Sluttishy Sweet: Decadent Baked Rice Pudding

I was going to write about potatoes today, but then the snow fell and my cockles needed some warming. When it is freezing outside all you want is hot stodgy comfort food, and this decadent rice pudding is just the ticket.

As a child I always though rice pudding was of the Ambrosia variety, but actually this dense creamy pudding with delicate spices is not the stuff of school dinners. This is grown-up pudding.

Decadent Baked Rice Pudding (serves 6)
You will need:

• 50g Butter
• 50g Soft Light Brown Sugar
• 100g Pudding Rice
• 1 litre Milk
• 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 Vanilla pod, cut open lengthways
• 150ml Double Cream

Make it!

• Pre-heat the oven to 150C and place a baking sheet on the bottom shelf (this will catch any overflow and save on oven cleaning). Grease a pie or casserole dish, one that can hold at least 1 litre of liquid. 
• In a large saucepan melt the butter over a gentle heat and add the sugar. Stir for a few minutes and add the rice. Stir for a couple more minutes before adding the milk, half at a time. The rice might stick to the bottom at first so give it a good stir to dislodge. 
• Add the spices and bring to a simmer.
• Gently pour into the prepared pie dish and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 1 ½ hours or until the pudding has set. 
• Serve while it is still hot. You can add your favourite topping, but I found there was plenty of sweet delicious flavour as it was.