Creamy milk rice with cinnamon wafers

You won’t believe it. I have been with my husband for almost 14 years and, since we met, he has asked me countless times to make creamy milk rice. As one of you told me, good things come to those who wait… hahaha. I have always prepared everything she has asked me for or liked, but this recipe (for some reason) I had a special dislike for her. I didn’t like it at all.

I have tried several recipes, not made by me, but elaborated by other people, and it never convinced me. I guess it was a mixture of several sensations… I did not like it, the ones I tried were not very good and it was not my moment.

The thing is that this year, for some reason, I decided to make it. I took it for granted that I was not going to like it, but I wanted to give my “half lemon” a taste because, after almost 14 years, it was time to make him his favorite dessert, hahaha. After making it, I tasted it and was amazed.

I don’t know what changed in me or if the way it was made influenced it. But I liked it, very much. Come on, I would have eaten everything I had prepared if it weren’t for the fact that I still have a regular stomach (I’ve been a little upset for more than a month, let’s see if they find out what it is). The fact is that I have been making, almost daily, milk rice to be able to try and test each step and make it reach you in the best possible way. And that you can enjoy a creamy milk rice with cinnamon wafers.

Milk rice origin.

Milk rice is a typical dessert that is consumed in many countries around the world, not only in Spain as we might think. It is made with very simple and accessible ingredients, such as rice, milk and sugar, among others. In addition, it can be served either cold or warm.

Contrary to what many believe, the first known recipe for milk rice is the 13th century Andalusian one, as recorded in the 13th century Anonymous manuscript translated by Ambrosio Huici Miranda, “La Cocina Hispano-Magrebí durante la época Almohade“. (Spanish-Maghrebi Cuisine during the Almohad period).

Sugar cane was one of the crops acclimatized in the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs, it was already cultivated in Al-Andalus in the 10th century, mainly on the Valencian coast and in Granada. It was the Arabs who brought the “Oryza sativa” (rice) to the West, and it was in the Iberian Peninsula where its cultivation was introduced.

Eventually, it also reached Italy, the Po Valley, as a result of Venice’s trade relations with Turkey.

In Al-Andalus, specifically in Valencia, Balànsiya for the Andalusians, rice became the protagonist of their dishes, many of them becoming very popular. Another variant of milk rice, which appears in the same Andalusian recipe book, was sweetened with honey.

There is another record dating from 1477 by the Catalan Ruperto de Nola, who wrote a book called “Libro de guisados“, in which he mentions a sweet preparation based on milk, sugar, spices and rice flour.

Nola called “manjar imperial” a kind of custard made with the same ingredients as milk rice, except that in her case the rice was milled, from which we can deduce that being easier to use whole grain than milled, someone would have already made something very similar to milk rice.

What was the first official recipe for milk rice?

Although in ancient times rice was already consumed dipped or cooked in milk, the popular sweet recipe is mentioned as a dish in the recipe book called “Libro del Arte de Cozina” published by Domingo Hernández Maceras in 1607, a cook from the University of Salamanca. In its pages it mentions “how to make milk rice“, but at that time it had a different characteristic.

The original recipe is practically the same except for one detail: the water used to cook the rice is the same water used to make rice pudding. In addition, it was also left to rest and before serving, sugar and cinnamon were sprinkled on top.

With the passage of time, it was spread and popularized in other countries with the consequent adaptation of the recipe to each culture. Because it was born in Spain, it has a strong heritage in all Hispanic areas such as Peru where there is a variant called “arroz zambito” that adds evaporated milk, chancaca (panela), nuts, raisins and grated coconut.

There is a variety called “Arroz Emperatriz” in which yolks are added. It was one of the favorite desserts of King Alfonso XII. Empress rice is a classic of French cuisine. It seems to have been made in the 19th century by the personal chef of Eugénie de Montijo, Empress of France, married to Napoleon III. It is a dessert whose base is milk rice to which cream, gelatin, fruits and yolks are added.

Falling in love with the whole planet.

In Argentina it is also consumed as a dessert and is made with dulce de leche, one of the most typical products of the country, while in Mexico it is sprinkled with ground cinnamon and raisins. In the Caribbean countries it is customary to add coconut and in Spain it is flavored with lemon peel, unlike in Italy where orange peel is used. The Mediterranean area usually uses cinnamon powder.

In Finland, known as Joulupuuro, it is one of the traditional dishes of their Christmas gastronomy, served as breakfast on Christmas Eve. When it is prepared, a single almond is introduced to the mixture, believing that it will bring good luck in the new year to the diner.

But milk rice still expands to other countries such as Germany, where apples are added; Iran where it is flavored with saffron; India where cardamom is incorporated; Iceland where it is prepared with butter; in Norway where almonds and cherries are added; in Portugal where it is customary to burn the surface with sugar to give it a caramelized and crunchy flavor; and in Anglo-Saxon countries where it is flavored with vanilla.

In Turkey it is a typical dessert that is called sütlaç

Making the recipe.

Since I had never prepared rice pudding before, I did a lot of research to see how to make it. There are countless ways to prepare it, but one that especially caught my attention was the process that Asturians follow.

In Asturias, a region of Spain where this dessert is particularly rooted, it is common to make it with butter and cook it in a similar way to a risotto. In addition to serving it with sugar burned with a hot iron, so that the surface is caramelized and crispy (known as requemado). It is also customary to add a dash of aniseed liquor, but in my case I have not added it.

It could be said that the recipe is practically based on the process of the Asturian milk rice, but as it has some variants that are not faithful to the recipe, I have chosen not to call it that way.

The first cooking will be done with water and then we will cook the rice with the infused milk.

In my case, I decided to add heavy cream as well.

Is this essential? Not at all.

In fact, it can be omitted if desired and milk can be added instead. For my part I wanted to use it because after the tests I did, many, it is true that the cooking process in which we imitate the risotto technique and the rice releases a lot of starch, you get a very creamy texture. But, in my opinion, it gives it an unctuous point thanks to the extra fat it provides.

Do not wash the rice so as not to remove the starch from the surface of the grain.

In my humble opinion, milk  rice goes very well with cream. Although I recognize that it is not essential. I must say that for a first contact with this preparation, the addition of cream helps to achieve a creamy texture.

To accompany this creamy milk rice, let’s prepare some cinnamon wafers or neulas. I came up with the idea of making them with the same appearance, at least I tried, as the cinnamon stick. It is very apparent at serving time, not to mention how good they are…. When you open the container where they are stored, there is an amazing cinnamon aroma.

The story about the wafers or Russian cigarettes, I left it in the Banana Split recipe where I show you how to make the classic homemade vanilla wafers.

To serve it I leave you two options; one with cinnamon sprinkled (if we want a more elegant touch, we can use a stencil) and another with a burnt sugar surface that will leave a layer of crunchy caramel, irresistible, on the surface. Both are extraordinary…