Sticky Toffee Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is a dessert that we are awfully fond of in this house. In fact I would have to say that it is one of Todd's favourite desserts of all time.

We are also really fond of Sticky Toffee Pudding, and who isn't . . . with its moist date cake and lush toffee sauce! Its just wow.

The shop where we buy most of our groceries puts out a little magazine each month filled with content particular to whatever month it might be. Its free.

I always pick it up and bring it home to have a look through. Sometimes I see recipes I would like to try, sometimes I don't.

In the October issue there was a recipe for Sticky Toffee Rice Pudding. It immediately caught my attention!

I knew that Todd would really enjoy it. He's always asking me to make him rice pudding . . .

Today was the day. There is no sugar in the rice pudding itself. It relies on the sweetness from chopped dates to flavour it, and some vanilla.

You really don't want it to be extremely sweet anyways, as there is a sticky toffee sauce to spoon over top when you serve it along with candied pecans.

None of it is hard to make or time consuming. I made the nuts and sauce while the rice was cooking.

You do have to caramelise sugar for the nuts. This can be a bit tricky but if you follow a few rules you shouldn't have a problem

First use a heavy bottomed pan so that the caramel doesn't cook too fast. Second don't stir it at all when cooking it . . . swirl the pan to move the contents only . . .

Third, remove it from the heat as soon as it starts to turn golden brown. It will continue to cook from the heat of the pan and you don't want it to burn. It can burn in an instant, so beware!

Stir in the nuts and tip them onto a paper lined baking sheet, tearing them apart with two forks as you can. Let cool completely. It will be really hot.

The Toffee Sauce is also very easy to make. You just bung all of the ingredients in a saucepan and cook them, stirring occasionally until they thicken and form a syrupy sauce. Easy peasy.

Altogether, this is really, really delicious. Todd was in rice pudding heaven!

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Sticky Toffee Rice Pudding

A deliciously creamy rice pudding, studded with sticky dates and topped with a lush toffee sauce and candied pecans.

ingredients:

For the rice pudding:

125g pudding rice (9 1/2 TBS short grained rice, such as arborio)
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g chopped dates (1/3 cup)
600ml whole milk (2 1/2 cups)

For the candied pecans:

40g caster sugar (1/4 cup)
1 TBS water
60g chopped pecan nuts (1/2 cup)

For the toffee sauce:

50g soft dark brown sugar (1/4 cup packed)
50ml whole milk (3 1/2 TBS)
20g butter (1 1/2 TBS)

instructions:

How to cook Sticky Toffee Rice Pudding

To make the rice pudding, measure the rice, milk, dates and vanilla into a saucepan. Bring just to the simmer, then reduce to very low, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cook for about 10 minutes.
While the rice is cooking you can do the nuts and the sauce.
Have ready a baking pan lined with baking paper for the nuts. Measure the sugar and water into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Heat on low until the sugar has melted and then turn up the heat and allow to boil, swirling the mixture (don't stir) until the mixture begins to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat immediately as it will continue to cook and you don't want to burn it. Tip the chopped nuts into this and swirl the pan to coat them well and then pour out onto the lined baking pan. Cool completely and then roughly chop.
For the toffee sauce, measure all of the ingredients into a saucepan. and simmer gently, whisking occasionally until the mixture turns thick and syrupy.
To serve, spoon warm rice pudding into bowls. Drizzle with the toffee sauce and sprinkle on the candied nuts. Serve immediately.