Classic Baked Rice Pudding...and...Apple Crumble Rice Pudding (GF)

The scene is set. Mr M makes dinner. Forgets I can't eat wraps to accompany fajitas. Makes rice. For an entire army. My suspicions are raised when I suggest I use the leftovers to make a Rice Pudding and he gives an all too rehearsed smile, as though this was all part of an evil scheme. 

So what if it was!! We got to eat Rice Pudding!!! 

I hadn't really realised how much I enjoy Rice Pudding, perhaps because the number of things I can eat is dwindling, but also because it reminds me of my brother. He is/was a rugby player and growing up would eat anything that wasn't moving (but as an aside, living in Japan I'm fairly certain this wasn't a pre-requisite) and so our Mum's full time job was trying to get him full. After a full day of eating half a bakery/butchers/fruit stall/rice field/potato farm...we'd be nearly finished dinner when the inevitable question would arise "what's for dessert". Rice Pudding was a frequent option because unlike something dainty like a creme brulee or pavlova, this would actually fill him up (and well, if you're already cooking a few kilo's of rice for dinner, dessert is half done too!). 

Which is where my thoughts came in. If Mr M had cooked the rice already, dessert is half done for me, the least I can do is add some milk and eggs! 

I wanted a recipe that reminded me of the ones we had growing up. I knew what ingredients I was to use, so went in search for whoever else used them. Jackpot. Paula Deen! If Paula Deen has made it, I knew it would be good! I found her classic Baked Rice Pudding recipe and made a few smaller portions, because I had some grand plans for shaking things up a little. 

But firstly, a classic Baked Rice Pudding:

Ingredients

1 cup cooked rice

2 1/2 cups milk

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup raisins (I don't like raisins in mine so left them out)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Method:

1. Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl and add rice, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. 

2. Grease some ramekins or a baking dish and preheat oven to 160C/325F

3. Pour the rice/custard mix into the prepared dishes. 

4. Place these dishes in a larger baking tray and fill with water that comes a few cm's up the sides of the ramekins. 

5. Bake for an hour and a half or until slightly firm and browning on top. 

And stop here if you want to enjoy a classic Baked Rice Pudding. 

But I wanted to be a little more creative. I wanted to combine two desserts into one, and so may I present....

The Apple Crumble Rice Pudding!!!!!!!!!

Once the original rice pudding has cooked, add some slightly cooked apples (with cinnamon of course) to the top of the pudding, and cover with a crumble mixture. 

Crumble ingredients:

Butter

Demera/Raw sugar

Flour (I used GF self raising flour)

Almond meal

Mix these all together with the tips of your fingers until it resembles a good thick crumble!

It was delicious, sweet, filling, warm and a really fun twist on the classic dessert. I served ours with a cinnamon marscapone, but icecream would go down a treat too!! 

The crunch of the crumble was a lovely contrast to the soft apples and soft rice. The slightly tart apples was a good balance to the sweet custard in the rice pudding. The whole thing just worked! Next time I would have more apples though, it definitely could do with more apples!!! 

Now, excuse me, but cold Rice Pudding is fantastic for breakfast....