08 November 2010

Two Recipes For Simple Chocolate Puds - Chocolate Rice Pudding (Part 1)

This recipe for Chocolate Rice Pudding was inspired by reading a blog by Helen Best-Shaw of Fuss Free Flavours fame, who wrote a recipe for Chocolate Risotto with Peaches. I was intrigued by the concept, especially having just made the Indian Tea Infused Rice Pudding for Diwali. So here is my version, which is slightly different from Helen's version although hers still sounds better than mine. Neither recipe is done any favours by the photography as this is not a photogenic pudding, even though it tastes fabulous.

As a recipe, it calls like many things for some patience and care in the making, as the milk can boil over, the rice can stick to the pan and the sweetness will be variable depending on the chocolate used. Also, you can eat it hot or cold; I am not a fan of cold rice pudding, but lots of people are, so why not make extra and take it to work for sneaky packed lunch treats. Chocolate Rice Pudding is fairly versatile - you can serve it as showy dinner party food by putting it neatly into glass bowls, then topping off with some whipped cream and shavings of chocolate, or serve warm as a homely winter warming treat.

All in all it is rich and delicious, so thanks Helen for the inspiration. It reminds me of one of mainstays for a quick and easy pudding, East Peasy Chocolate Mousse.

Recipe For Chocolate Rice Pudding

200g / 7oz dark chocolate

600ml / 1 pint full fat milk

100g / ½ cup pudding rice (Arborio rice)

2½ heaped tablespoons light muscovado sugar

30g / 1oz / 2 tbsp butter (ideally use unsalted butter, but you should then add a pinch of salt to the milk)

42½g / 1½ oz / 2tbsp raisins

Break the chocolate into a bowl and melt over a pan of boiling water. Leave to cool down on top of the still warm water, but obviously off the hob.

Break Up The Chocolate And Put Into Bowl

Melt The Chocolate Over A Pan Of Boiling Water

Add the milk to a heavy bottomed pan, together with the pudding rice and sugar (and a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter). Heat up to a gentle simmer, stirring all the time. Then let simmer for 25 - 30 minutes, but check it and stir it regularly as the milk can boil over, the rice can stick to the base and different rice will cook at differing rates. It should cook through to a nice al dente texture with this amount of milk, but if needed, simply top it up.

When cooked, take it off the hob, add the butter and stir this through. Now add the melted chocolate and raisins and mix these through. Check the sweetness and if you feel it needs it, add some more sugar; there is a lot of variation in the sweetness of bars of chocolate that you might want to use, as well as peoples' taste buds.

Stir In the Butter To The Cooked Pudding Rice

Mix In The Melted Chocolate And Raisins

Leave to cool and serve cold, or reheat and have it warm. If serving cold, serve in glass bowls topped with whipped cream and some shavings of dark chocolate.

Chocolate Rice Pudding