Method

Soak the raisins in the rum in a bowl for 1 hour.

Combine the milk, rice, 100 g of the sugar, the vanilla pod and salt in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 1 hour until the rice absorbs the liquid. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the rice and discard the pod. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Pour 200 g of sugar into a large saucepan, shaking the pan so that the sugar coats the bottom of the pan evenly. Place over medium-high heat and cook for about 2 minutes without stirring until the sugar begins to melt. Now stir with a wooden spoon until golden and just beginning to foam. Remove from the heat and carefully pour into a cake tin. Work fast before the caramel sets, tilting the pan sideways to coat the bottom and sides.

Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Stir the egg yolks, raisins (discard the rum) and apricot jam into the rice. Beat the egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle in the remaining 15 ml sugar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the rice mixture. Transfer to the caramelised tin, set the tin in a shallow pan of water and bake for about 1 hour until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool slightly in the tin, then turn out onto a platter.

Caramelise the bananas in a hot frying pan with the sugar and water. Garnish the cake with the roasted bananas and serve with custard.

Extracted from JAN – A Breath of French Air by Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen (Struik Lifestyle)