Elizabeth's Creamy Rice Pudding

 

 

The recipe I am sharing with you today is a creamy rice pudding recipe that I got from my ex mother in law Elizabeth about forty three years ago now.  The first year my ex husband and I were married she sent me a little hand written notebook filled with all of the family favorite recipes.

Oh what a treasure that was and how very much I appreciated it. The notebook is very old and falling apart now, a lot of the writing is faded and most of the pages are splattered and discolored.  The true sign of something that is much beloved.

 

 

Elizabeth is still going strong. I believe she turned 96 in July.  It has been many, many years since I have seen her. We were once very close.  Much beloved family members are often casualties of divorce.  

I divorced my ex in 1999 and Elizabeth and I never saw each other after that, although in the early days we did used to communicate via e-mails etc. 

I know most people say they don't like their mothers-in-law, but I have always adored Elizabeth. She is one of the kindest people I have ever known. Never a bad word have I heard her say about anyone.   We had a lot in common actually. We both loved old movies and movie stars.  

 

 

 

She would record them throughout the year and then when we would go over to the Island to visit, she and I would stay up late at night watching them together.  Precious moments.

She was a very good cook and I learned a lot from her through the years.  She only lives two towns away from where I am living now and I would dearly love to go and see her, but am not sure how that would be seen from the viewpoint of the ex and his new wife, so its probably best to let sleeping dogs lie. 

 

Anyways, back to the pudding. This rice pudding recipe is not a traditional rice pudding per se. For one thing you start off with cooked rice. 

In the old days you used to have to wait until you had leftover rice to cook it. Now you can buy pouches of ready cooked rice in the grocery stores and I always have several of them in my store cupboard.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ELIZABETH'S CREAMY RICE PUDDING

I am betting that you already have everything you need in your cupboard right now to make this tasty pudding. Simple ordinary every day ingredients.

• 1 1/2 cups (175g) cooked rice
• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
• 2 large free range eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup (80g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, heated
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup (75g) raisins (Optional, I used golden this time)

 

I have always made this with whole milk. I used to keep that and semi-skimmed milk in the house, but now there is only me I had to make a choice and I choose to keep whole milk.  If I had both I would be throwing a lot away, and I hate waste.

I am not sure what size eggs Elizabeth used, but I always have large free range eggs in the house.  I use that size for everything unless a smaller size is recommended.   

I always buy free range and organic if I can. You have to pick your battles and that is one of mine. I refuse to support an inhumane industry. 

 

You don't need to add the raisins if you don't want to. Raisins are a love I share with Elizabeth.  In all truth I probably add a few more than the recipe calls for, but if you are a raisin hater, by all means leave them out.  It will still be delicious. You could use dried cranberries or blueberries, or even dried cherries.  All would be delicious.

As you can see it doesn't use a lot of sugar. I expect that is because some of the sweetness for the pudding comes from the raisins.  In any case I would not increase it if you choose not to use raisins.  It is sweet enough as is.  

 

I used a pouch of ready made rice today.  In true disclosure I only had basmati and it worked out fine.  Traditionally you would use long grain rice.

  

Basmati is not a rice that Elizabeth would have ever had in her kitchen. Not ever. In fact, most of the time she used Minute Rice when she was cooking rice. So did my mom. It was a completely different era. The world was not at their fingertips when it came to cooking and cooking ingredients.

 

HOW TO MAKE ELIZABETH'S CREAMY RICE PUDDING

The only complicated part of this is cooking the custard, but if you follow my directions succinctly that should not be a problem at all.    

You will need a double boiler for this. Have the bottom of the double boiler filled about 1/3 of the way with simmering water.

 

Place the rice in the top of the double boiler along with the first quantity of milk, beaten eggs, and sugar. Place over the simmering water. 

Cook, stirring with a metal spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. (At some point, if you dip a spoon into the liquid, it will cling to the spoon rather than run off. The standard technique is to run your finger through the sauce on the back of the spoon. If a fairly straight line of exposed metal or wood, depending on the spoon, remains visible then the product has thickened to the desired degree. If the liquid flows back across the line, then it needs to be cooked some more.)

Remove from the heat. Stir in the heated milk, butter, vanilla and raisins, if using.  Leave to sit for half an hour before serving.

 

And that's it. It is really quite simple really.  But there is nothing simple about the taste. Its homey and comforting and delicious.  It is the perfect example of simple ingredients combined together to make something extraordinarily delicious! 

This has long been a family favorite and I guarantee it is sure to become a family favorite in your home as well.

If, like me, you are a rice pudding aficionado, here are a few other rice pudding recipes you might enjoy. I can promise you, each one is delicious in its own right!!

STICKY TOFFEE RICE PUDDING - A delicious combination of two of my favorite desserts. There is no actual sugar in the pudding itself. Instead it relies on the sweetness of the dates to carry it, and it does so beautiful. Served with a rich sticky toffee and toasted pecan sauce.

FLAP JACK TOPPED RICE PUDDING - This version is a tad bit fancier than the usual baked rice pudding in that it boasts a lush sweet flapjack topping and by that I mean British flapjacks not North American pancakes.  Oaty, sticky,  and sweet with golden syrup.  This is a baked rice pudding.

DANISH RICE PUDDING - This is probably my all time favorite stove top rice pudding. It is rich and creamy and oh so delicious. Served with candied almonds and a homemade cherry sauce, this is the Cadillac of rice puddings.

Elizabeth's Creamy Rice Pudding

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Cook time: 15 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min

This wonderfully delicious old fashioned rice pudding is a recipe that comes from my mother-in-law Elizabeth. It is simple to make, rich, creamy and a real family favorite.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (175g) cooked rice
• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
• 2 large free range eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup (80g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, heated
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup (75g) raisins (Optional, I used golden this time)

Instructions

1. You will need a double boiler for this. Have the bottom of the double boiler filled about 1/3 of the way with simmering water.
2. Place the rice in the top of the double boiler along with the first quantity of milk, beaten eggs, and sugar. Place over the simmering water. Cook, stirring with a metal spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. (At some point, if you dip a spoon into the liquid, it will cling to the spoon rather than run off. The standard technique is to run your finger through the sauce on the back of the spoon. If a fairly straight line of exposed metal or wood, depending on the spoon, remains visible then the product has thickened to the desired degree. If the liquid flows back across the line, then it needs to be cooked some more.)
3. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heated milk, butter, vanilla and raisins, if using.
4. Leave to sit for half an hour before serving.

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