Rice Pudding That Makes You Oooooh and Aaaaaah!

Up until today, I’ve never liked rice pudding. I tried it once when I was a kid and thought it was horrid. Then I tried it again when I was an adult and my opinion of rice pudding remained unchanged. It was yucky.

Today something totally magical happened. I made a rice pudding for Kemal, and when I tried it, I fell in love! I was oooohing and aaaaahing while I enjoyed every rich, creamy bite! Kemal really enjoyed it as well and said I did a really good job.

So how did this recipe come about?

Well, a while back when I made Russian Hat Cake, Kemal and I sampled the cream filling and thought it was excellent. He said he could imagine that filling being used as a base for rice pudding, and today, I made the pudding the way he envisioned it. I just basically cut the cream filling ingredients in half and added some vanilla. Then I added the soft, milk-soaked rice and presto…a rich, creamy rice pudding was born! Thanks to my friend, Vesna, for the cream filling recipe, and to Kemal for the idea and inspiration! Also, thanks to my mom for the bread basket liner she made which I used as a background when I photographed my pudding.

If you decide to make it, you’ll need about an hour or so, and you’ll be doing a lot of stirring. My fingers were aching by the time the rice was done, but it was definitely worth the time and effort.

Rice Pudding That Makes You Oooooh and Aaaaaah!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter, salted
• 6 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 7 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 pkg. vanilla sugar (Optional)
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla

Instructions:

• Put the stick of butter on your counter top so it can soften.
• In a medium-sized saucepan, mix together 5 1/2 cups milk and rice, and then bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.
• After the milk begins to boil, reduce the heat to low, stirring constantly until the rice becomes soft.
• Remove it from the heat when the rice is done, and then stir in 1/2 cup sugar. Set it aside to cool a little.
• Next take 1/2 cup milk and 7 1/2 tbsp. flour and whip it by hand with a whisk until there are no lumps. Set it aside when you’re done.
• Put 1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, and vanilla sugar in a sauce pan and heat it on medium well heat until it boils, stirring constantly.
• After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and then add the flour/milk mixture that you just whisked together, stirring it in with the warm milk/sugar very quickly.
• Keep stirring it on low heat until it has the consistency of a pudding.
• When the mixture becomes pudding-like in texture, mix in the 2 tsp. vanilla.
• Then refrigerate it so it can chill.
• After the cream cools and is nice and cold, take your mixer and beat the stick of softened butter into the mixture.
• Then stir the rice mixture into the cream mixture, mixing well.
• Serve warm or chilled.
• Optional: You can garnish the top of the pudding with cinnamon sugar or with a sweet cocoa powder if you like.