This picture says it all. You know it’s good when it’s gone before the brownies and chocolate covered strawberries.I don’t think I’ve actually ever tried rice pudding. The thought of it has always been a bit weird to me.  Cooked rice for dessert? So, when it was my week to choose the recipe for Project Pastry Queen, I saw the rice pudding and was curious, but only because it was dulce de leche. It had a method for making the dulce de leche I’ve been wanting to try.

Basically, you take a can of sweetened condensed milk, simmer it for about an hour, and magically this amazing sauce is created. Oooh, then you save a bit and whip it into the whipped cream.

It wasn’t the prettiest of desserts, but darn was it delicious.

So, if you’re like me and rice pudding sounds scary, give it a whirl. It’s worth it.

INGREDIENTS

Rice Pudding
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 C Abrorio rice
2 C water
1 ½ C milk
4 large egg yolks
¼ C firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 ½ C heavy whipping cream
2 vanilla beans, split in half, seed scraped out a reserved
3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur (optional)

Garnish
1 C slivered almonds
1 C chilled heavy whipping cream
1/3 C dulce de leche (leftover from above)

DIRECTIONS

Dulce de Leche

1. Coat a 5-6 C ovenproof casserole or soufflé dish with cooking spray.
2. Remove the paper wrapper from the can of sweetened condensed milk.
3. Use a can opener to make two small punctures on opposite sides of the top of the can.
4. Set the milk in a medium saucepan, puncture side up.
5. Fill the medium saucepan with water to reach two-thirds of te way up the sides of the can.
6. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
7. Lower the heat until the water simmers.
8. Simmer the milk about 1 hour. (Mine took about an hour and a half to get to the right color and probably could have left it longer.) Check the saucepan periodically, adding water to ensure the water level does not drop below halfway. A bit of milk may seep out of the small holes in the can.
9. Cook until the milk pooled on top of the can has turned a deep golden brown.
10. Remove the can from the simmering water using a pot holder or tongs.
11. Open the can carefully and use a rubbers spatula to sppon 1 C of the cooked milk into a measuring cup. Save the rest for the whipped cream.

Pudding

1. Bring the rice and water to a boil in a medium saucepan and simmer for 5 min.
2. Drain the rice in a colander, pour back into the saucepan, and add the milk.
3. Cover and simmer the rice for 20-25 min, until the milk is absorbed.
4. Transfer the rice to a bowl.
5. Preheat the oven to 325. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and brown sugar until smooth.
6. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the cream, 1 C dulce de leche, and vanilla bean pods and their beans to a boil.
7. Remove the vanilla bean pods.
8. Whisk 2 Tbls of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Be sure to do this step slowly or the yolks may begin to cook)
9. Pour the rest of the cream mixture in a slow, steady stream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
10. Add the cooked rice and mix to combine.
11. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and bake for 45-50 min, until the top is browned and toothpick stuck into the middle comes out almost clean. (Mine cooked for a little over an hour and probably could have used 10 more min.
12. Serve the pudding warm or at room temperature and top with garnish below.

Garnish

1. Arrange the almond slivers on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them in the over 7-9 min, until golden brown and aromatic.
2. Using a mixer with a whisk attachment beat the cream in a large bowl on high speed until soft peaks being to form.
3. Add 1/3 C of the remaining dulce de leche and beat until incorporated.

NOTES

Recipe from Rebecca Rather’s The Pastry Queen.