Caramel Rice Pudding with Brown Butter and Creme Fraiche
A dollop of creme fraiche makes it look elegant and cuts the sweetness with a bit of tang.
This recipe calls for the seeds from half a vanilla bean -- I didn't want the vanilla to be too strong, considering all the other sweet flavors.
The risotto starts with brown butter. It's best to use a nice, heavy saucepan for this to guard against burning. I used my favorite of Amanda's Le Creusets.
"Brown butter" actually starts off with sort of orangey or rust-colored specks, which then darken to a nut brown.
To make the caramel, you stir the sugar right into the brown butter. It will clump up until the sugar starts to melt, but don't let this deter you!
This is perhaps the most alarming stage, when you'll probably think you've ruined everything: the butter and sugar start to separate, making an oily, clumpy mess. Fear not! Keep whisking...
See?
Once the sugar has fully melted, you'll get a nice, smooth caramel, which will darken even further. It's up to you how far to take it, but be careful not to let it burn.
Here, I'm showing Amanda how what appeared to be a disaster just a minute ago is now looking pretty darn good.
Whisking in the creme fraiche and some of the milk stops the caramel from cooking any further.
Be careful adding the milk, as the mixture will bubble up initially. Molten sugar is serious business.
Once you've whisked in all of the milk, and the mixture is smooth, in goes the arborio.
It's a good idea to return to your wooden spoon at this stage -- better for making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
The mixture simmers gently and thickens as the rice cooks.
The pudding may get a funny, puffy-looking skin from time to time as it simmers away. Don't worry: you can just stir it right back into the pudding and be on your merry way.
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Author Notes: For this dessert, I began with the idea of using brown butter and arborio to make a risotto-style rice pudding. But the original version wasn't that exciting. That's when the idea of starting with a brown butter caramel worked its way into the pudding, along with the addition of creme fraiche, which I thought would cut the sweetness nicely. After a few more test runs, I also decided that the rice had a nicer texture when it was simmered with all of the liquid than it did when cooked like risotto, adding the liquid bit by bit. The bonus is that this also means less work for you! - merrill
Serves 6 to 8
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons creme fraiche, plus more for serving
- 6 cups whole milk
- seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 cups arborio rice
- Put the butter in a 3 quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter stops foaming, and you see orangey brown specks start to appear, stir gently with a wooden spoon. After a minute or two, when the specks are nut brown and the butter smells nice and toasty, sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar over the butter and stir to combine. (It will clump up a little, but don’t worry!)
- Switch to a whisk, and cook the butter and sugar, whisking all the time, until the sugar has melted and the mixture becomes a smooth, rich brown caramel, about 5 minutes. (Early on, the butter and sugar will separate, and the butter will pool around the edges of the sugar, but never fear! Once the sugar has fully melted, the two will start to come together again, and you’ll have a nice smooth caramel.)
- When the caramel is a rich nut brown and starts to smoke, remove the pan from the heat and quickly and carefully whisk in the crème fraiche and about 1/2 a cup of the milk. Don’t worry if the mixture bubbles up when you do this – it’ll settle down again quickly. (This step cools off the caramel and keeps it from cooking further.) Return the pan to the heat and whisk in the rest of the milk, the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, the vanilla seeds and the salt. If the caramel seizes a little, just keep whisking until the mixture becomes smooth again.
- Switch back to the wooden spoon and stir in the rice. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat so that the milk is simmering steadily and cook the rice pudding uncovered for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan, especially towards the end. The rice should be tender but not mushy, and the pudding should thicken but still be quite loose – remember that it will thicken a lot more while it’s cooling. Transfer the pudding to a container, cover and refrigerate until cold. Serve in individual bowls with a dollop of crème fraiche.
- Amanda and Merrill's Best Rice Pudding Contest Winner!
Tags: comfort food, keeps well
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7 months ago BavarianCook
This rice pudding is phenomenal. I made it with a mixture of half & half, whipping cream and 1% milk. I know, kind of a hodgepodge but I wanted to make it right there and then and this was what I had on hand at home. It did thicken nicely for me and I added a little more brown sugar. Great recipe - thank you!!!
over 1 year ago lschrive
The taste of this pudding is amazing - but I too had a problem with the consistency. I'm pretty sure I cooked it long enough, but it never thickened the way I was expecting. Like I said though, the flavor is amazing and I will try it again soon to see if I can get it thicker. Thank you!
over 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Made this today, with brown sugar. Will serve it with blueberries from my bushes, which I canned in light syrup about an hour after picking them last August. The pudding is absolutely divine. I added a few gratings of nutmeg for bit of fragrance. ;o)
over 1 year ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
So glad you liked it! The blueberries sound like a great accompaniment.
about 2 years ago BakedBean
i made this for class and served it with a cherry cardamom sauce it was SLAMMIN'
over 2 years ago fortyniner
Totally love Rice Pudding (memories of a childhood in UK) so made this recipe last night. I took note of the comments made by others so reduced the amount of milk by half and then just gradually added more milk when it looked as if it was starting to dry out and rice still needed a bit of extra cooking time. Didn't have Creme Fraiche on hand, but used a Double Dollop style cream, along with some normal pouring cream.
I ate mine hot as no way could I wait for it to cool down, way too impatient for that. It was so creamy and caramelly - I loved it and had to stop myself from eating the whole lot!
Great recipe that I will definitely be using again! Have enough for 2 more (big) serves in fridge - all for me - as family away!!
Thanks Merrill.
about 3 years ago lbn
I liked the flavor of the brown butter and caramel but I agree with Texas chicki that this was a bit blander than I like my rice pudding. Tasted a little too much of milk, I think? Perhaps cooking it longer would help, or maybe just increasing the amount of brown butter / caramel. Thanks for the recipe though, fun to try!
about 3 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
So glad you tried it -- let me know if you make it again with any of those changes, and how it turns out. I think I must like my pudding "milkier" than some!
about 3 years ago Texas chicki
This is a very interesting take on rice pudding, unfortunately I couldn't stomach it. It was really thin and very bland. I'm used to pudding and without eggs this isn't pudding! Very disappointing, sorry Merrill.
about 3 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
So sorry it didn't turn out the way you'd hoped. I've made this recipe many times, and it has never seemed either thin or bland. Is it possible you might not have cooked the rice and milk long enough? If you used something other than arborio rice, that could have had an affect too. If the pudding is cooked to the right consistency, you shouldn't miss the egg at all -- it's plenty rich!
over 3 years ago cheese1227
Merrill,
I made this recipe this weekend and it was fabulous. I want to thank you for all of the paranthetical notes within the recipe that pretty much predicted right where I would say "uh, oh", thinking it was all going wrong. The notes told me where to expect the rough spots and to keep working through them to the finished product. This one is a keeper.
over 3 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it -- and that the notes helped. It could definitely be a somewhat panic-inducing recipe if you didn't know what to expect...
over 3 years ago hope.thurman
Can't WAIT to try this. I've been trying to make an excellent rice pudding for a while but it just hasn't been successful. Maybe I'll get it right with this one! I just used brown butter and marscapone cheese in an ice cream-such a good combo with the creme fraiche!
over 3 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
That sounds delicious! How about posting the recipe? ;)
over 3 years ago Maria Teresa Jorge
Merrill, congratulations to you and Amanda, both recipes are great.
over 3 years ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
Thanks, everyone, for your votes! I'm very flattered. I did indeed have some very stiff competition -- Amanda's pudding was delicious, and her technique was inspired.
over 3 years ago Food Blogga
Congratulations, Merrill! You certainly had some stiff competition.
over 3 years ago TasteFood
Congratulations on a lovely recipe!
over 3 years ago WinnieAb
Congrats Merrill!
over 3 years ago dymnyno
Wow! this sounds fantastic! I can't wait to try it soon.
over 3 years ago Marla
I would looooovvee this rice pudding underneath the meringue topping. Perhaps you can combine both in the book....pretty please :) U both made some tasty treats. Very hard to chose a fave!
over 3 years ago Kayb
Got to go with this one; browned butter and creme fraiche? I'm there....
over 3 years ago KitchenKim
I can't wait too cook this for my husband, who loves rice pudding! We both hope you win:).
over 3 years ago lastnightsdinner
In the end, the brown butter and creme fraiche won me over :)
over 3 years ago gluttonforlife
This recipe is evidence of a wickedly decadent palate. I'll be sure to try it when I feel like really indulging.