Vegan MoFo Day #5! First week, yeah!

 Right before I moved away to university, there was an awesome little rice pudding shop in Northampton, MA, that has since closed down. Of course it closed down before I finally lived there, but alas. They had some 20 varieties of different rice puddings and lots of toppings. It was glorious. There’s also a rice pudding shop in NYC called Rice to Riches, but it is nowhere near as cute and cosy as the one in NoHo used to be!

Every since then I’d wanted some rice pudding flavors besides the basic kind. This morning I set to the kitchen determined to make some…success! I’d recommend trying this with coconut milk to replace some of the soymilk or water if you have it…I didn’t have any on hand, but it will make the color more caramel-y and coconut milk is like little fluffy pillows of heaven in a can, so you can’t go wrong, really. Without the coconut milk (pictured above) was also delicious, however, so no worries!

Butterscotch Rice Pudding with Toasted Hazelnuts

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups soymilk or almond milk, etc.
  • 2 cups water or 1 can coconut milk and 1 cup water, it will be extra creamy and delish
  • 1 cup white rice
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 Tbsp. margarine
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • toasted hazelnuts optional, for topping

Instructions
 

  • Combine the soymilk, water and coconut milk, if using, and brown sugar in a saucepan with the rice.
  • Bring to a boil, while watching (seriously, this bubbled ALL over my stove and floor when I looked away for a hot minute = kitchen fail), then turn the temperature immediately down to low, add salt and let simmer for 20-25ish minutes until the rice is cooked and everything has thickened up and become creamy.
  • While it's cooking chop and toast the hazelnuts in a frying pan, no need to add anything, they have their own oil! Once they're browned a bit and smell awesome, remove from heat.
  • Right before the pudding is done, once it's getting creamy, stir in the margarine and vanilla, cook for a few more minutes, then turn off the heat.
  • Let sit for a few minute, then spoon into a bowl and top with the toasted hazelnuts. So. Good.
  • The leftovers should be fine in the fridge for a few days, and I'm sure it's also good cold!

Perfect for the cold and rainy day Berlin has delivered. I now have a plan to make a million different varieties of vegan rice pudding, so stay tuned.