Hello everyone,
British rice pudding for dessert anyone? How about we finalize our Lenten Thanksgiving menu with this genius old fashioned rice pudding recipe from the Downton Abbey Cookbook. We are going to go a little bit of the traditional track and add some Grand Marnier as a sweetener to please the guests and finish your festive dinner on a wow note. Creamy coconut rice pudding with a splash of honey, sprinkles of cinnamon and rich citrus liquor taste, what else is needed for the simple life pleasures?
A little bit of history for you.
“Starch-based puddings were extremely popular in the early twentieth century. They were staple nursery food, and the majority of children of most classes were raised on a steady diet of cornstarch blancmange, tapioca pudding, baked semolina, arrowroot pudding, and rice pudding. Of all of them, rice pudding has the most heritage, as boiled rice was eaten as a pricy and exotic dish in the medieval period, using rice imported from the Far East and flavored with sugar and spice. There are hundreds of recipes for the rice pudding, and it was (and still is) possible to buy it fully prepared in cans. However nothing tastes like homemade dessert sprinkled with love, do you agree? Best cooked low and slow, this recipe is ridiculously easy and virtually foolproof.”
I have always been in love with rice puddings back in my childhood. The traditional Ukrainian rice pudding is usually cooked with water; fresh sliced apples are being added in the end. Apples add a slightly sour taste to the pudding and they turn into somewhat applesauce islands in the pudding when the dish is cooked. Kids love rice puddings and the described above dessert was served in the daycare after nap mealtime with great success. When I came to the United States, I tried rice pudding at some Chinese place and I was pleasantly surprised by the gentle custard-style dessert, that decided to find the best recipe for the old fashioned rice pudding that will taste exactly like that. There are thousands of recipes out there and I found plenty of milk-based recipes, but when it comes to dairy-free rice pudding recipes, there aren’t many.
Stovetop milk-based rice pudding requires simmering and stirring. Since I decided to experiment with coconut milk, the stovetop method is not going to work as coconut milk can curdle. When I was looking for the final course from Downton Abbey cookbook to close our royal Thanksgiving Dinner Menu in Lenten style I got so upset as the idea to find Lenten dessert at Downton looked hopeless. However, my eye is already geared towards the dishes that have the potential of turning into great Lenten courses. British old-fashioned baked rice pudding turned out to be one of them. We are just going to substitute dairy milk with coconut milk and we have an exquisite version of the all-time favorite dessert, rice pudding with Grand Marnier. Voila!
Inspired by: The Official Downtown Abbey Cookbook by Annie Gray
After eating this incredible meal, you will become a pinch happier, I promise!
Bon Appétit!
Downton Abbey baked coconut rice-pudding
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp. butter (for the dish)
- 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 3 tbsp. short-grain white rice, such as risotto rice or pudding rice
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 strip lemon peel
Instructions
- Prepare your ingredients
- Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C). Butter a shallow 4-cup (950 ml) ovenproof dish
- Combine the milk, rice, and sugar in a bowl and whisk together well, then mix in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.
- Bake the pudding for 3 hours. Halfway through baking, slide a spoon under the skin that will have formed on the top and give the pudding a brief stir (this is optional). You'll know the pudding is done when the sin is browned and hard and the pudding itself is thick and unctuous.
- Serve warm or at room temperature
Yes, place the rice pudding in a freezer-safe container and seal tightly. Using containers that are not freezer-safe can cause freezer burn and affect the quality of the rice pudding. Freeze rice pudding for up to three months, though the sooner you eat it, the better it will taste.
You can serve your rice pudding immediately, or let it cool to room temperature and store it in the fridge for a cold, fruit-topped breakfast or snack. The pudding will keep in your fridge for about 4 days. However, unlike that bowl of cooked rice, it probably will not last that long.
