The one with the dessert expert

Just wanted the post title to rhyme, so no: I'm not a dessert expert (yet). As you could read in my previous post I had Asian inspiration for my last dinner party. However, I'm not much of a dessert person. Not saying I don't like preparing (OR EATING) desserts, I just never have that much inspiration. Especially when it comes to themed desserts.
Normally I run to Martha Stewart for help when I'm in a themed frenzy, but no solution there. So I started googling "Asian desserts". Nothing that really looked A. doable B. yummy. Did notice that there were lots of ideas for rice pudding - what did I expect?

So I continued clicking here and there. All of a sudden I ended up on the website of Jeroen Meus, a Belgian TV chef. He had a recipe for rice pudding with coconut milk - KA-CHIIING! He combined the rice with speculoos, a typical Belgian biscuit. Really delicious but not really Asian. So I switched the speculoos for mango and caramelized pineapple. Gonna be honest: wasn't really impressed with the flavour of the rice on its own, but together with the fruits it did come close to something Asian and yummy.

Wanna try it yourself? Read on!

Ingredients

Rice pudding
75 cl milk
150 g dessert rice
25 cl unsweetened coconut milk
1 vanilla pod
3 eggs
2 tbs vanilla sugar
10 g corn starch (e.g. Maizena)
2 tbs of sugar
pinch of salt
15 cl cream

Fruit
1/2 mango
1/2 pineapple
1 - 2 tbs butter
2 tbs sugar

What to do

Rice pudding

1. Bring milk to a boil on low heat.
2. Add rice to milk and stir for a bit - you don't want the rice to stick.
3. Let it simmer on low heat for a while according to package instructions (normally 40 - 45 min).
4. Heat coconut milk until almost boiling.
5. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise into halves, scrape out the insides and add them to the coconut milk (insides + pods)
6. Crack the eggs and put the yolks in a bowl. Put the whites aside, we won't need them any further for this recipe.
7. Add the vanilla sugar to the yolks and give it a good stir. Repeat with the corn starch.
8. Take the vanilla pods out of the milk.
9. Pour a bit of the coconut milk-vanilla mixture over the yolks. Give it a good stir.
10. Add the mixture of coconut milk and yolks to the rest of the coconut milk.
11. Start heating the coconut milk again and keep on stirring in the mean time - until the mixture thickens.
12. Taste the rice. If the bite is OK, add a pinch of salt.
13. Add the coconut mixture to the rice and stir stir stir.
14. Let it sit for a couple more minutes.
15. Pour the cream in a mixing bowl and A. start stirring as if your life depends on it or B. use mixer to make a soft whipped cream. 
16. Turn off the heat and gently add the whipped cream to the rice coconut mixture.
17. Pour the pudding in a large bowl, serving glasses... and store in the fridge.

Fruits

1. Cut the mango into small pieces.
2. Cut the pineapple into bitesize pieces.
3. Heat a non-stick skillet on high heat.
4. Add the butter.
5. Cover the pineapple with sugar.
6. Add pineapple to skillet and swirl it around in the butter for about 8-10 min.
7. Put the fruits on top of the rice pudding and DONE!

Bon'ap!

Are you a dessert master or do you struggle to come up with good ideas as well?

Let me know when you tried this recipe!

Love,

Julie