Recipe: Caramel rice pudding with spiced apples

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 50g (2oz) unsalted butter
• 75g (3oz) golden caster sugar
• 120g (4oz) Carolina rice / short grain pudding rice
• 900ml (1½ pints) whole milk
• 200ml (7fl oz) double cream
• 2 vanilla pods

Spiced Apples

• 25g (1oz) unsalted butter
• 50g (2oz) demerara sugar
• 2 bramley apples, peeled and diced
• pinch of ground ginger
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• pinch of cinnamon

To serve

• 50ml (2fl oz) milk

Method

Rice pudding

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C / 285°F/ Gas Mark 1.
2. Melt the butter and sugar in a thick-base ovenproof pan and stir until it reaches the colour and consistency of toffee.
3. Add the rice. Continue cooking until the rice is puffy and the mixture has caramelised.
4. Add the milk and cream, and stir well.
5. Open the vanilla pods, scrape the seeds into the pan, and then throw in the whole pod. Bring to the boil and stir well.
6. Put the pan in the oven and cook without a lid for 2 hours without stirring.

Spiced Apples

1. Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan.
2. Stir in the apples and add the spices.
3. Cook until the apples are beginning to soften and have started to caramelise.
4. When cool, mash gently.

To serve

1. Remove the rice pudding from the oven and stir to incorporate the skin.
2. Remove the vanilla pods and add a further 50ml (2 fl oz) of milk.
3. Serve the rice pudding with a dollop of spiced apples.