Risalamande med Kirsebærsauce
Creamy rice pudding folded with whipped cream and chopped almonds, served cold with a warm cherry sauce - the Danish Christmas Eve dessert.
- prep
- 30 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total
- 1 h 15 min
- serves
- 6
- level
- medium
Risalamande is the dessert that ends Danish Christmas Eve: a cold rice pudding folded with whipped cream and almonds, served with a warm cherry sauce and one whole almond hidden inside for luck.
The pudding has to be fully chilled before the cream goes in - folded into warm rice pudding, whipped cream deflates immediately and the texture never recovers.
Part of our 20 best Danish recipes list.
method
Bring the milk, vanilla and sugar to a gentle simmer, stir in the rice, and cook uncovered on low heat for 35-40 minutes, stirring often, until thick and the rice is tender.
Remove the vanilla pod, cover the rice pudding, and chill completely, at least 2 hours or overnight.
Whip the cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks.
Fold the chopped almonds through the cold rice pudding, then fold in the whipped cream in two additions, keeping it light rather than stirring it flat.
Tuck the whole almond somewhere into the bowl, traditionally awarding a small prize to whoever finds it.
For the cherry sauce, simmer the cherries with sugar and most of the juice for 5 minutes, then stir in the cornstarch slaked in the remaining juice and cook 2 minutes until glossy and thickened.
Serve the cold risalamande in bowls with the warm cherry sauce spooned over.
chef's tips
- Chill the rice pudding completely before folding in the cream - warm rice pudding deflates whipped cream instantly, leaving the dessert dense instead of light.
- Fold rather than stir the cream in; the whole point of risalamande is a texture that's still fluffy from the cream, not a heavy, uniform rice pudding.