Instructions
Combine the fruit and brandy in a small bowl and set it aside for at least .
Place the rice, milk and lemon peel in a saucepan, bring to a simmer over low-moderate heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for or until the rice is tender.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and salt until the mixture is thick and pale, .
Add a small amount of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture.
Then return all of the rice mixture and egg mixture to the saucepan and let it cook over low-moderate heat for .
Stir the gelatin and water together and let the mixture rest for .
Add the softened gelatin to the rice mixture and stir to dissolve it.
Remove the pan from the heat.
Let it cool slightly.
Stir in the vanilla extract.
Refrigerate the mixture until it feels cool.
Whip the cream and fold it into the rice mixture.
Place the mixture into a well-oiled ring mold.
Chill for at least .
Unmold the ring onto a serving plate.
Melt the chocolate, then force it through a small tip of a pastry tube making swirls and designs on the mold.
Let the chocolate set (it takes a few minutes) then fill in the swirls with the melted jam, colored, if desired, with food coloring.
Ronnie Fein directs the Ronnie Fein School of Creative Cooking in Stamford