Today I'm excited to share with you a recipe that was been in my family for generations. I just love making something that, so many years ago, and in another land, my great-great grandma used to make for her family. As a girl, I remember eating it at my grandma's house in her bustling kitchen, and at my aunt's house with all the cousins. It was so satisfying to break the slightly crunchy golden top with my spoon and dig up layers of sweet custard and rice.
Now that I've actually made this rice pudding myself, I've discovered that there's actually another layer to it—magic. The pudding goes in the oven all mixed together, with only a little cinnamon sprinkled on top, and out it comes, all layered and fancy. It's so cool!
You may have noticed that I've mentioned it as 'custard', even though it's named 'rice pudding'. Well, it should be called 'rice custard', because it has eggs in it, but that doesn't have quite the same ring as 'rice pudding', does it? Not all rice puddings have eggs, and so the name 'rice pudding' is sometimes appropriate. Side note: there are countless variations of rice pudding, as almost every area of the world has their own—this recipe is Scandinavian. Anyways, because this recipe does have eggs, we'll be using a water bath to cook the rice pudding in. But don't worry, it's not hard! The first time I made this, I didn't even know what I was doing. I thought the recipe was crazy, but I just followed the instructions and it turned out great.
What is a water bath, and why use it? A water bath is just a pan of water that the baking dish is placed in, while in the oven. The water bath insulates the custard, distributing heat evenly. It prevents the custard from cracking, being rubbery, drying out, and having the eggs curdle.
For the water bath, you want to use a pan that is about an inch bigger than the dish you are using to bake in. Set the baking dish inside the water bath pan in the oven, then fill the water bath halfway up the sides of the baking dish with hot water.
This Food52 article is a great reference if you're still unsure about using a water bath.
Vanilla If you want to make this rice pudding even more flavorful, you can use vanilla beans in place of vanilla. You'll have beautiful little seeds of flavor dotting your pudding! We do this sometimes when we have leftover beans after using up our homemade vanilla.
Now that I've actually made this rice pudding myself, I've discovered that there's actually another layer to it—magic. The pudding goes in the oven all mixed together, with only a little cinnamon sprinkled on top, and out it comes, all layered and fancy. It's so cool!
You may have noticed that I've mentioned it as 'custard', even though it's named 'rice pudding'. Well, it should be called 'rice custard', because it has eggs in it, but that doesn't have quite the same ring as 'rice pudding', does it? Not all rice puddings have eggs, and so the name 'rice pudding' is sometimes appropriate. Side note: there are countless variations of rice pudding, as almost every area of the world has their own—this recipe is Scandinavian. Anyways, because this recipe does have eggs, we'll be using a water bath to cook the rice pudding in. But don't worry, it's not hard! The first time I made this, I didn't even know what I was doing. I thought the recipe was crazy, but I just followed the instructions and it turned out great.
What is a water bath, and why use it? A water bath is just a pan of water that the baking dish is placed in, while in the oven. The water bath insulates the custard, distributing heat evenly. It prevents the custard from cracking, being rubbery, drying out, and having the eggs curdle.
For the water bath, you want to use a pan that is about an inch bigger than the dish you are using to bake in. Set the baking dish inside the water bath pan in the oven, then fill the water bath halfway up the sides of the baking dish with hot water.
This Food52 article is a great reference if you're still unsure about using a water bath.
Vanilla If you want to make this rice pudding even more flavorful, you can use vanilla beans in place of vanilla. You'll have beautiful little seeds of flavor dotting your pudding! We do this sometimes when we have leftover beans after using up our homemade vanilla.
Rice Pudding
Serves 10-15
3 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked)
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups scalded milk
2 tsp. vanilla or 1 vanilla bean*
Raisins (optional)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling
1. Combine eggs and sugar in blender.
2. Slowly pour in scalded milk while blending so that eggs do not cook.
3. Pour into a big casserole dish, preferably glass or porcelain with high sides (not metal, as the custard will burn more easily). Add rice.
4. Sprinkle surface with cinnamon until covered.
5. Place rice pudding dish in a water bath in the oven. Bake 350ºF for 1 1/2 hours. When the timer rings, do not open the oven, but leave the dish in the oven until completely cool, about 5 or 6 hours. This helps prevent water separation.
*For vanilla bean: Sauté bean in milk for about 1/2 hour, then remove bean and scrape seeds into milk. Beans left over from homemade vanilla work perfectly for this.
Serves 10-15
3 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked)
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups scalded milk
2 tsp. vanilla or 1 vanilla bean*
Raisins (optional)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling
1. Combine eggs and sugar in blender.
2. Slowly pour in scalded milk while blending so that eggs do not cook.
3. Pour into a big casserole dish, preferably glass or porcelain with high sides (not metal, as the custard will burn more easily). Add rice.
4. Sprinkle surface with cinnamon until covered.
5. Place rice pudding dish in a water bath in the oven. Bake 350ºF for 1 1/2 hours. When the timer rings, do not open the oven, but leave the dish in the oven until completely cool, about 5 or 6 hours. This helps prevent water separation.
*For vanilla bean: Sauté bean in milk for about 1/2 hour, then remove bean and scrape seeds into milk. Beans left over from homemade vanilla work perfectly for this.
