Summer Pudding?

I've been so disappointed in the weather this summer and have felt like I've been fighting nature making summer desserts; sorbets, cheesecakes, icecream etc.  So last night I decided to give in to my instincts and make a good, oldfashioned, comforting, pudding.

out of the oven...

The pudding in question was a lovely, creamy rice pudding.  This has been at the back of my mind since seeing Simon Hopkinson make one on his latest television series, The Good Cook, a couple of weeks ago, though the recipe I used wasn't this one. 

I can't remember where my recipe came from and I've also had to amend it.  I didn't have enough milk in the fridge or any double cream but it turned out just as I recall from those Sunday afternoons when my boys were younger and they would always vote for creamy rice pudding, baked exceedingly slowly in the oven - lovely memories, lovely pudding...


...and onto our plates

Yummy Rice Pudding
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
4ozs pudding rice (I didn't have any so I used risotto rice)
1.5ozs demerara sugar (or caster sugar)
1 litre whole milk (I used organic soya milk and 0.5oz of skimmed milk powder)
2-3 tbsp double cream (I used creme fraiche)
half a whole nutmeg, finely grated
1oz butter, finely diced

Method
Mix the pudding rice (milk powder, if using) and sugar in a large pie dish or casserole dish.  Pour in the milk and cream (or creme fraiche) and stir together.

Grate the nutmeg over the top of the mixture and dot with the butter.  Place the dish in an oven preheated to 150C.  After 30 minutes remove the dish from the oven and stir well.  Return to the oven and stir again after another 30 minutes.  Return to the oven and leave to bake gently for a further 60 minutes.

You should now have a lovely creamy rice pudding sitting under the milk skin.  Simply serve on its own or as we did with some homemade (slightly underset) plum jam - yummy!