Baked Vanilla and Rice Pudding with Rum-Soaked Raisins
This is a rich soul warming rice pudding where the notes of baked vanilla and caramel will wrap you in a generous hug.
It’s incredibly simple to make. You begin with a golden brown buttery caramel in a heavy-based casserole dish, next you stir in some cream, milk and vanilla seeds. Place the dish in the oven and let it bake for a little while.
This pudding, to my enjoyment, is not too sweet – so I like to pair it with a spoonful of spiced raisins drenched in a vanilla infused rum or vodka, but instead, you could always pour some custard on top or simply stir in a dollop of your favourite jam.
The recipe comes from “Beyond Nose to Tail. A Kind of British Cooking Part II” cook book by Fergus Henderson and Justin Piers Gellatl; it’s served at the iconic London restaurant: St. John -and it’s an immediate mood improvement on a grey wintery afternoon.
I’ve only made a minor deviation in the recipe reducing slightly the quantity of milk, otherwise, it can’t be improved upon.
Serves 6-8:
- 200 g of pudding rice
- 150 g of caster sugar
- 125 g of butter
- 1.2 – 1.3 litres of milk, full-fat
- 300 ml of double cream
- 1 vanilla pod
- a pinch of salt
Place the butter and sugar in a heavy-based casserole dish (about 26 cm in diameter, 4 cm tall).
Melt the butter over a medium heat stirring occasionally.
Bring to the boil and let it bubble, without stirring, until it turns into a golden brown caramel.
Add the rice and stir to combine it with the caramel.
Next pour in the cream and the milk, stir gently.
Bare in mind that the liquid will turn the caramel a bit hard and stringy. But as the liquid heats up, the caramel will melt into it and turn smooth again.
Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthways, scrape out the seeds and add them along with the pod to the rice. Season the pudding with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil (always on a medium heat).
In the meantime preheat the oven to 160 C (static).
Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 1hour and 20 minutes, or a bit longer if needed.
The pudding should turn golden brown on top, thick and creamy.
To serve: spoon the hot rice pudding into deep individual serving bowls and top it with some alcohol-soaked raisins*, pour some custard on top or just dust with cinnamon.
For the alcohol soaked raisins* or sultanas:
Cover 60-80 g of raisins with dark rum, vodka or grappa.
Let them soak preferably overnight before using, or better still, prepare them a few days in advance and keep in a sealed jar.
