Ris a la Mande – Danish rice pudding dessert

I found this dessert recipe on Valdemarsro’s blog last month. I looked and sounded so good, that I decided to give it a try myself. Traditionally Ris a ala mande is the dessert we eat Christmas eve or at one of out Christmas lunches during December. I don’t know why it is a French inspired name since it’s a Danish dish, maybe we wanted to be a bit fancy back in the 19^th century when it was first served. But fact is that it comes from the french riz à l’amande meaning “rice with almonds”.

Cherry sauce is what we usually serve with it, so I thought that this orange sauce was a nice change. And crunchy honey glazed almonds are always delicious.

I will continue to make the traditional dish on Christmas Eve, but this version is really really scrumptious, so I will definitely be serving it again, perhaps when we have a small group of friends over for a holiday get together.

Ris a la mande ingredients

1 large serving of rice pudding, see my post from friday

2 vanilla pods

70 g of icing sugar

100 g blanched almonds

4 dl of whipping cream

Orange Sauce

5 ml freshly squeezed orange juice

1 vanilla pod

½ dl of cointreau liqueur

1 dl of cane sugar

Honey glazed almond

2-3 tablespoons of  honey

2 cups almonds

Ris a ala mande

Take your left over rice pudding out of the fridge. Whip the cream to whipped cream. Chop the almonds very fine and toss both in the cold rice pudding along with the seeds from the vanilla pods and icing sugar. I like a lot of vanilla, so I often toss in a few teaspoons of vanilla sugar as well. Now fold the whipped cream in the rice pudding until it is all mixed well.

Place in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Orange Sauce

Add Vanilla, sugar and the empty vanilla pod in a pot with the orange juice. Turn on high heat and let it cook for 10 minutes, so it boils slightly and becomes somewhat syrupy. Keep your eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Strain the orange sauce through a sieve and add Cointreau. Serve either warm or cold, both are wonderful.

Orange sauce can easily be made the day before serving.

Honey roasted almonds

Add honey to a non stick pan and let it  melt and start to bubble. Now you add the almonds  to the pan and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes. Be careful they do not burn. They are done when they smell wonderfully nutty and you can hear then sizzle a bit. When they are done, pour onto a baking sheet, where they cool before roughly chopped and served on top of the ris a la mande.