My way rice pudding

A rice pudding should be baked in the oven to cook the rice and I do finish my in the oven or under the grill but I make my pudding in a pan. I have always found this a better, quicker and easier to wash up afterwards method. People will say what about the skin that is the best bit well this way you will get something better than the skin.

For my way rice pudding you will need
450ml/16floz full-fat milk
450ml/16floz double cream
½ vanilla pod or a few drop of vanilla essence
150g/5oz pudding rice
75g/3oz caster sugar
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
25g/1oz butter
Some Demerara sugar
A splash of water

First, do not think rice pudding think risotto. Add a splash of water to a large sauce pan and the sugar and butter let them melt together. You do not want the sugar to caramelise so do this on a low heat. Then add the rice so that every thing gets a good coating of sugar. Now add your milk, nutmeg and your vanilla, if you are using a vanilla pod just split it and throw it in you can remove the actual pod latter.

As the milk warms up tip in the cream and let that heat up stirring every now and then. Bring to the boil then turn down and simmer till the rice is almost cooked. Now you might find that all the milk and cream is absorbed very quickly so add a little milk if this happens. What you want is a fairly runny looking pudding, but do not worry the rice will still be cooking in the liquids and it will thicken up.

Then tip this in to a dish that you are going serve it in. Now you can do one of two things now either wait till it cools a little and thickens up, if you are going to use it right away. Or let it cool and pop it in the fridge and use later. As an instant pudding this is grate you can freeze it, bring it out, and reheat in a microwave in a few minutes.

To finish take your pudding and sprinkle it with Demerara sugar in in to a hot oven or under a grill. Let the sugar melt then take it out and let the sugar from a crunchy caramelised top to the pudding.

The beauty of making a rice pudding this way is that is is so fast and easy to control, it is a almost garneted success every time.