Back in Wales, we always made rice pudding with short, round grain rice similar to risotto rice. In British supermarkets, it is possible to buy rice conveniently labeled “pudding rice.” It’s not quite the same as risotto rice. If anything, pudding rice is even shorter, rounder, and plumper than risotto rice. We wouldn’t have dreamed of making rice pudding with anything other than pudding rice. When we lived in the UK, I routinely kept pudding rice and Basmati rice in my pantry. I always serve Basmati rice with my chicken curry, but that’s another recipe…

PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 2 hours
MAKES: Round dish 7 inches diameter x 4 inches deep approx.
SERVES: 6 to 8 people

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Having failed miserably to purchase a Christmas pudding in the frantic run-up to the festive season, I had to resort to my second ever “instant” Christmas pudding. I made the first one when we lived in France.

Christmas puddings are often prepared weeks or even months in advance.  In fact, I remember my mother making two and keeping one for the following year. Traditionally, Christmas puddings are steamed for hours. The invention of the microwave oven changed all that, at least for me.

SUPER QUICK MICROWAVED CHRISTMAS PUDDING

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
WAITING TIME: 2 hours (optional)
COOKING TIME: 7 minutes
MAKES: 1 large Christmas pudding

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This WAS it.* The fabulous rich, dark, sumptuous fruit cake we will have for Thanksgiving. We haven’t tried eating it, yet. Generally speaking, they are better left for a few days wrapped in aluminimum foil. I had the forethought to make two bara briths at the same time. This is the only way I can guarantee to keep my family away from the fruit cake.

* It was delicious. However, it has been usurped as the best fruit cake by rich dark Christmas fruit cake #4.

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes
WAITING TIME: 12 hours
COOKING TIME: 3.0 hours
MAKES: 1 large cake

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