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Food mashups can be a big swing. Sometimes they work and sometimes they should be left alone. This rice pudding cake with mango caramel from Claire Saffitz's cookbook is a mashup worth trying.
Rice Pudding Cake With Mango Caramel Recipe
Rice pudding is one of those desserts you either love or hate. It has a distinct texture and is super creamy. I'm a fan, but it definitely falls into the dessert category of something that I have once a year, tops. However, this rice pudding cake from Claire Saffitz's Dessert Person cookbook caught my eye for the unusual presentation and I knew I had to try it out.
I've never made rice pudding, so I wasn't 100 percent sure about the full process. Turns out, it's pretty simple. To make the rice pudding mixture, you basically make rice with whole milk, a can of evaporated milk, and a bunch of spices.
Mango Caramel Sauce
This cake is a little weird, I am not going to lie. But my favorite part about the whole recipe was the mango caramel sauce. I had no idea you could flavor caramel with fruit.
The caramel gets made just like a traditional caramel sauce with sugar, heavy cream, and butter. The mango then gets added to the caramel right when the sugar starts to turn, allowing it to release its natural juices and flavors.
The mango essentially dissolves into the sugar mixture and gives the caramel such a natural and bright flavor. I could easily just eat this with a spoon and be very happy.
Flavors and Textures Of The Rice Pudding Cake
This cake is all about the different textures and flavors. Claire's recipe uses rum, cardamom, and vanilla beans to flavor the rice pudding. I am not the biggest cardamom fan and didn't have the right rum on hand, so I opted to go with just a bunch of cinnamon to flavor the rice pudding. The rum would have been a nice complement to the mango caramel, but the cinnamon worked out great.
This recipe is pretty adaptable if those flavors aren't your thing. Pretty much whatever you put in the rice pudding mixture when it is cooking will be your main flavor profile. In the future, I could definitely see adding in some coffee, peanut butter, or brown sugar. They wouldn't all go with the mango caramel, but you can adjust that one too. Just swap out whatever fruit is in season for the mango and follow the recipe the same.
Ingredients Needed For Rice Pudding Cake With Mango Caramel
Mango Caramel
- Sugar
- Mango - chopped into coarse pieces
- Heavy cream
- Butter - unsalted
- Kosher salt
Rice Pudding Cake
- Arborio rice
- Whole milk
- Evaporated milk
- Kosher salt
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Butter - unsalted
- Large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks
- Mango - sliced thin for serving
How To Make Rice Pudding Cake With Mango Caramel
1. Make the caramel sauce: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water over medium heat. Lightly stir the sugar until it dissolves, but stop stirring the mixture as soon as it starts to boil. If any of the sugar mixture splatters on the side of the saucepan, use a pastry brush or spoon to scrape it down back into the mixture. Let the sugar cook for about 7-10 minutes, until it turns into a deep amber color.
2. Add in the mango: When the color is a deep amber brown, add the mango to the sugar mixture. Let the mango sit in the mixture for about 5 minutes and then return to low-medium heat. The mango will get very juicy and spill out the liquid. When it looks very cooked, add in the heavy cream, followed by the butter. Add the butter pieces one at a time. Once the mixture is thick, remove it from the heat to cool. Use a handheld blender to smooth out the caramel sauce and mix the mango in fully. Set to the side to cool when done.
3. Make the rice pudding: In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Cook the mixture on low to medium heat and allow it to come to a simmer. Stir everything while it is cooking so it doesn't stick to the bottom and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes. When the mixture looks translucent and the rice is floating, it will be done. Add in the remaining butter, one piece at a time. Stir the mixture and let it cool to room temperature.
4. Prepare the cake: When the mixture is cooling, preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9-inch springform pan with parchment and grease. Set to the side.
5. Mix in the eggs: Stir the eggs into the cool mixture (make sure the mixture is fully cooled, otherwise you'll get curdled eggs!). The mixture will be very thick.
6. Bake the cake: Add the mixture to the prepared pan and bake the cake for 45-55 minutes. The cake will spring back into the pan and will look slightly brown when ready.
7. Serve and enjoy: Garnish the top of the cake with the thin slices of mango and the mango caramel. Enjoy!
How To Store Mango Caramel Cake
The mango caramel cake will last about 3 days in the refrigerator. Make sure to keep it refrigerated, as the cake has a lot of dairy in it.
FAQs
Yes! The rice pudding is basically a plain base to add flavor too. Sweet spice combinations like warming flavors or extracts will be great additions to the rice pudding to give the cake a different flavor.
Rice pudding cake will freeze but it might change the texture of the cake. I would suggest eating the within the first three days of baking.
The mango caramel is an excellent addition to other desserts. It will taste great on ice cream, pound cake, or on top of brownies.
Rice Pudding Cake with Mango Caramel
Course: DessertCuisine: dessertDifficulty: Medium10
servings40
minutes1
hourThis cake takes what you love about rice pudding and puts it in a sliceable form. Top the cake with a mango caramel sauce for a fruit twist.
Ingredients
- Mango Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 and ½ cups coarsely chopped mango, roughly about 1 large mango
½ cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Rice Pudding Cake
1 cup Arborio rice
3 cups whole milk
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
¾ cup sugar
2-4 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks
1 large mango, sliced thin for serving
Directions
- Make the caramel sauce. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and ⅓ cup of water over medium heat. Lightly stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar, but stop stirring as soon as the mixture comes to a boil. Keep a spoon or pastry brush nearby to scrape down the sides and keep the sugar off the sides of the pan. Let the sugar cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until it turns into a deep amber color.
- As soon as the color turns, remove the sugar mixture from the heat and add in the mango. Let the mango sit and return the mixture to medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. The mango will start to get juicy and the liquid will spill out. Once the mango looks pretty cooked, slowly add in the heavy cream. Do this slowly so it won't spill back on to you. Then stir in the butter one piece at a time to get a smooth mixture. Add in the salt and let the mixture continue cooking on low heat for about 5-10 minutes to thicken up. Once thick, take off the heat and let it cool. Once the mixture is cool, use a handheld blender or immersion blender to make the caramel smooth. Then set it aside while you make the rice pudding mixture.
- In a medium sauce pan, mix together the rice, whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon (add as much cinnamon as you would like to flavor the pudding). Cook the mixture on lower low-medium heat and let it come to a simmer. You'll want to keep stirring the mixture so it doesn't completely stick to the bottom. Let the rice mixture cook for about 25-30 minutes. You'll know when it's done and ready to go when the mixture looks a little translucent and the rice is floating to the top. It will be pretty thick too.
- When the mixture looks ready, remove it from the heat and add in the remaining butter, one tablespoon at a time, letting them completely melt. Continue to stir the mixture until it cools down, pretty much to room temperature.
- While the mixture is cooling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9-inch springform pan with parchment and grease. Set aside until needed.
- When the mixture is fully cool, add in the eggs. Make sure the mixture is cool, otherwise, the eggs will just cook here and it will ruin the rice pudding. Stir in the eggs and egg yolks until fully combined. The mixture should be pretty thick at this point.
- Add the mixture to the prepared pan and bake for about 45-55 minutes. The cake will look slightly brown on top when ready. It will also spring back into the pan. Let the cake cool completely before serving.
- When ready to serve the cake, garnish with the sliced mango and add the caramel sauce on top.
Did you make this recipe?! Let me know and share it on Instagram. Tag @crispcrumble and use the hashtag #crispandcrumble.
This recipe is based on Clair Saffitz's Rice Pudding Cake With Mango Caramel Sauce
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