There’s a short list of things that I can eat by the gallon full and I’m here to swing my arms in the air and tell you this is iiiittt! Rice pudding. Hello, sweet lover.
There is divinity in the simplicity of this dessert. It’s rice – double cooked with sweetened milk, stirred to thickened, stirred until you’ve worked yourself in a trance. Spooned into generous portions and chilled with patience. This particular pot flavored and fragranced with Earl Grey’s rounded bitter black tea and bergamot.
It’s simple and makes the case for over-cooked rice… really, as long as there is milk and sugar involved. There are few things more comforting.
In terms of eating things cold from the fridge (also knows as one of life’s great pleasures) cold rice pudding is up there with cold pizza.
Related: if you need me later – I’ll be at the fridge with a spoon.
For added sweetness and bite, and a bit of a pinky-in-the-air moment, this pudding can be brûléed with a kitchen blow torch… as if life couldn’t get any better.
Here’s what you’ll need to rice pudding. Let’s!
• a cup of white rice and some water to cook it in.
• sugar, plus a dash of salt for balance.
• a big pat of butter for richness and four cups of whole milk for creaminess.
• lemon zest and three Earl Grey tea bags.
We’ll start by cooking the rice.
Could you use leftover rice you have on hand? I really do think you could!
Water and rice into a generous saucepan.
We’ll also add salt to flavor the water.
And lemon zest, too! The lemon oils in the zest will make the most flavorful, fragrant rice.
It’s a rice pudding secret. Don’t skip it!
The rice will simmer, covered, until the water is absorbed. It takes about 15 minutes.
It takes a good amount of effort to not forget the rice. That’s important. Make yourself set a timer. I speak these words from experience.
Remove the rice from the pan, and let’s get this milk simmering.
Start by adding butter to the pan.
Add four cups of milk even though that seems like a lot. Trust the process.
Add three Earl Grey tea bags and loosely tie the bags to one of the handles.
Once the milk simmers, add the rice back to the pan and steep the tea bags for a good 10 minutes.
The milk will cook down and the rice will thicken. It takes about 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so.
There’s a balance in keeping the heat low but simmering without scorching the milk. You’ll find it!
Leave the rice pudding a little loose. It will thicken as it rests and cools in the refrigerator.
Spoon into tea cups because it feels both right and clever.
Allow the pudding to chill in the refrigerator at which point you can shovel it into your mouth with abandon (great great great idea) or you can sprinkle it with extra granulated sugar and torch it to crisp.
I promise, once you have a kitchen torch… you’ll righty want to brûlée everything.
Supreme comfort. We’ve landed.
Variation and Notes:
• If you’d like to make this recipe with brown rice, the proportions will be a bit different for cooking the rice initially. I made Brown Rice Pudding ages ago and you’re welcome to it.
• I use whole milk because it’s my favorite of all the milks – thank you fat! You could also use 2% milk for this recipe, but I would stay away from the completely fat free milk.
• You want to use a alternate milk? I know for sure that coconut milk rice pudding is a dream.
• You could absolutely substitute orange zest for the lemon zest. I wouldn’t even be mad at grapefruit.
Print
Brûléed Earl Grey Rice Pudding
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 Earl Grey tea bags
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for topping and brûlée
Instructions
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Stir in lemon zest, salt and long grain rice and return to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer the rice, covered, until all of the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Once rice is cooked, place it in a bowl and rise out pan. Add 4 cups of milk, sugar and tea bags to the pan. Bring to a low boil, stirring often so the milk doesn’t burn. Add the cooked rice to the hot milk. Stir often, until the milk cooks down. Remove the tea bags after 10 minutes of simmering. The rice will be creamy after about 20 minutes. Place in a large bowl or serving dishes to cool. Serve cold or at room temperature.
- Once cooled and just before serving, generously sprinkle the top of the pudding with granulated sugar. Use a kitchen torch to melt and caramelize this sugar into a crust. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
24 Responses
I made this today. Beautiful flavour and easy enough to do while holding a baby in one arm. The Cinnamon Sugar Rice Pudding in the JTB cookbook is my “go-to” recipe for rice pudding comfort, but I love this new variation. I sprinkled them with turbinado sugar because babies and blow torches don’t mix. This worked perfectly for me.
Made this using an orange cinnamon tea bag. Best rice pudding ever.
I made this with short grain rice and darjeeling because I didn’t have any earl grey on hand. Turned out delicious!
I don’t like rice pudding, but yours look amazing. I just might have to revisit this dish using your recipe.
You are seriously wonderful! Thank you!
What a perfect combination of two of the best comfort foods! Can’t wait to make this when winter finally finds its way to Australia :)
I love (first) that you are always all smiles in your pix, (second) RICE PUDDING, and, me, too, a torch is on its way to my home as we speak!!! You take Care, Sweet Joy.
How amazing this recipe sounds! Having been born and bred in NY, where every good deli worth its salt has its own homemade rice pudding, I’ve had zillions of variations and this one looks right up there with the best!
Do I assume correctly that when using leftover rice, I should skip the water step and go directly to the milk with the rice and lemon zest?
Yes that’s absolutely right!
I’m heapin’ some love on that Staub essential dutch oven. Have you used it to make bread?
This sounds SO dreamy!
What a great and creative idea – making bruleed rice pudding! Definitely gonna try this recipe soon!
what the heck! this is like all of my favorite things rolled into one!
Even though I love rice pudding, I have been intimidated by the thought of making it because I ASSUMED it would be difficult. I can and will most definitely make this!
Oh my. I love rice pudding. Am thinking this would’ve anazing with chai tea too.
Like the commenter above in the UK we use short grain rice for pudding. Rice, butter, milk and sugar and mixed in a wide shallow dish the whole thing baked in a low oven for 2-3 hours
This recipe looks killer! Adding blow torch to my amazon shopping cart right now. I’ve always wanted one, and this is the perfect excuse
I tried making a rice pudding with long-grain rice once (because my local supermarket doesn’t carry pudding rice ………..) and it really wasn’t as good. The long-grain doesn’t get as soft and creamy and it tastes stodgier … this recipe sounds amazing but I think I’d track down some pudding rice to use instead.
When I read the title to this post in my feedly, I audibly gasped sitting at my desk at work. What a combination. Now I need to go buy a brûlée gun thing.
I haven’t had rice pudding in a very long time, but this post has just given me some cravings for it. And the Earl Grey/Brulee combination sounds genius!
Duuuude. I’m hella jealous I didn’t think to combine rice pudding and earl gray together first! Tea and flower flavored things are my jam. Can’t wait to try this. Ps, I’m loving all the recipe pictures starring your lovely self!
Agree to the p.s.!!! You’re such a stylish babe!
Rice pudding is very popular in France, but they use short-grain round rice. More like risotto. It sticks better than long-grain rice. The packages for short rice even sport photos of rice pudding, while the ones for long-grain show it as a side to something resembling boeuf bourguignon.
Shut off the heat when you see holes form in the rice. That’s the moment when the rice has boiled long enough and there’s still enough liquid for it to absorb slowly. Fool-proof rice cooking. You won’t get a scorched bottom.
And for anybody who doesn’t dare use a blowtorch (or just doesn’t want another kitchen gadget), put the pudding (or crème brulée) in oven-proof bowls (ramekins are great) and pass under the broiler for a minute. It works fine.
ohhh good suggestion about the broiler! I never thought of that.
Me too! I love seeing the full you, not just your hands in the photos!