cake so that the top is now on the bottom. Remove the springform, peel off the parchment paper from the bottom of the cold rice cake, then place the very cold almond meringue cake on top and peel off the parchment paper. Invert a serving plate over the almond Meringue Cake and invert the cake onto the serving plate, so the crust is now on the bottom of the Belgium Rice Cake.
   
• Serve immediately or place the cake in the fridge until serving. The rice cake is most delious if served cold straight from the fridge. The cake tasted even better the next day. 
   
• The cake keeps well for up to 5 days in the fridge.