Home made Rice pudding (Pressure Cooker)

This recipe took me a number of tries and I am sure……a number of pounds onto my hips. I wasn't getting the consistency right. I think was an excuse to keep making the rice pudding. After all, it's mostly custard which is delicious home made…eggs, cream, vanilla essence and sugar. The smell is delightful. Yankee Candle has captured that smell along with Bath and Body fragrances. Still, it's not the same as fresh, home made custard. 

My husband has German roots and it was the start of the Advent season into Christmas. So, I took out my Emeril Pressure cooker and off I went, trying to get my rice pudding recipe just right. Alas, just in time for my cousin's Christmas party, it came out perfectly! I even got a, "thumbs up" from cousin Sue who is a bit picky with a discriminating palette. I am super happy. 

Ingredients

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

1/2 tsp salt

1 tablespoon of Vanilla Essence

Cinnamon

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar -or somewhere in the middle of that

3/4 cup of Arborio rice (usually used to make Risotto)

3 cups of water

1 cup of light cream/additional 1/2 cup of light cream for custard mix

1/2 cup Evaporated milk

Turn the Pressure Cooker on sauté and melt 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine into the cooker. Add rice and stir to coat the rice. Then add 3 cups of water and 1 cup of light cream along with the salt and sugar. 

Put the pressure cooker on High for 10 minutes. 

While the pressure cooker is on, pour the evaporated milk and light cream into a sauce pan. Do not heat until you add the 2 eggs. (If you heat first and then add the eggs, they will instantly turn into scrambled eggs). Stir and add Vanilla essence. Enjoy the smell and the thickening mixture which is essentially, custard. 

When the rice in the pressure cooker is done, let the steam out and stir. Then add the custard in the saucepan to the rice mixture but make sure to TEMPER the custard as it will turn into solid egg as well. Put the pressure cooker back on sauté and add some of the rice mixture to the custard mixture to temper, mix and add to rice mixture. Do this a few times to prevent custard from turning into egg. 

When the custard mixture has been entirely mixed with the rice mixture with the pressure cooker on sauté, use a big spoon to mix the pudding slowly. Let the pudding pucker and bubble under the heat and keep stirring for at least 5-10 minutes. The custard will thicken as will the starch from the rice to thicken the texture of the pudding. You may want to add raisons if you like. Cut back a bit on sugar if you do so. Keep stirring. The pudding will look a bit runny but pour into a container and set aside to cool. Make sure to sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the mixture before it cools since it will develop a thin film.

Cover and place in the refrigerator so you can enjoy later. You can adjust the sugar the next time and stir longer to make sure the pudding is thick enough and not runny. Use less cream if your stomach gets upset from the richness from the fat and substitute with evaporated and/or regular milk.

Enjoy the smell and taste of fresh custard and rice pudding.