White Chocolate Rice Pudding Parfait with Poached Winter Fruits

Name: White Chocolate Rice Pudding Parfait with Poached Winter Fruits
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 10
Ingredients: Rice pudding parfait; 170g Tilda Pure Basmati rice; 1200ml milk; 150g caster sugar; 50g white chocolate; 2 vanilla pods; nutmeg; ground cinnamon; 5 leaves of gelatine soaked in iced water; 300ml semi whipped cream; 1 orange, zest only; Stock Syrup; 750ml water; 750g sugar; Poached prunes; 100g agen prunes; 1 Earl Grey tea bag; Poached apricots; 100g dried apricots; 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways; Poached pears; 2 William pears, peeled and cored; 2 cloves; 1 cinnamon stick; 200ml muscat, or sweet wine; To serve; icing sugar, for dusting; fresh mint; Equipment; 6cm moulds

Rice pudding is a childhood classic, but chef Andrew MacKenzie brings this dish up to date with gentle spices of cinnamon and nutmeg, creamy white chocolate and deliciously tender poached fruits. Adding whipped cream to the cooked and cooled basmati rice adds a luxurious edge, turning it from a traditional pudding to a wonderful parfait.

120+ Minutes
Hard
Serves 10

This recipe uses:

Pure Steamed Basmati Rice

Where to buy

Ingredients

Rice pudding parfait

170g Tilda Pure Basmati rice
1200ml milk
150g caster sugar
50g white chocolate
2 vanilla pods
nutmeg
ground cinnamon
5 leaves of gelatine soaked in iced water
300ml semi whipped cream
1 orange, zest only

Stock Syrup

750ml water
750g sugar

Poached prunes

100g agen prunes
1 Earl Grey tea bag

Poached apricots

100g dried apricots
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways

Poached pears

2 William pears, peeled and cored
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
200ml muscat, or sweet wine

To serve

icing sugar, for dusting
fresh mint

Equipment

6cm moulds
blowtorch

How to make White Chocolate Rice Pudding Parfait with Poached Winter Fruits

Add the rice to a heavy-bottomed pan with the milk, vanilla, zest and sugar. Grate in a little fresh nutmeg and add a pinch of cinnamon (adding more or less to taste) and stir to combine. Place over a gentle heat and allow to simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender
Taking the pan off the heat, add in the white chocolate and stir until melted through the rice. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatin leaves and mix into the pan so that they dissolve into the rice
Leave the rice to cool until it reaches 30°C, then gently fold through the whipped cream. Distribute the mixture between ten 6cm round moulds or ramekins and chill for a minimum of 4 hours
While the parfaits chill, make the stock syrup which will be used for poaching the fruits. Add the water and sugar to a large pan, stir together then bring to the boil. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, remove from the heat and allow to cool
Poaching the fruit separately will help maintain their unique flavours. Add the prunes to one pan with 250ml of the stock syrup (or to just cover the prunes) and the tea bag, then simmer until soft. Chill in the fridge until needed
In another pan, add the apricots, another 250ml of stock syrup and the split vanilla pod. Simmer until soft, then reserve in the fridge
For the figs, add them to a pan with 250ml of the stock syrup and the fresh thyme, simmering until tender before chilling until needed
Add the pears to a pan with any remaining stock syrup, the sweet wine, cloves and cinnamon stick. Simmer until softened, then allow to cool in the poaching liquor. Dice into 5mm cubes and chill until needed
To serve, carefully turn the parfaits out from the moulds on to serving plates. Dust liberally with icing sugar and use a blowtorch to caramelise this slightly. Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint and serve alongside the poached fruits