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Homemade Rice Pudding
Creamy rice pudding with a homemade creme anglaise sauce and sweetened whipped cream
I have been on the hunt for the perfect homemade rice pudding recipe. Every Christmas Eve, I make a pot of homemade rice pudding for my family. It all started when my brother, Ryan, served a two-year mission to Denmark. He came home and shared some of their treasured Christmas traditions.
One of them is that they hide one almond in a big bowl of rice pudding. As they eat their homemade rice pudding, they hope to find the almond in their bowl because a special present is a prize. When he arrived home, we began that tradition and loved it.
This Homemade Rice Pudding recipe is hands down the best rice pudding on the planet! It is perfectly rich and creamy and the ultimate comfort food.
For the creamiest rice pudding, slowly cook Arborio rice with whole milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. A handcrafted creme anglaise sauce is folded into the cooked rice pudding and topped with fresh whipped cream. A creme anglaise sauce is a homemade velvety smooth custard. It’s insanely good!
I found this recipe in the Dahlia Bakery Cookbook and they are known for their rice pudding.
How to make Homemade Creamy Rice Pudding:
- Start by making a homemade creme anglaise (custard) sauce. This is made with heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, and egg yolks. The key is to use a heavy-bottom saucepan. Heat the cream, milk, and sugar until it almost reaches a boiling point (bubbles should start to form around the surface of the pot). Add the egg yolks to a bowl and carefully spoon hot cream mixture into the bowl, one teaspoon at a time. This tempers the egg yolks by heating them little by little so they don’t turn into scrambled eggs!
- Cook arborio rice with whole milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla until the rice is soft and the mixture is thick, about 35-40 minutes. Stir the mixture often as it becomes thicker.
- Fold in creme anglaise sauce into cooled rice pudding. Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form and fold into the rice pudding, reserving some of the whipped cream for the topping. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve warm or cold.
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Homemade Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Creme Anglaise Sauce:
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/4 cup Whole Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 large Egg Yolks
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla or 1 Vanilla Bean (scraped)
Rice Pudding:
- 4 1/2 cups Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 3/4 cup Arborio Rice
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Whipped Cream:
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
To make Creme Anglaise Sauce:
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine cream, milk, and sugar over medium-high heat. Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and bubbles begin to form along the sides of the pot. Remove from heat before it comes to a boil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Add a small amount of hot cream mixture, one teaspoon at a time to egg mixture, whisking after each addition. This helps bring it to temperature without scrambling the eggs. Once 1/4 cup of the hot cream has been added to the yolks, pour the entire mixture into the pot and return to medium heat. Keep stirring until it thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour the creme anglaise through a strainer and refrigerate until chilled.
To make Rice Pudding:
- Combine the milk, sugar, rice, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to low and let it gently simmer for 35-40 minutes, or until the rice is soft and the mixture is thick. As it begins to thicken, stir often to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and let cool and set up in the refrigerator.
To make Whipped Cream:
- In a bowl, whip heavy cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.
To assemble Rice Pudding:
- Fold chilled creme anglaise into the rice pudding. Fold 1/2 of the whipped cream into the rice pudding, reserving some for garnish. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Dahlia Bakery Cookbook
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Happy Cooking, my friends!
The best holiday dessert!
Such a yummy recipe!
Excellent! I brought the rice pudding to my son’s house. He informed me that the grandkids would like it except for one. She LOVED it and it was well received with comments like “it’s the best I’ve ever had!” I’m not keen either but it was lovely & creamy. I made rum-soaked raisin’s to put over the top, which took it to a whole new level!
I have not yet made the recipe. The notes preceding the recipe state that the rice is cooked with cinnamon (along with milk, vanilla and salt), but the instructions state that the cinnamon is sprinkled as a garnish. Either prep would taste good. What are people doing?
Holy mother of pearl!! This rice pudding is everything!! A million times better than store bought. Thank you for this yumminess 🙂