Can someone be passionate about pudding? I want to say, yes because I am. Puddings are one of those comforting desserts that I’ve always looked forward to, even as a kid I’d have them on my mind at school waiting for that bell to ring so I could rush home and indulge in spoons of chunky goodness. Even now without the restraints of school, I’m still a huge sucker for a good bowl of pudding. The holidays are a time to indulge a little and in that spirit a pudding is a must and this time with a different kind of Christmas pudding!
A holiday themed pudding can be many things but I think it should be comforting and rice puddings though pretty simple fall right into that category. To give this rice pudding a holiday touch, I infused matcha and cinnamon into my favorite almond milk from Califia and dunked a whole bunch of fresh ripe raspberries on top. One of the great features about their milk, is it’s ability to withstand heating which is great when during cooking. Serve it warm or chilled, it’s great either way.
Here are some of my kitchen tips when preparing this rice pudding that you might find useful,
- Though I’ve listed instructions on how to prepare basmati rice here, you can skip this step if you already have boiled, plain, unsalted cooked basmati rice. When blending the rice into the almond milk, don’t overdo it, you want to achieve a tiny grainy texture just like tiny bits of chia seeds.
- *Sugar-adjust the sweetness of the pudding to your liking, I like it less sweet but if you want it sweeter add more sugar. You can also play around with the type of sweetener you use.
- Avoid adding cinnamon powder to the matcha pudding while it is cooking. Infusing a cinnamon stick in the almond milk will get the job done without changing the color of the pudding.
- To keep with the spirit of the holidays, I’ve used fresh raspberries but any other fresh berry or fruit might work here.
cinnamon and matcha rice pudding
yields: 4 servings
ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons matcha powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch or tapicoa starch
2 tablespoons sugar (*see kitchen notes)
1 inch piece cinnamon stick
3 cups unsweetened Califia almond milk
a few fresh ripe raspberries for garnish
a little extra cinnamon powder, freshly grated for garnish
1. Rinse the rice under cold running tap water. Place it in a medium-size saucepan and cover it with the water. Bring the contents of the saucepan to a boil and then reduce to a medium-low. Cover with a lid and cook the rice for about 20 minutes until the grains have become tender. Open the lid and continue to cook on medium-low until almost all the water has evaporated. Remove from stove and keep aside until ready to use.
2. In a thick bottomed saucepan add the matcha, cornstarch, and sugar. Pour the Califia almond milk and whisk vigorously to mix. Add the cinnamon stick and heat the contents of the saucepan on medium-high and allow to cook for 5 minutes with constant stirring. Remove from stove and discard the cinnamon stick.
3. Add the cooked rice to the saucepan containing the almond milk mixture. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, pulse the contents of the saucepan a few times to break the rice grains into small tiny bits. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook on high heat with constant stirring for about 2 -3 minutes until the mixture has thickened (the consistency should resemble a thick custard). Remove from stove and pour the pudding into individual serving jars or a large bowl. Cover with cling film to prevent the formation of any film on the surface of the pudding. This pudding can be served warm or chilled. Garnish the pudding with a little extra freshly grated cinnamon powder and a generous helping of fresh raspberries.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Califia and all opinions stated here are purely my own.
5 Responses
This is my kind of dessert : to be eaten with a spoon, rice-based, with a weird color and garnished with raspberries ____
The colors, the mood, the photos – amazing!
Beautiful, I love the mood of these photos!
I’m madly in love with your hands, your photos, this beautiful atmosphere š
Normally I am not a fan of spoonable desserts but this matcha rice pudding looks too good to pass up.
I’ll have two jars, please (with extra cinnamon!). š