Sometimes, you want a fancy dessert. Sometimes, you want something comforting and homey. This rice pudding recipe is both things rolled into one. A comforting and homey rice pudding, fancied up with a lemon-vanilla caramel sauce. The dessert looks very complicated, but it was really easy to make and the rice pudding and caramel can both be made a few days before you are going to serve it. This dessert would be perfect for a shower or after a brunch. Even though it seems like it would be rich and heavy, the raspberries and the lemon in the caramel make it very light tasting and fresh.
I usually make a baked version of rice pudding, but this stovetop version is just so creamy. It uses Arborio rice, which is the rice that you use for risotto, it becomes creamy without using actual cream. If you do not have raspberries in season or for whatever reason, blueberries would be a perfect substitute. Lemon and blueberries are made for each other. Another thought would to substitute the lemon juice in the caramel for fresh orange juice. I bet that would be amazing also.
for the rice pudding:
1/2 cup Arborio rice
2 cups milk
1/2 vanilla bean
6 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 pint raspberries
For the caramel:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 vanilla bean
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
I make the caramel first. Put the sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla bean (scrape it before you put it in the pan) in a heavy saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until it becomes a golden, amber color.
Carefully, stir the lemon juice in with a wooden spoon. Put the caramel in a container and let cool.
Combine the rice with the milk and vanilla bean.
Bring the rice to a simmer and cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the sugar.
Layer the pudding into a glass and top with raspberries. Spoon the caramel over top. These can be made up to 8 hours before you are going to serve them.
This recipe comes from Gale Gand’s book Chocolate and Vanilla.
Ingredients
- for the rice pudding:
- 1/2 cup Arborio rice
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 6 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 pint raspberries
- For the caramel:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- I make the caramel first. Put the sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla bean (scrape it before you put it in the pan) in a heavy saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until it becomes a golden, amber color.
- Carefully, stir the lemon juice in with a wooden spoon. Put the caramel in a container and let cool.
- Combine the rice with the milk and vanilla bean.
- Bring the rice to a simmer and cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the sugar.
- Layer the pudding into a glass and top with raspberries. Spoon the caramel over top. These can be made up to 8 hours before you are going to serve them.
I am Bree. I love to cook. Even more than I love to take pictures.
Wow…that lemon vanilla caramel sauce sounds insanely delicious! As does the rice pudding of course…!
it would be delish on ice cream too. Not that I would know of course.
Rice pudding is definitely one of my comfort foods. I love it on it’s own, but it sounds even more tempting with raspberries and the lemon vanilla caramel sauce!
Sheena recently posted..black forest brownie cake
Thank you Sheena.
this looks awesome! I have been eating rice pudding ever since I was really little because my mom-mom makes the best rice pudding i ever had. she makes hers with raisins and i can’t have it any other way! It is interesting that you made yours with arborio rice….I really like that idea. I bet it makes it even more creamy. My Mom-Mom sticks to long-grain Carolina rice. You would think that you could just use any long-grain white rice, but for some reason the others don’t seem to breakdown and get as creamy as Carolina.
Mary (Sisters Running the Kitchen) recently posted..Farro with Coarse Pesto
It is very creamy. I love a southern rice pudding, but I don’t like raisins. Not even after they have been soaked in rum.
Anything creamy and raspberry, I’m there! Looks delicious, Bree! Now, where to find vanilla bean in Amsterdam… oh, how I miss American SUPERmarkets.
xo
Jeanelle
Thank you Glocal Girl! I order all of mine from Amazon these days. The quality is great and the price is right.
YUM! The addition of the vanilla caramel sauce to the rice pudding sounds brilliant. Thanks for sharing!
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you are welcome Annalise.
I have had a huge craving for rice pudding for weeks! You must have read my mind.
Melissa recently posted..Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love rice pudding, I think that it gets a bad rap.
Ooo. It’s got both looks AND personality! Nice!
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lol… yes it does.
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We love rice pudding!!! But, the addition of raspberries and caramels take it to a whole new level.
Mama Kelly aka Jia recently posted..Red Beef Curry
It takes something homey to very fancy with minimal effort.
I love Vanilla and Vanilla Raspberry Rice Pudding Recipe is just awesome.
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then you should be a happy girl.
This sounds so great! Do you one could make the rice pudding with rice milk and have the same creamy results? My daughter is allergic to dairy, and I’ve never tried rice pudding with a dairy alternative. What are your thoughts?
The rice lends itself to creaminess, so I think that it would be rich and creamy. Using an almond milk would be delicious. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.
Will do. I like the idea of almond milk. Thanks, Bree!
It worked with rice milk, and it’s very yummy. I just hope I can wait to eat mine until after dinner.
I am glad that it worked! I was at While Foods the other day and they had a rice pudding made with coconut milk that looked really good.
You are welcome.
This looks delicious, now I know what the mangos on my counter are going to do. I love raspberries but Thailand doesn’t really have them, well not affordable ones, and now its mango season! I wonder if I can get this rice though. How thick does it get with out a thickening agent? Usually I use cornstarch or reduce by 50%.
The rice is a short grain rice, and that is what makes it thick. I gets really thick without a thickening agent. Especially after it sets up. Mangos would be delicious here.
My mom used to make “creamed rice” which we would eat hot with our dinner. I only found out many, many years later it’s called rice pudding. My sister in law is an excellent cook but this is the one dish my brother insists that my mom still makes best. I could hardly believe that she only used rice, milk, sugar and a lot of stirring to make it taste so good.
I loved your version on the dish and it brought back such great memories.
There are just some things that moms do make better than anyone else. I am glad that it brought back memories for you.
My husband loves rice pudding and I’ve been searching every where for a good recipe. One question, I’m not sure that I will be able to find vanilla bean, is there something else I could use in it’s place?
just use extract.