Family Tree Recipes

From Aunt Deb’s recipe box

My daughter is currently obsessed with the book “The Pokey Puppy” and has been requesting the desserts that the puppies eat in the book. I made a strawberry shortcake back in June when we went strawberry picking, and then I stumbled across this recipe for the next Pokey Puppy treat, Rice pudding (next up chocolate custard… going to ignore the fact that puppies definitely shouldn’t be eating that). This is definitely the most involved recipe from this project yet.

First step, put the rice and milk in a double boiler. I do not have a double boiler, so I used a bowl over a pot and whatever lid fit over the bowl. Not glamorous, but effective. Bring the water underneath to a boil (make sure there is enough that the bowl isn’t touching it, but that it won’t all boil off) and cook covered for 45 minutes.

When the rice is about done, separate your eggs and whisk the yolks together with the honey and salt.

Next, we need to temper the egg yolks by mixing a small amount of the cooked rice mixture into the egg yolks and whisking before putting the yolks into the rice mixture. This avoids having bits of scrambled egg in your pudding. Cook the whole mixture together for about 2 minutes, until thickened. Take off the heat and add vanilla.

At this point, you have a pudding, but this recipe takes it to the next level. Take the egg whites you separated out, and beat until they make soft peaks.

Then, fold into the pudding mixture.

Add raisins and cinnamon (I added a bit of cardamom too), and eat either hot or cold. I had a bowl while it was still warm, and the texture was more fluffy than creamy, but once it cooled in the fridge it became more creamy, which I preferred. I don’t know if I would choose this over box pudding mix very often, but I did enjoy the process.