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Ris à la malta – Rice pudding with whipped cream and marinated oranges


Ris à la malta is a very typical Scandinavian Christmas dessert made from rice pudding and whipped cream. Not exactly sure why it’s called ris à la malta as I don’t think it has anything at all to do with Malta. Some say it’s a version of the Danish name of the same dessert – Risalamande which is commonly served with cherry sauce and almonds.

In Sweden it’s more common to eat it with jam or ‘saftsås’, which is a cordial or sweetened fruit juice that is thickened with potato starch. I adore this dessert, it’s not overly sweet but it is quite heavy, so maybe not recommended to eat right after a big Christmas dinner.

Below I’m sharing two of my favorite ris à la malta recipes. One more common way of making it, where you basically make a rice pudding – then mix it with whipped cream, vanilla and some sugar. The rice pudding can of course be eaten as it is too, with cinnamon, sugar and milk!

An interesting tradition that might not be that common anymore is to hide an almond in the rice pudding, and whoever gets it in their bowl receives a gift. Some also say that if you get the almond in your bowl, you will be married before next Christmas… The second recipe, ‘apelsinris’, simply translates into ‘orange rice’ which I think is more of an old fashioned way of making it. My inspiration for this recipe comes from a cookbook from 1932 by Jenny Åkerström called ‘Prinsessornas kokbok’ – ‘The princesses cookbook’.

It’s super interesting to read through this book, the language is so very different and all the recipes are very vague, such as ‘bake in a hot oven until cake is done’. It also says to cook spaghetti for 40-50 minutes though.. hehe.

RIS À LA MALTA – RICE PUDDING WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND MARINATED ORANGES

Serves 4-6

Some notes about this recipe: You can also eat the rice pudding as it is without the cream – why not have it for breakfast, with some cinnamon, sugar and milk instead!

INGREDIENTS

Marinated oranges

  • 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) water
  • 90 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1-2 tbsp. dark rum (can be omitted)
  • 2-3 oranges

Ris à la malta

  • 90 g (100 ml) uncooked short grain white rice
  • 200 ml (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.) water
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
  • 500 ml (about 2 cups) milk
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 150 ml (2/3 cup) heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean powder
  • 1-2 tbsp. powdered sugar, or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Marinated oranges

  1. Combine water, sugar, cloves and cardamom pods in a saucepan. Let come to a boil, then simmer for 6-8 minutes, swirling the pan every now and then, until syrup is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the rum. Let cool.
  2. Cut away the ends of the oranges, then cut down the sides to remove the peel and the white pith. Thinly slice the oranges and place them in a bowl. Pour the syrup over the orange slices, cover the bowl and let marinate in the fridge for at least two hours. Discard the cloves and cardamom pods before serving.

Ris à la malta

  1. Place the rice, water and salt in a saucepan. Let come to a boil and let simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes. Add the milk and cinnamon stick, and on low heat – let mixture simmer gently with the lid on until thickened, about 30-35 minutes, stirring every now and then to make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat, discard the cinnamon stick and let cool completely.
  2. Whip the cream to soft peaks together with the vanilla and sugar, then stir the whipped cream into the rice pudding. Serve the ris à la malta with the orange slices and syrup.
 

APELSINRIS (ORANGE RICE)

Serves 4

Some notes about this recipe: This is basically a simpler and quicker way to make ris à la malta. It’s also delicious to serve with some toasted almonds and grated chocolate.

INGREDIENTS

Apelsinris

  • 90 g (100 ml) uncooked short grain white rice
  • 500 ml (2 cups) water
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 200 ml (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.) heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean powder
  • 1-2 tbsp. granulated sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Apelsinris

  1. Place the rice, water, salt and cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Let come to a boil and let simmer with the lid on, stirring every now and then, for about 25 minutes or until the rice is soft. Pour into a sieve and rinse with cold water until rice is completely cold. Discard the cinnamon stick and spoon rice into a large bowl.
  2. In another bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks together with the vanilla and sugar, then stir the whipped cream into the cooked rice. Cut the orange slices (see recipe for marinated oranges above) into smaller pieces and spoon into the rice mixture. Serve with some of the syrup.
 

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. I tried this one and it tasted good. But it was way too much for one person. Next time I definitely need to reduce the quantaties of the ingredients 🙂
    Thanks a lot for that recipe

    Reply

    • Hi, I’m so glad you liked it! It is definitely not for one person though 🙂 As stated in the recipe, the first one serves 4-6 and the second one serves 4!

      Reply

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