Risalamande is a Danish dessert traditionally served at Christmas dinner. Risalamande consists of a rice and almond pudding, mixed with whipped cream, chopped almonds, and topped with cherry sauce. The dish was created in the late 19th century, gaining popularity as rice pudding became more common. This made the bourgeoise to almonds to it, leading them to call the rice pudding, risalamande, making the rice dessert more fancy and exclusive since almonds were a luxury. The risalamade we now know today, is a version that came along after WW2, where many started adding whipping cream to the dish, since it was one of the few goods that wasn’t rationed, making risalamande easily available to all once again.
Amalie and Anette’s Rice & Almond Pudding
Amalie and Anette are DIS hosts, and have hosted many students that are either vegan or dairy free. They love making risalamande and enjoy it all year round, so they found a way to adapt the recipe so all of their students could enjoy it! They even replaced the traditional risalamande at Christmas with their vegan and dairy free version because it tastes better!
Adapted from the recipe of Amalie and Anette Bartroff, DIS Homestay
Rice & Almond Pudding (Risalamande)
Ingredients
Serves 10
Pudding
1 cup medium-grain rice, such as Arborio
1 cup water
1 quart sweetened almond milk
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 to 6 ounces whole blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
1 whole blanched almond
1 cup soy whipping cream
Vanilla sugar, to taste
Cooks Note
For the dairy version, whole milk and whipping cream may be substituted.
Cherry Sauce
16 ounces sweet, frozen or fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
For the pudding
In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add rice and boil until almost all of the water has been absorbed. Add the almond milk and the vanilla bean pods and seeds. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often to prevent the mixture from burning. Add in the chopped almonds and sugar. Remove the vanilla bean pods and transfer the pudding to a clean bowl. Refrigerate overnight.
In a large bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Stir some of the whipped cream into the chilled pudding along with the almonds and vanilla sugar, to taste. Gently fold the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the cherry sauce
In a medium saucepan, bring the cherries, sugar, and water to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often.
In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch and lemon juice together until smooth. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the boiling cherry mixture. Stirring constantly, return the mixture to a boil and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
To serve
Serve the rice pudding cold with a side of warm cherry sauce for guests to pour over their portion.
The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. To serve, warm over low heat, stirring often.