Pieday FriYAY – Chai Latte Rice Pudding

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Pudding is my favourite treat. It can be any pudding – hot cold, crumble or cake. Whatever it is, a pudding turns my dinner from ‘mmm nice’ to ‘yaaay!’ I think that’s probably because I don’t tend to have a pudding most of the time, which means that ending my dinner with a dessert is a proper treat. I’ve been away recently and it’s been a lovely indulgence to have two (okay, sometimes three) courses while I’ve been eating out. I guess I just don’t take the time to make a pudding when I’m cooking for the two of us; when the family are round for dinner they will be treated to cookie cups full of ice cream or a zesty lemon tart, but when it’s just me and my husband having tea, we tend to skip the pudding or have a piece of fruit instead.But that’s all changed now that I’ve worked out how to use my slow cooker to make puddings. Now I can pop the recipe for a sweet treat into my slow cooker and it’ll do its own thing while I get on with cooking the main meal. And it’s hot and ready for me to eat whenever we’ve finished our dinner. The recipe I want to share with you today is for a rice pudding but not just any rice pud. It’s actually a chai latte rice pudding! Combining all my favourite flavours (yes, I’m one of those people believe that a chai latte is for life, not just for Christmas) it’s so simple to make and it really helps to turn any meal into a special occasion. Yes, this weekend is your time to #MakeItAYayDay, so here’s the recipe for you to try out.Even though I used my slow cooker to make the rice pudding but it’s just as easy to make it on the hob too – it just takes a little more stirring! The recipe was actually inspired by Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE, as I decided to use the Skinny Iced Coffee as the milky base for my rice pudding. The drink only contains 90 calories and the recipe uses two of these creamy drinks, along with some skimmed milk. So it’s truly a healthier version of a rice pudding than cream-packed traditional recipes. I added a small amount of soft brown sugar and a knob of butter. The spiced chai flavours come from mixed-spices, cinnamon and vanilla, yum!Ingredients (serves 4): 2 x cups of Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE Skinny Iced Coffee topped up to 1 litre with skimmed milk, 110g Arborio/risotto rice, 25g butter or margarine, 25g soft brown sugar, 1 heaped teaspoon of cinnamon powder, 1 heaped teaspoon of mixed spice, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, a drizzle of double cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon to serve.

1. Grease the inner bowl of the slow cooker with some of the butter.2. Add the risotto rice and the rest of the butter to the bowl.3. Sprinkle in the spices and brown sugar.4. Pour the Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE a measuring jug and top the measurement up to 1 litre with skimmed milk.5. Stir the vanilla extract into the milk mixture and pour into the slow-cooker bowl.5. Stir the rice and liquid mixture until combined and set the slow cooker onto a high heat and cook for around 2 hours or until the rice has softened to a soft, creamy pudding consistency. You can stir it occasionally if you remember, and this will give you a chance to check on the softness of the rice.The final texture of the chai latte rice pudding should be gooey and creamy, like a risotto but even smoother! If you’re making your chai latte rice pudding on the hob, you can keep an eye on the texture as your stir it. Keep it on a medium heat and stir the pudding as it simmers, in the same way that you would with a risotto. When the rice begins to soften (after about 15-20 minutes) you can pop it into an oven-proof dish and transfer it to the oven to finish cooking at 180 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Serve the chai rice pudding in chunky coffee mugs to reflect the unusual ingredients in this pud! And if you have oven-proof mugs you can prepare this in advance and keep the individual portions warm in the oven. That way you’ll be ready to serve up the pudding to your guests straight after dinner. All it needs is a little drizzle of double cream on top and a sprinkling of cinnamon, and it looks (and tastes!) just like my favourite chai latte! Let me know if you try out this recipe for yourself and tag me @Cassiefairy in your instagram photos with the hashtag #MakeItAYayDay. Also, I’d love to hear your ideas for adding unique flavours to a traditional rice pudding so please leave me a comment below with your recipe tips. Bring on the puds!

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