Coconut Rice Pudding with Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears
September 29, 2016
Coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears is a creamy decadent dessert. It is made with cooked rice, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and delightful cardamom spiced honey glazed pears.
Warm and cozy autumn ginger, cinnamon and cardamom spices make this dessert out of this world. We love eating this delightful dessert warm and straight from the stove top. (After all, we need to to perform quality assurance testing... wink wink...) However, it can also be eaten at room temperature.
You are just going to love our cozy coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears as it is gluten-free, warm and cozy like snuggling up in a blanket next to a warm fire and only delicately sweet. This dessert is so healthy that it could actually be eaten as a breakfast. It has, and it was superb. We made it the day before and then just reheated the next day with a little extra coconut milk or non-dairy creamer and it was out of this world.
If you would like to make this vegan or dairy free, you can the exchange butter with coconut oil and it is really nice.
Cinnamon, cardamom and ginger are a lovely trio of spices in this dessert. However, the market item that really makes this dessert unique is the addition of lemon. It really brightens the dish up and adds another dimension of flavor. If you can only imagine, your house is going to smell absolutely fantastic while you are preparing your cozy coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears. This recipe only takes about 15 minutes to make both components of the dessert. However, you're on deck for the full 15 minutes. You cannot be distracted as you must stir and monitor both the pudding and the pears.
Pears are in season now and are so perfectly sweet and juicy. You know these pears are perfectly ripe when you bite into them and the juice runs down your arm and into your sleeve. As you know pears oxidize (turn brown) very quickly after they are peeled, so be sure to squeeze a little lemon juice on them straight away. You will want to use the perfectly ripe pears. Do not use unripe green pears in this recipe as they will not be naturally sweet and will take so much longer to poach. The length of time to poach your pears will depend on the ripeness of your pears.
Yes, you heard me right! We used left over white rice to make this dish in just 15 speedy minutes. Really how many dishes of pantry fried rice can one girl eat!?! Using the left over rice makes this recipe a breeze. You just add equal amounts of rice, coconut milk and add in your spices and a touch of honey and just slowly simmer for a few minutes...like about 8 and you are done. How easy is that?!
As you know, we do not make desserts often and when we do we only like them delicately sweet. Therefore you are going to have to be a judge of how sweet you like your rice pudding and cardamom honey spiced pears. Start out with just a little honey as you can always add more, is our philosophy. Another word of caution is the use of ground powdered spices in this recipe. Dried ground spices work fantastic in the cozy coconut rice pudding. However, they do not work as well in the Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears unless you wait and just add them right before serving the sauce, as they can clump together. If you take a closer look at the ingredient list it is not really as long as it looks because you use many of the same spices for both the coconut rice pudding and for the Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears. We just listed the ingredients twice so the recipe is easier to follow.
What do you think of when you think of rice pudding? Maybe, you think of grandma? Maybe, it reminds you of having a scuffed knee as a little child and mom making you a cozy dessert to help you feel better. Cozy coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears does just that. It makes you feel better. Did you have a bad day at work? Eat Cozy coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears and your worries will melt away. Are you cramming for exams? Eat cozy coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears and it will give you that little extra boost of energy. Are you hosting a fall gathering at your home? Eat Cozy coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears and watch everyone smile.
We love to drink tea with this dessert. Coconut Rice Pudding with Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears would also be fabulous with an espresso, coffee or even a hot mug of spiced apple cider. Aged fermented puer cha (tea) works lovely with this dessert as the spices can really stand up to the stronger flavors of the tea. In addition, we also like a rich African Rooibos tea or Hong se (Red) Chinese tea.
Cozy coconut rice pudding with cardamom spiced honey pears is a rustic pantry peasant dish that is soon to be your favorite dessert.
Coconut Rice Pudding with Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears
September 29, 2016
Creamy decadent dessert that is made with left over rice, cinnamon, cardamon, ginger and a delightful cardamon spiced honey glazed pears that is so delicious that they it could be eaten all on its own.
- Cook: 15 mins
- Yields: 4 Adults
Ingredients
Coconut Rice Pudding
rice - 2 cups cooked (leftover) white jasmine
coconut milk - 2 cups (or can exchange with other milk alternatives or even part milk and cream if you are not lactose intolerant) Please just remember you need equal amounts of liquid to cooked rice.
cardamom - 1/2 teaspoon ground
ginger - 1 teaspoon grated fresh (you will also need 1 teaspoon for pears)
honey - 4-5 tablespoons (add more if you like it sweeter, less if you like) adjust to your taste
vanilla - 2 teaspoons (1 teaspoon for coconut pudding and 1 teaspoon for cardamon spiced honey pears)
Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears
pears - 2 (peeled, cut in half, core removed but leave the stem) VERY IMPORTANT- Drizzle the pears with a little lemon juice as soon as you are done peeling them to prevent oxidation.
butter/coconut oil - 1 tablespoon butter (or 1 tablespoon of pure virgin coconut oil, if you want to keep vegan)
cinnamon sticks - 3 whole (if you need to use ground, do not add until just ready to serve- 1 teaspoon)
cardamom - 5 pods (slightly crushed) ( if you need to use ground, do not add until just ready to serve- 1/2 teaspoon)
ginger - 1 teaspoon grated fresh ( if you need to use ground, do not add until just ready to serve- 1 teaspoon)
lemon juice - juice of 1 lemon (or the rest of the lemon you used on your pears to prevent oxidation)
honey - 2 tablespoons (add more if you like it sweeter, adjust to your taste)
Garnish
Directions
1In a medium saucepan add cooked rice, coconut milk, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, honey, salt and vanilla and place on a medium low simmer and stir. Slowly stir for about 8 minutes until the coconut milk absorbs into the rice, thickens and you have creamy delicious rice. (Keep your eye on the rice and keep stirring or otherwise it will stick)
2In a separate frying pan add coconut oil or butter. Over a medium heat add the pears cut side down until just lightly browned on the edges about 2 minutes. Add water, cinnamon sticks, slightly crushed cardamom pods, fresh ginger, lemon juice, honey and vanilla and gently move the pan over the burner just to incorporate the ingredients. Gently simmer for about 5-8 minutes or until the pears are fork tender and the juice sticks to the back of a spoon. The length of time to poach your pears will depend on the ripeness of your pears- choose perfectly ripe pears. The sauce will thicken as it cooks.
3Serve the delicious cozy coconut rice pudding is a heat proof bowl, top with 1/2 of the Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears, a little of the juice glaze from the cardamom spiced honey pears and garnish with a little crushed pecans.
4Enjoy warm or at room temperature
5***You can make both the Coconut Rice Pudding with Cardamom Spiced Honey Pears in advance and refrigerate. This dessert will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You will then need to reheat both component separately on the top of the stove. You will need to add a few tablespoons of coconut milk back into the Coconut Rice Pudding to get it to the right consistency.
