Creamy slow-cooked rice pudding with sweet and sour apple sauce

Get ready to indulge your senses with this heavenly dessert – a warm, creamy and comforting rice pudding topped with a sweet and sour apple sauce and crunchy walnuts. As you pour the milk and cream into the saucepan, the aroma of vanilla fills the air and makes your mouth water. The sweet fragrance is simply irresistible, and as the mixture boils, you can’t help but feel a sense of excitement building up inside of you.

Serves 4-8

Ingredients

• 3 cups (750ml) milk
• 1 1/2 cups (375ml) thickened cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds scraped
• 1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup (165g) medium grain rice, rinsed well
• 60g butter, chopped
• 1/2 cup (55g) walnuts, toasted,  coarsely chopped
• Double cream to serve (optional)

SWEET AND SOUR APPLE SAUCE

• 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (125ml) red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup (65g) raisins
• 2 strips lemon rind
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 4 green apples, peeled, cored, cut into 5mm-thick slices

Method

1. Place milk, cream, vanilla seeds and pod in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Set aside for 20 minutes to infuse and cool slightly. Remove and discard the vanilla pod.
2. Preheat oven to 160C or 140C fan-forced. Place a 6cm-deep, 10cm x 29cm ovenproof dish in a roasting pan.
3. Whisk sugar, eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl until well combined. Gradually add milk mixture, stirring until well combined. Stir in rice.
4. Pour mixture into ovenproof dish. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the side of the dish. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes for the first 30 minutes, for 75 minutes or until the tip of a small knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Remove dish from the roasting pan. Set aside to cool slightly. Place uncovered in the fridge overnight to set.
6. To make sweet and sour sauce, place brown sugar, vinegar, raisins, lemon rind and rosemary in a saucepan. Cook over a low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a gentle simmer.
7. Add apple and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until apple slices are tender but not falling apart.
8. Cut rice pudding into your desired portions.
9. Heat a third of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add two portions of pudding and cook for 2 minutes or until golden. Turn slices carefully and cook for a further 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Cook remaining portions in batches using remaining butter.
10. Divide rice pudding among serving plates and top with the sweet and sour apple sauce. Sprinkle with walnuts. Serve with cream, if desired.