TODAY’S RECIPE: Burnt butterscotch rice pudding

CHILDHOOD favourite transformed into a dinner party dessert. SERVES: 6. Ingredients

75g butter

175g short-grain pudding rice

140g light muscovado sugar

500ml double cream

600ml full-fat milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Heat butter in a wide, shallow saucepan until starting to sizzle, then add rice. Toast rice gently for about 4 minutes in butter until it starts to turn light brown, then scatter over 100g of muscovado sugar and cook for a few minutes more until the sugar is starting to dissolve.

2. Pour in cream, stir and boil until all the sugar has dissolved into a thick butterscotch sauce, then gradually stir in 500ml of milk and vanilla extract. Simmer everything gently for about 45 minutes, stirring often. If, towards the end of cooking time, the liquid is too thick and the rice not yet cooked, add another 100ml milk and carry on cooking. Finished consistency should be like a creamy risotto.

3. When pudding is cooked, tip it into a shallow, heatproof serving dish. Scatter leftover sugar on top, and grill or blowtorch until sizzling and just starting to burn. Leave sugar to form a crisp layer and serve hot or cold straight from the dish.