Almond Rice Pudding with Toasted Meringue
Here you can see the two layers -- pudding topped with meringue!
Bustling about -- felt strange not to be cooking with Merrill.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest egg of all?
I love how the light reflected on the stream of milk.
And then how this stream of milk twisted like licorice. But back to the recipe... here, I poured milk into the rice, raw sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon.
As the mixture heats, it begins foaming on the edge.
My cheat sheet.
The rice was almost done -- as you can see the mixture is a little soupy and the rice grains haven't broken down.
After stirring in the almond extract, I poured the rice pudding into a copper pan that I planned to serve it in.
A-ha! Merrill and I couldn't cook separately for long! She stepped in to slowly add sugar and lemon juice while I whisked the egg whites -- beating by hand is a work-out. Most normal people...
You can see the meringue getting shiny here.
Merrill tests it.
I plopped it on top of the pudding, then spread it out evenly-ish before broiling.
This is what happens when you start chatting while your rice pudding is under the broiler. No crying over burnt meringue -- I just scraped it off and made some more.
This time I watched it like a hawk.
There you go -- toasted meringue.
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Author Notes: The idea for this recipe comes from a 19th century dessert called Huntington pudding, which has a lemony rice pudding base, thickened with egg yolks, and a lemon meringue cap. I love how the airy meringue lightens the dense rice pudding as you eat it. So with this old-fashioned dessert in mind, I decided to maintain a similar design but change the flavors and textures. I made an almond-flavored rice pudding base, because I love almond and lemon together, and kept the base loose with lots of milk. And I topped this with a lemony meringue, which, after a little toasting in the oven, is a real showstopper. If you don't eat this pudding right away, it's also good cold, but don't let it sit in the fridge for more than a day or two or the meringue gets weird. - amanda
Serves 6
- 3/4 cups jasmine or other long-grain white rice
- 1 quart whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 tablespoons raw sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- 3 egg whites
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Combine the rice, milk, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is just tender (but not at all mushy), about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract and lemon zest. Pour into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish.
- Using a mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar and whisk until the whites form firm peaks. Sprinkle in the lemon juice a little at a time and continue beating until the peaks are firm and glossy.
- Heat the broiler. Spread the meringue on top of the rice pudding, using a spatula to nudge it to the edge of the baking dish. Place under the broiler to toast the meringue, about 1 minute. Don't take your eyes off of it -- it burns quickly!
- Amanda and Merrill's Best Rice Pudding Contest Finalist!
Tags: dinner party, Easy, kid-friendly
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over 1 year ago Tawny Duckworth
Just tried this. I was lured in by the lemon/almond combo. It was a bit loose for my liking, perhaps with less milk I would of liked it better. We are curious to see how it tastes cold, our baby loved it best, who knows maybe she has the most sophisticated palate in the family.Always fun to try new things!
over 3 years ago pTsaldari
Someone like me needs all but a gentle push with a bird feather to try something so mesmerizing. I applaud your choice! Very professional lay out and clean, crisp and enticing!
Atta Girl! That is why you got my vote!
pt
almost 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Belated thanks!
over 3 years ago Marla
I have to admit, I am not usually a fan of meringue. That said I am loving the idea of the texture play here. The smooth, creamy rice with the crunchy topping. Can I combine both recipes as my favs? This is tough to judge. Can we put Merrills brown butter rice pudding under this meringue??
almost 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Yes -- that would be great!
over 3 years ago mcs3000
I'll fess up too. Both are great recipes, but the meringue was the tie-breaker for me.
over 3 years ago Ms Cuccia
May be unfair but the meringue is the sole reason this version got my vote.
almost 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
I'm fine with that reasoning!
over 3 years ago Cindy Roberts
I have to vote for this one. It looks beautiful, I bet also taste great too.
almost 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Thank you (belatedly!).
over 3 years ago gluttonforlife
I'm a sucker for all things caramel, but I think you swayed me with this gorgeous meringue topping. I like Janneke's idea, especially since I prefer my rice puddings a touch firmer. Happy New Year indeed!
over 3 years ago Janneke Verheij
Happy New Year! Could you make this one up front, keep it in the fridge and just before you serve it, slide it in the oven for a bit with the meringue topping? I don't know if the cold pudding with warm meringue is a nice mix or maybe you should let it come to room temperature first?.
almost 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
You could definitely chill it and do the meringue just before serving.
over 3 years ago Rhonda35
Mmmmmmmeringue!
over 3 years ago eatboutique
Oh my, I love meringue anything. (And caramel!) I don't know which to choose.
over 3 years ago Maria Teresa Jorge
How about 1/2 vote each, it's difficult to choose, bothe absolutely brilliant. Happy new Year.
almost 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Just saw this -- funny!
over 3 years ago Lizthechef
So hard to choose between the two of you! I am the champion burner of meringues to boot...Happy New Year!
over 3 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
Love the ease of this recipe. And quick too!
over 3 years ago melissav
Yum. I don't know how we are going to decide between your rice pudding and Merrill's. Both are going on my "must try" list!
almost 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Merrill's is on my list, too!
over 3 years ago WinnieAb
This sounds quite delicious and I love hearing about old recipes like Huntington pudding. Thanks Amanda!