Name: Tarte au Riz
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Belgium
Ingredients: 1 shortcrust pastry, for a 23cm tart tin; 1 liter milk; 150 g short-grain rice (pudding rice); 100 g sugar; 1 vanilla bean or extract; 3 eggs; 100 ml heavy cream; salt, pinch

Tarte au riz comes from Verviers in eastern Belgium, a pastry shell filled with rice slow-cooked in milk until it turns into a loose pudding, then set with egg and baked until just firm.

It's a specific regional specialty, closer to a rice pudding tart than anything resembling a typical custard tart.

Part of our 20 best Belgian recipes list.

method

Roll out the pastry and line a 23cm tart tin, pressing into the edges and trimming any overhang. Chill for 20 minutes, then blind bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes with baking beans, removing the beans for a final 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the milk to a gentle simmer with the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Add the rice, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the rice is very soft and the mixture has thickened into a loose rice pudding.

Stir in the sugar, and let the rice pudding cool slightly.

Whisk the eggs and cream together, then stir into the slightly cooled rice pudding until smooth.

Reduce the oven to 170°C (340°F). Pour the rice custard into the baked pastry case, spreading it evenly.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set with a slight wobble in the center and lightly golden on top.

Let cool to room temperature before slicing; the tart continues to firm up as it cools.

chef's tips

Cooking the rice fully in milk before it goes into the tart is essential; raw or undercooked rice won't finish cooking properly once baked into the custard.
Letting the egg-and-cream mixture cool slightly before adding it to the rice keeps it from scrambling against the hot pudding.