Baked Rice Pudding

Pudding in serving bowls has extra milk added to it for a looser consistency.

Is it snowing where you are (again)? Do you live in a city where you can't make snow cream because you don't even have your own garden, much less a clean place to gather snow from? Are you also not really sure what snow cream even is?

JOIN THE CLUB and get on the rice pudding train with me. Rice pudding is a traditional pudding in the American sense of the word, a baked custard-rice mixture topped with cinnamon and nutmeg and it's awesome. I had never had rice pudding until I was well into my teenage years, and I don't really know why that is- I mean, it's never on the menu at restaurants, but why had no one I knew ever made it?

But anyway, it's not exactly a thing you want to serve at a party, and supermarkets in both the US and the UK always have the pre-made version in stock, so I guess it just never occurred to me to make my own, which is stupid because it's gotta be easy, right?

It is.

But what sets this version apart is that it's baked- while loads of recipes for baked rice pudding exist, I've definitely never had a baked version, but after this I might never go back. After combining the liquid ingredients with the rice, the whole thing is put in the oven for an hour, which is enough time to caramelise the top and dry out some of the excess liquid, making a thicker, denser finished pudding that's more like a crème brulée than a traditional rice pudding. If you prefer yours looser in texture, it's easy to add a drizzle of milk when you serve it to mimic the more common stovetop pudding varieties. Served straight from the oven, it was warming and cosy and a perfect afternoon snack to eat while we watched the snow fall... but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't eat it straight from the fridge the following morning for breakfast.

You should definitely make this pudding this week. Serve it hot or serve it cold, it's good either way. I'm already planning a version made with coconut rice and coconut milk, and I can't wait. This is comfort food perfect for when the weather outside has you never wanting to leave your house again, and the best part is that you probably have nearly all the ingredients in your refrigerator already.

The verdict:

5 spoons out of five. Now that I know how easy rice pudding is to make, I'm gonna make it all the time.

One year ago: toll house marble squares
two years ago: Asian chicken two ways

the recipe:

Baked Rice Pudding

the directions:

Cook the rice according to the directions on the package- if you have a cinnamon stick, pop it in the rice pot to infuse the rice.
Once rice has cooked, drain any extra water, remove the cinnamon stick and refrigerate until needed to cool the rice so you don't scramble your eggs later.
Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
Beat eggs until light yellow and creamy, then add sugar.
Beat until smooth, then add the vanilla and ½ cup (118ml) milk.
Beat thoroughly until uniform consistency.
Add cooled rice gradually and beat on low speed approximately 1 minute until rice is broken up.
Add remaining 2 cups (470ml) milk and stir well to combine.
Mixture will be VERY liquid.
Pour into an 8-inch baking dish with high sides or a 9-inch dish (I used a tart pan).
Give it a stir in the pan to make sure the rice isn't clumped together.
Sprinkle top generously with nutmeg.
Fill a separate baking dish with water and place on the shelf below the pudding.
Bake 50-60 minutes until the middle jiggles only slightly when nudged (a knife inserted in the middle should come out sticky, but no liquid should leak from the hole).
Top will be quite browned and caramelised.
Serve immediately while warm or refrigerate and serve cold, either way with extra nutmeg or cinnamon on top and a drizzle more milk if needed to loosen.

the ingredients:

1 c (180g) uncooked white rice
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
3 eggs
1 c (200g) sugar (this makes a pretty sweet pudding; if you'd prefer it slightly less so, you can cut it to ¾ c)
2 ½ c (590ml) milk, divided
1 tbsp vanilla
Nutmeg

French Onion Soup

I hate french onion soup. There aren't a lot of foods I really detest, but I've made two of them in the last week for this blog (the other to come next week), and french onion soup is one of them. I'd argue my rationale is valid- without going into detail, it involves a Panera, a group study session, food poisoning and missing the first exam of my college career.

Since then, I have never eaten french onion soup (and I lived in France for a year, got married there, spent my honeymoon and three other recent vacations there- my commitment to avoiding it is truly admirable, if I say so myself). Not only have I completely abstained from french onion soup for the last fourteen years, but I also have only eaten anything made with beef broth maybe a half dozen times in that span. My hatred runs deep.

Because I haven't had french onion soup in that long, I have literally never eaten it in front of Judson. But I realised I didn't want to make a giant batch and be stuck with it if he didn't like it either, so I asked him if he did: 'UGH, french onion soup,' he sneered. 'YOU DON'T LIKE IT EITHER? How did I never know this?!' I asked, shocked. He responded 'it's not that I don't like it, it's just a food that's not fancy but that people eat when they want to BE fancy, and that bugs me. Why? Don't you like it?'

And that's how we each found out something new about the person we've been married to for almost six years. On account of all this, I only made us two servings of it because, I mean, what if I couldn't handle it? It turns out that Judson quite likes the act of eating french onion soup, it's just the idea of it he can't handle, so he didn't mind either. And really, what's not to like here? Onions cooked low and slow until they're sweet and soft, a deep, flavourful broth and seriously, what other soup do you get to serve with the melted cheese right on it, already broiled to a crisp?

This version of the recipe is insanely easy- put your onions on and forget about them; add your broth and forget about it; when ready to eat, reheat under the broiler with a mozzarella crouton and you're golden- literally, that's the colour your toast should be. Best eaten with a glass of Pinot Noir and a film you've been dying to see (we went with Mindhorn) while you watch the snow swirl outside your window.

One note: my beef broth phobia runs deep, so I went on a limb and used the best quality I could get for this recipe- since it's literally half the ingredients of the soup, I'd recommend going top-notch with it. I didn't have any homemade, so I used the best quality stockpot I could get my hands on and upping the awesome factor with some fresh thyme, a glug of verjus (you can use wine, I just happened to have verjus to hand), and a generous pinch of brown sugar because I like the way it plays off the onions.

 

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. I don't think I can properly call myself a fan of french onion soup yet, but if anything is going to convince me, the simplicity of this recipe will be it.

One year ago: toll house marble squares
two years ago: double-chocolate layer cheesecake

The recipe:

French Onion Soup

The directions:

Chop onions into bite-size pieces.
Heat the butter in a large stockpot JUST until melted, then turn heat as low as possible.
Add onions, stir to coat with butter, and add the brown sugar if using.
Put the lid on the pot and allow to cook for 1 hour, checking occasionally to be sure they haven't dried out.
After one hour, add beef stock.
If using the thyme, bay leaf, and verjus/wine, add it now.
Stir well, and bring to a gentle simmer.
Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, until heated through.
Meanwhile, toast baguette slices until just crisped through but not yet browned.
Warm your grill (broiler in the US) and place an oven tray in the top 1/3 of oven.
Taste soup and adjust seasoning (ours needed a hint of brightness, so I added a spoonful more wine here).
Ladle the soup into two ovenproof bowls, place the toasted baguette on top of each bowl, and place the mozzarella on top of the bread.
Place the soup in the oven and toast until mozzarella is blistered and bubbly and soup is bubbling underneath.
Remove from oven, garnish with an extra thyme sprig if desired, and eat immediately.

Yields 2 generous servings.

the ingredients:

3 large onions
2 tbsp (28g) butter
Scant 2 cups (400ml) beef stock
2 slices from a baguette
2 slices mozzarella cheese

Optional: 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, 1 bay leaf, 2 tbsp verjus or wine.

Millinocket Fudge Cake

I don't know why this cake is called Millinocket Fudge Cake, and when I googled it, the only relevant result I found was from a transcribed copy of this exact recipe, which is kind of weird. From what I can tell, Millinocket is a city in Maine and that's it. It's not particularly known for its cakes, it's definitely not known for THIS cake, and there's no other results on the whole internet.

I don't know why this is the case, because this cake is so good.

Let's back up a second. We all know how much I love cake, and how indifferent (at best) Judson is to it. But when you're facing down your second week of temperatures that don't crest the freezing point, the ground is covered in week-old slush mud that just won't quit and you're spending half of your waking hours either bundling up the dog to go for a walk or drying her off when you come in from a walk... there are few things you need more than cake. An easy, chocolate-fudgey cake with sprinkles that doesn't require fancy frosting techniques or multiple layers or a separate recipe for filling. Just a square chocolate cake with the plushest crumb and the fudgiest frosting (almost a glaze, really). A cake that is light and airy on the first day but settles, on the second day, into a chocolate-fudge wonder with a dense, brownie-like top. THAT is what you need to get you through January.

So that's what I made. Millinocket or not, this cake is amazing. The frosting almost pours onto the cake, so you don't need to deal with a lot of decorating faff, and it makes the whole process of getting from ingredients to cake to your mouth that much faster. (Seriously, I think from start to snacking this took 45 minutes, excluding cooking time).

The best thing about this cake is... well, it's probably the frosting, to be honest. But the other best thing about it is that it's super simple but still pretty enough to serve to company or take to a party (or to work, if you can be bothered to share). It's the perfect thing to whip up after work to take to a party that same night, and no one else has to know how easy it is.

The verdict:

5 spoons out of five. I'm honestly already considering making another one of these to keep for ourselves. I think it would probably freeze well, right?

ONE YEAR AGO: TOLL HOUSE MARBLE SQUARES
TWO YEARS AGO: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

the recipe:

Millinocket Fudge Cake with Quick Fudge Frosting

the directions:
cake:

Preheat oven to 175C/350F and line a 9” square pan with paper on the bottom.
Melt the chocolate and set aside.
Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, then set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light.
Blend in cooled chocolate on low speed until mixture is uniform.
Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk, beating until smooth.
Stir in boiling water, which will make mixture VERY thin.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 50-60 minutes, until a pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool to room temperature (or nearly) and frost.

frosting:

Sift powdered sugar, cocoa and salt together.
Heat evaporated milk until warm and add butter to evaporated milk.
Stir once or twice so butter softens slightly.
Add evaporated milk mixture and vanilla to powdered sugar mixture.
Beat with electric mixer until smooth, room temperature and fluffy.
Pour over cooled cake and add sprinkles immediately if desired.

Serves 12, generously.

the ingredients:
the cake:

2 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1 ¾ c (210g) flour
1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
½ c (114g) butter, softened
1 ½ c (300g) sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ c (4oz) milk
¾ c (6oz) boiling water

 

the frosting:

2 c (250g) powdered sugar
¼ c (25g) cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
¼ c (2oz) evaporated milk
2 tbsp (29g) butter
1 tsp vanilla

Optional: sprinkles!