Riz a L'Imperatrice

Not So Basic Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is like a basic black dress. Unadorned, it is impressive enough in its simple, graceful way. It is useful plain, but you also can dress it up for a special occasion. Serviceable is an apt word, but that sounds too detached for a dessert such as rice pudding, which has a way of stirring culinary passions.

Yet serviceable is exactly what rice pudding is. It is the kind of dessert you can give your family after an every day meal. You can serve it in it's most rustic form to company after a casual dinner. Or, you can accessorize it to make a stunning fashion statement worthy of your most glamorous dinner.

There's no doubt that rice pudding has its emotional side. Some devotees know they like it creamy while others insist on the firm, crusted kind. Some people prefer rice pudding airy. Others enjoy the dish when it has a dense texture. There's also the question of additions. Purists say that plain rice pudding -- a pristine alliance of cooked, sweetened rice, softened with milk and enriched with eggs and cream -- needs nothing more. Others allege it must have plumped raisins and some cinnamon as seasoning.

The advantage of rice pudding is that all these ideas are good ones. It is among the most versatile desserts. There is virtue to eating it plain so you can appreciate the simple pleasures of basic ingredients. But additions mean you can vary the homey classic so it seems like a different dish on each occasion. Raisins and cinnamon are more common inclusions, but you also can add chopped macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, chopped dates, dried apricots, cherries or cranberries or flaked coconut. Seasonings may vary from nutmeg to other spices such as ground dried coriander, cardamom or ginger to finely grated orange or lemon peel.

As if all these alterations in flavor weren't enough, there's lots more you can do with rice pudding. For example, instead of preparing the dessert with the usual long grain white rice, you could use wild rice. It can be wildly expensive but worth it for a special occasion. The chewy texture and woodsy-brown color are surprise elements that make this dish a distinguished finale for any company meal. Wild rice's bold flavor is tempered by the sugar and cream. Its nutty taste is a perfect touch, since rice pudding is a dish that many people add nuts to with regularity. If you want to cut costs a little, you can make this luxurious dessert -- there's a recipe below -- with a mixture of wild rice and long grain white rice.

Another way to gussy up rice pudding is to prepare it as a Bavarian Cream. You do this by using unflavored gelatin in the recipe. That way you can pour the pudding into a fancy mold so it has a lovely shape that you can decorate to the hilt. An elegant version of Bavarian Cream Rice Pudding was invented last century for Napoleon III's consort, the Empress Eugenie. Appropriately named Riz a l'Imperatrice -- or, Empress Rice -- it is a gorgeous dessert and as opulent to taste as it is lovely to look at. This rice pudding is laced with brandy and filled with bits of glaceed fruit. The rich "batter" contains plenty of sweet whipped cream. After this dessert is unmolded, it is decorated in several different ways though typically cooks pipe chocolate swirls on the top and sides by forcing melted chocolate through the tiny hole of a metal tip attached to a pastry tube. The chocolate hardens into designs when it cools. Then you can leave it plain or fill in the designs with a light colored jelly (such as apple or apricot). For a multi-colored effect, add a few drops of vegetable food coloring to a small amount of the jelly. There's a recipe for Riz a l'Imperatrice below. Serve it with whipped cream or poached fruit. Or both.