Team Sky Rice Cake Recipe (FULL RECIPE BELOW!)
Part of the rice cake’s popularity is that it’s a vehicle for both macro-nutrients (in this case, carbohydrate) and micro-nutrients (all the little things with complex names that your body needs to maintain metabolism). You can load it up with other ingredients, sweet or savoury, although caution in your experiments is advised – our attempts at an egg curry rice cake ended badly. Any ingredients that might compromise the rice cake’s structure, such as nuts and berries, can be incorporated by layering rice on to a baking tray, followed by a layer of the ingredient, followed by another layer of rice and pressing down firmly, making a ‘rice cake sandwich’ that should hold strong.
Here’s the recipe, as developed by nutritionist Nigel Mitchell for Team Sky.
Ingredients
- Short-Grain Rice – Arborio or Pudding Rice (500g)
- Coconut Oil (2 tbsp)
- Cream Cheese (250g)
- Granulated Sugar (2 tbsp)
- Cinnamon, Vanilla, or Nutmeg for Flavour (1/4 tsp)
- Water (1 litre)
Method
- 500g short-grain rice (arborio or pudding rice). Not quick cook, and don’t wash it.
- Cook in a rice cooker with 1 litre of water, two tablespoons of granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, vanilla, or nutmeg for flavour.
- Cooking time should be about 20 minutes, making rice that isn’t too soggy. Don’t take the lid off during cooking. Leave the rice to rest for five minutes.
- Add two tablespoons of coconut oil (which, despite its name, is a solid substance and not an oil) and 250g of cream cheese – chocolate Philadelphia is a favourite at Team Sky.
- Mix well.
- Lay out on cling film on a baking tray. Fold the cling film over the slab of rice to create a parcel – fold while the rice is still hot so it stays sterile.
- Leave the tray to cool, then put in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, chop the parcel of rice into energy bar-sized chunks. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Do not reheat the rice cakes.
Have you made these rice cakes? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Made the rice cakes a few times now, it takes a bit of practise getting the flavoring right, first time had way too much vanilla. Really easy to eat when cycling and much better than just eating gels all day on a long ride.
Thanks! Tried out this weekend and tasted great. Saving this page for next time.
Shouldn’t this be the Team Ineos recipe now? Or is it the ineos grenadiers? I can’t keep up!
Chris Froome considers rice cakes his secret weapon and, after close examination, it seems it’s pretty much the whole Team Sky that enjoys them. And there might be one man that’s responsible for that the head chef for Team Sky, Henrik Orre. “Rice cakes are my absolute favourite food for the jersey. I cook them a lot for the riders. Everyone who discovers them finds them to be their little favourite.”
Best rice cake recipe I have found for cycling. Bookmarked!
Thanks!
These look great, but no way I could eat them all before they spoiled, I think. Can you freeze them?
Good question! We’ve not needed to freeze them, so we haven’t tried. But you should be cautious with cooked rice as it can contain some nasty bacteria if it spoils.
I’ve frozen them and they are fine. They are better fresh as they go a little dry after freezing, but the coconut oil and Philadelphia holds them together well. I make a batch and wrap them up in foil
In the freezer in a plastic bag, then just take them out when I set out. Unless it’s mid winter they defrost by the time I need them.
Awesome advice. Thank you.
how long would they last if you refrigerate. Made first batch but far too many. Also after they are done it says to store in air tight but is that in or out of fridge. Many thanks. Did a century last weekend and these cakes worked perfect.
How many grams of carbs per grams of rice cake?
For the whole recipe it’s about 395g of carbs, so it depends how big your rice cake portions are from that.