It’s berry season, so when I saw a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook for Rice Pudding with Berries, I decided to give it a try. The Rice Pudding is molded, and served with a berry sauce. I used strawberries, though the recipe says that raspberries (or a mixture of strawberries and raspberries) could also be used.
The Rice Pudding with Berries turned out well, made a nice presentation, and was very tasty.
Here’s the original recipe:
The recipe directions indicate that sugar is needed for both the Rice Pudding and the Berry Sauce, yet the ingredients list only has “powdered sugar” and does not list an amount. It appears that an ingredient (or at least amounts) is missing for this recipe. I decided to use 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in the Rice Pudding, and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in the sauce. The sauce I made was a bit tart – but I thought that it was lovely. If a sweeter sauce is desired, use more sugar.
Some of the liquid evaporates while cooking the rice, so the cooked Rice Pudding mixture has less volume than the sum of volume of the ingredients. I used a 2 1/2 cup mold. When the mold was filled, I still had a little extra Rice Pudding which I put into custard cup. A 3 or 3 1/2 cup mold would work better.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Rice Pudding and Berries
4 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup rice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
butter or cooking oil
1 pint strawberries or raspberries (or a mixture of both strawberries and raspberries) (I used strawberries.)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Put the granulated sugar, milk, and salt in a large heavy saucepan. Stir to combine, then heat using medium heat until the mixture just begins to simmer. Stir in the rice, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice mixture is thick (approximately 35-45 minutes). Remove from heat and then stir in the vanilla.
Grease a mold with butter or cooking oil (a 3 – 3 1/2 cup mold works well), then firmly press the rice pudding into the mold. Refrigerate until cold (at least 3 hours).
In the meantime, make a berry sauce by slicing the berries (raspberries can be left whole) and then putting them into a saucepan. (Reserve several berries to use as a garnish.) Stir in the powdered sugar, cornstarch and water. Bring to a boil using medium heat while stirring. Reduce heat; continue cooking and stirring until the strawberry pieces are very soft and the sauce has thickened. (Add a little more water if the sauce it too thick.) Remove from heat and strain. Keep the liquid and discard the cooked berry pieces.
To serve: Losen the edges of the Rice Pudding with a knife or other cooking tool. Dip the mold in hot water, then unmold onto serving plate. Pour the sauce over the Rice Pudding, and garnish with berries.
A Hundred Years Ago 
It is a very pretty dish and looks tasty too.
It did make a nice presentation.
Ooh I love rice pudding. and berries. THis sounds good.
If you like molded rice pudding you’d enjoy this dessert.
My husband would love this!!
It’s a nice molded rice pudding.
My problem is anytime I have cooked rice low and slow with milk I have a burnt bottom pan!
When I make rice, I use a heavy pan. I bring the rice and water to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to the very lowest level. I resist the urge to peak at the cooking rice, and allow it to cook for the length of time indicated on the package. I then turn the heat off and allow it to sit for another 10 or 15 minutes before taking the lid off. This usually works pretty well for me – though I’ve definitely had some disasters over the years when cooking rice.
Yep…. no problem with water…its when I add the milk to the equation that I run into problems!
It looks beautiful–like a dessert in fine dining! Well done!
Thank you! It did make a nice presentation.
Sounds delicious. I’ve been looking for a rice pudding recipe, I may give this one a try sometime. Thanks so much for sharing.
Because it is a molded rice pudding recipe, it is less creamy than some rice puddings, but still good.