This rice pudding is one of the first recipes I ever made as a child. It was one of my favourites as well as my sister's, and we prepared it whenever we had a chance. It is still one of my favourite desserts but I try not to indulge too much as it has quite a lot of double cream and butter. Still, I do get the craving sometimes and enjoy making it. For me this is the perfect rice pudding, made with risotto rice and the zest of a lemon, and the dark chocolate sauce on top adds a gorgeous depth of flavour. You can also replace the chocolate sauce with a raspberry or wild berry coulis, or keep it simple without any topping. Enjoy the indulgence.
Preparation time: 45 minutes plus 2 hours in the fridge. Serves 6-8
Ingredients
● 250g Italian Carnaroli or Arborio risotto rice
● 200g dark chocolate
● 4 tablespoons of white sugar
● 50g butter
● 200ml whipping/double cream
● 1 litre full fat milk
● Zest of 1 lemon
Method
● Fill up a saucepan with the milk and sugar and bring to a boil, taking care that it does not overflow.
● Add the rice and leave it to cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the rice has completely absorbed the milk. Remove from the stove, add the butter and the lemon zest, stir well and leave it to cool down.
● Tip: transfer the rice into a shallow plate so it will cool down faster.
● In the meantime whip the cream, ideally with an electric mixer. Once the rice has cooled down, gently incorporate the whipped cream into it.
● Take a medium size cake tin, glass dish or 6-8 ramekins and spread a thin layer of butter at the bottom. Pour the rice pudding into it. Place in the fridge and leave to chill for at least a couple of hours.
● Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie by putting the chocolate in a small saucepan over another bigger saucepan of simmering water.
● Add a couple of tablespoons of hot water to the chocolate to help keep a smooth consistency and stir well with a hand whisk to avoid any lumps.
● Once the rice pudding is cold, pour the melted chocolate on top of it and place it back in the fridge for 15 minutes or until the chocolate solidifies. Alternatively you can serve the pudding with the hot chocolate sauce poured on at the last minute.
● It keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days.
