Rice pudding with brandied currant and vanilla

Babiche Martens

Rice pudding is one of my favourites; baking for hours while the whole house smells like nutmeg, then breaking through the crust to divulge the deliciously creamy sweet rice. This classic dessert can also be made on the stovetop if you don't have hours up your sleeve. Using a risotto method results in a perfectly creamy pudding in 30 minutes.

Ingredients

400 ml	Milk
400 ml	Cream
1	Whole nutmeg, 1 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
1	Vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup	Caster sugar
1 cup	Arborio rice, or carnaroli rice (Main)
3	Egg yolks
1 cup	Currants
2 Tbsp	Brandy

Directions

1. Heat the milk, cream, nutmeg, vanilla pod and seeds with the sugar over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. Add the rice and cook for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and add, then stir for 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod.
4. Warm the currants in the brandy and serve with the rice pudding, adding extra cream if so desired.

Chef's tip

Cooking rice pudding on the stove requires a risotto rice e.g carnaroli or arborio to achieve the required amount of creaminess.