I don’t know what it is about rice pudding, it’s not something I grew up eating, but I think it is the ultimate comfort food.  I like it thick and creamy, studded with plumped raisins, and hot off the stove.  And with the cool dampness settling in for the winter, combined with an enduring lack of sleep, I have been deeply craving comfort food. (That, and steaming hot bubble baths.)
My mother-in-law recently arrived with a suitcase full of all my favourite spices from India – the freshest cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, and cloves – so I’ve been using them in everything I can.
I tossed a cinnamon stick into my go-to rice pudding recipe along with a vanilla bean and a handful of raisins.
I stood at the stove stirring and tasting the warm pudding and deeply inhaling the sweet steam. Â It was like a much-needed warm hug. Â Now if only there was a pudding that feels like a nap.Â
The rice I used was Thai sticky (glutinous) rice – I had it on hand and wanted to find out if it would be a good substitute or arborio.  It was great on the first day, but got too sticky overnight.  Stick with arborio.
Feel free to substitute the vanilla bean for extract (just stir in a teaspoon at the very end) and/or the cinnamon stick for ground cinnamon (just swap in a teaspoonful at the same point in the recipe).
And I would totally support your decision to add an ounce of rum with the cream.
Cinnamon Raisin Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 4 cups 2% or whole milk
- ½ cup arborio rice
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cinnamon stick broken
- 1 vanilla bean scraped
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring milk to a boil with rice, raisins, sugar, butter, vanilla bean seeds, cinnamon stick and salt. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour, until rice is very tender.
- Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Slowly add 1/2 cup of hot pudding to yolks, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs. Slowly whisk egg mixture into remaining pudding in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, 3-5 minutes, until pudding thickens. Remove from heat; stir in cream. Transfer to a shallow dish and chill 4 hours, up to overnight, pressing plastic wrap directly onto the surface to avoid a pudding "skin".
Last Updated on November 5, 2015 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD
YOU ARE AMAZING! i absolutely adore poached eggs but i don’t even know how to make them the “old fashioned” way so i can only get them when i go out to restaurants! for breakfast this morning i had poached eggs and toast and a cup of tea and it was the perfect way to start my day! you are a genius, i never would’ve thought to add the vinegar…oh by the way, did i mention that i was able to have this fabulous breakfast out of my on-campus college apartment?? yum. 🙂
I tried it this morning and yes you did find a easy and quick way to microwave the PERFECT poached egg! Â Thanks looks like I will be having poached eggs alot more often.
What a brilliant idea!  I really like eggs, but rarely make them that much because I’m terrified of undercooking them…I’ll definitely have to include this microwave poached egg in my quest to improve my egg-cooking skills.  Seriously amazing 🙂
Awesome! Am so trying this for breakfast, but thanks to you it’ll only take a minute 😀 Would putting a small plate over the ramekin or cup work instead of plastic wrap?Â
OMG… I am obsessed with poached eggs!!! Seriously!!! If I am able to successfully do this, you will have changed my life.
can’t believe how excited I am to try this. when’s breakfast?