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1
Prepare a 24 cm springform tin: coat the interior evenly with softened butter, then add the breadcrumbs and rotate the tin until every surface is covered. Tap out any excess. Set aside. Heat the oven to 170–180 °C.
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2
Combine the milk and roughly half the sugar in a wide, heavy saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the rice. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 30–40 minutes. The dish lives or dies here: the rice must absorb virtually all the milk, becoming soft and creamy — a very thick, yielding mass, like a stiff risotto-pudding with no loose liquid remaining. Undercooked rice will produce a gritty, starchy cake that cannot be corrected.
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3
Remove from the heat and spread the rice in a wide bowl or the saucepan itself. Allow it to cool to lukewarm — not hot. The mass should feel barely warm at the centre when touched with the back of the hand.
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4
Beat the whole eggs, yolks, and remaining sugar together until combined. Add to the lukewarm rice along with the ground almonds, candied peel, alkermes, rum, lemon zest, and vanilla. Fold until fully incorporated. The batter will be dense and slightly pink from the alkermes.
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5
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake at 170–180 °C for 40–50 minutes. The cake is ready when the edges are set and golden and the centre trembles only slightly — a gentle shake of the tin reveals a controlled wobble, not a liquid slosh. Do not bake to full rigidity; the cake will firm as it cools.
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6
Remove from the oven and allow the torta to cool completely in the tin — several hours, or overnight. It will firm and the flavours will integrate. Unmould only when fully cold, releasing the springform clip gently. Dust the surface with icing sugar before serving.