Danish Christmas Rice Pudding Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Put milk, eggs, rice, sugar and salt into baking dish (nice glass cooking bowl or dish) and place in a hot water bath.
• At the top of custard, add a few dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Add vanilla bean (if using) and cinnamon stick.
• Cover and cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick after one hour of cooking. Pudding is done when rice is soft and custard is set (a slight jiggle).
• Remove lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking to give a light golden color.
• Put an almond in the rice pudding just before serving: According to the old Danish legend, whoever finds the almond at Christmas will have series of lucky adventures.
• Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

Steps:

• Split half of the vanilla pod length ways, scrape out the seeds.
• Place the milk and vanilla in a heavy-bottomed pan. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat. Add the rice gradually, stirring constantly.
• Increase the heat and bring to a boil again.
• When the milk boils, reduce the heat, cover and simmer on a very low heat for about 1 hour or until the rice is cooked. Stir from time to time, making sure that the rice doesn't stick too much to the bottom.
• Leave to cool completely.
• Whip the cream together with sugar. Fold the whipped cream and almonds into the rice. You can add more sugar or more almonds if you wish. Serve with warm cherry sauce.
• Now make the cherry sauce. Place the cherries in a medium saucepan. Add sugar and 1 1/2 cups water. Add the vanilla pod. Simmer until the cherries are tender.
• Combine the potato starch with 2 tablespoons cold water.
• Bring the cherries to a boil. Remove the vanilla pod from the pot. Reduce the heat, and , stirring constantly, slowly pour the water with the starch. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
• Stir in the lemon juice and serve warm over the rice pudding. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf, if desired.
• * I used frozen sour cherries in this recipe, but regular sweet cherries should work as well.

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the rice and water. Simmer for 10 minutes; add milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 60-70 minutes or until rice is tender. Add sugar, salt and butter; mix well. Spoon into small bowls or dessert dishes. Garnish with almonds and sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, bring the milk, rice and salt to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. , Spoon pudding into individual dishes. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tops. Dot with butter. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil, and then add rice. Reduce heat to simmer, and continue cooking for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• In a small saucepan, mix the sherry and gelatin; stir over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Stir in the sugar until completely dissolved, and then stir in vanilla. Stir into the rice with the chopped almonds. Refrigerate.
• Pour cream into a bowl, and whip until light and fluffy soft peaks appear. Fold into chilled rice pudding. Serve in small bowls, topped with frozen raspberries.