Parisian rice pudding with salted caramel sauce recipe

Parisian Rice Pudding by Nici Wickes. Photo / Todd Eyre

A decadent, single-serve dessert from Nici Wickes.

Only the French could elevate good old rice pudding to such exceptional heights as this! I first ate it in a small bistro in Paris and it was a revelation on many levels. If I had been too shy to eat out alone in Paris, I’d have missed this wondrous dessert.

Parisian rice pudding with salted caramel sauce recipe

Serves 1

Rice pudding ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp risotto rice

2 tbsp sugar

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1/4 cup cream, whipped

Toasted hazelnuts to serve

Salted caramel sauce ingredients

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp butter

100ml cream

1/2 tsp sea salt or more to taste

Method

1. Bring milk, rice, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds to a slow simmer in a pot. Simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring every time you think of it until it thickens and the rice is creamy and cooked. Set aside to cool.

2. While the rice cooks make the caramel. In a small pot, heat the sugar and water over medium heat, swirling the pot if needed but not stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 5–7 minutes or until it has turned a lovely dark golden colour. Remove from the heat, whisk in the butter, cream and salt (it will spit and froth, but don’t worry). Whisk until you have a smooth sauce.

3. To serve, fold whipped cream through the cooled rice pudding. Drizzle with sauce and sprinkle over hazelnuts. And dream of being in Paris!

Note: The sauce stores well in the fridge, needing just a little heat to bring it back to a drizzling consistency.

More From a Quiet Kitchen by Nici Wickes.

Edited extract from More From a Quiet Kitchen by Nici Wickes, $50, published by Bateman Books