Or just rice pudding. Or millet pudding. Whatever combination you want to try. A velvet soft dish with delicious baked fruit awaits you. Crowned with caramelized whipped egg whites.
Baked rice and millet pudding:
- 100g or 0.2 lb rice (short-grain type is ideal)
- 100g or 0.2 lb millet grains
- 50 g or 0.1 lb butter
- 80 g or 0.17 lb sugar
- 600-700 ml or 1.3-1.5 lb milk
- 4-5 eggs
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 3-7 pieces of fruit
- 1-2 teaspoons of spices (cinnamon, vanilla, citrus zest, cloves…)
Mix the grains of your choice with milk and salt. Boil gently on low heat until it thickens. I like to use a heavy bottom pan. It distributes the heat evenly and prevents burning. Still, make sure you keep mixing the milk most of the time.
Once the base mixture is done, put it away from the heat and cut the butter into cubes. As they melt, gently fold the mixture until you cannot see the butter. Let the bowl cool.
You can prepare this the evening before you bake the pudding or at least a few hours before you fold in the eggs. The eggs need to cook in the oven, not when they touch the boiled mass.
Once you are ready for the next step, wash and cut the fruit of your choice. The amount depends on your preference. Three standard apples, pears, peaches, and other bigger kinds of fruit should fill the baking pan sufficiently. About six or seven plums, apricots, and the rest of smaller fruits.
Now it’s time to preheat the oven to 170°C or 400°F. Also, start boiling water for a water bath.
Carefully divide the egg yolks and whites. Whip the whites until they form a thick white foam and add the sugar and spices. Once the whites form firm peaks, add the yolks. Now very gently fold in portions of cooled rice or millet. You may set aside some of the whipped eggs for a final decoration.
Grease the baking pan with oil or butter and pour in the mixture. Top with the fruit and smear with the spare eggs, if you have some.
Now put the filled pan (careful, it might be heavy) into a larger pan and put them into the oven. Pour the hot water into the larger pan and bake the pudding for about 45 minutes. Let it cool a bit. And enjoy!
No more resentment against only egg yolk recipes:
The recipes that tell you to use egg yolks only usually taste delicious. But I used to avoid them and I despised them. I had no idea how I should use the remaining egg whites. Nothing I tried tasted good enough to bother. Until I tried this baked pudding using only spare egg whites. The result was very similar to the whole egg version.
Since then, I am happily making soft and lush dough for doughnuts only with egg yolks. Or I put an extra egg yolk into Linzer cookies. And the egg white goes into a small food storage container in my freezer. I have a sticky note on that paper and I make a dot every time I put a new egg white into the container to freeze. Once I have about 6-8 egg whites, it is time to defrost them and use them in this recipe.
New chance for leftovers
Do you have some spare rice from two days ago? A few spoonfuls of porridge? You can elegantly hide them in the milk and grains. The resulting pudding will, of course, be a bit different than the default version. But we discover new tasty things in the kitchen only when we are not shy to experiment. You may discover a combination that will lead to a completely new recipe.
Glenn's Nest 