Proper rice pudding needs a brown skin on top, and this Hairy Bikers recipe grows one in the oven. Brilliant Bakes gives it two and a half hours at low heat, so six servings cost about 370 calories and almost no effort.
Si writes that his mam “made proper rice pudding like this, always with some evaporated milk”, which explains the tin in the ingredients. That evaporated milk brings the colour and the beautiful skin, so do not swap it out.
Before anything bakes, the milk warms with bay leaves and a mace blade, then cools right down. That gentle infusion seasons every grain from the inside, because the rice drinks this milk through the whole bake.
Hairy Bikers Rice Pudding Recipe
Description
A few minutes of stirring is all the hands-on work, because everything mixes in one buttered dish and the oven takes over. While it bakes, a blackberry compote comes together on the hob, which replaces the traditional blob of jam on top.
Ingredients
For the rice pudding
For the blackberry compote
Instructions
- Infuse the milk: Put the milk in a saucepan with the bay leaves and mace blade, then heat slowly and remove it just before boiling. Leave it to cool to room temperature.
- Get ready: Preheat the oven to 150°C/Fan 130°C/Gas 2, then generously butter a 1.5-litre ovenproof dish.
- Mix in the dish: Strain the infused milk into the dish with the rice, brown sugar and evaporated milk, then stir to combine. Drop in the cubes of butter and grate some nutmeg on top.
- Bake: Bake the pudding for about 2½ hours, until the rice has swelled and softened and a rich brown skin has formed on top.
- Start the compote: Put the blackberries and sugar in a pan with a pinch of salt, the bruised bay leaves and a squeeze of lemon. Stir and leave everything to sit for a few minutes, so the sugar starts dissolving.
- Finish the compote: Bring it slowly to the boil over a gentle heat, stirring until the berries break down and the sauce thickens. Add the liqueur if using, then cool and remove the bay leaves before serving with the pudding.
FAQs
How do they make rice pudding on the hob?
Their British Classics book cooks it on the stove like a risotto, so it is ready far faster than the baked version. The milk simmers with a cinnamon stick, half a nutmeg, mixed peel and flaked almonds, which flavours the pudding as it thickens.
A prune compote comes with it, made from Marsala wine, a spoonful of brandy and orange juice. The book says to add double cream too if you are feeling completely decadent, though that hob version cannot grow a skin, because the skin only forms in the oven.
How does the cranachan rice pudding work?
Everyday Winners crosses the Scottish cranachan with the English rice pud, and the book calls it a magical union. Honey and a tablespoon of whisky stir through the rice, while oats toast in honey, maple syrup, butter and more whisky for the topping.
Then 300g of blueberries and a spoonful of sugar finish it, and the book suggests layering everything in little jars for a dinner party. For another dessert piled with berries and cream, their pavlova takes the same fruit cold.
Is there a lighter chocolate version?
Yes, and it comes from their Hairy Dieters Make It Easy book at just 275 calories a serving, which the book states itself. The rice simmers in vanilla milk first, then 30g of cocoa whisked into the remaining milk turns it chocolatey in the last ten minutes.
Dark chocolate curls go on top, and the book suggests tangerine segments on the side for a chocolate-orange feel. It works hot or cold, so nothing goes to waste.
What is their Thai sticky rice pudding like?
Completely different, because the rice steams in a bamboo steamer rather than simmering in milk. It soaks in water first, anywhere from half an hour to overnight, then coconut milk folds in a quarter at a time once it is cooked.
A lime and papaya salad sits alongside, which cuts the richness. The book says it is worth the trip to an Asian supermarket for the sticky rice and lime leaves.
How many rice puddings have the Hairy Bikers published?
Ten across their cookbooks, which shows how much they love the stuff. There is a tropical one in One Pot Wonders and an apricot compote version from their Mediterranean book, while the almond and cherry pudding from their Northern Exposure days now sits in Veggie Feasts.
Most build on the same pudding rice, so master this baked classic first and the rest follow easily. For another old-fashioned baked pudding to try after it, their bread and butter pudding soaks brioche in orange custard.
