Charlotte Darroze’s Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding: Dive Back into Childhood with This Foolproof Recipe!

“This dessert takes me back to my childhood,” says Hélène Darroze. In her video, the Michelin-starred chef recounts: “my grandmother Charlotte used to make a legendary rice pudding, which she would serve with baked apples.” It’s important to note that for the Darroze family, cooking is a family affair. It all started with an inn opened in the Landes region by her great-grandfather. It was passed down through three generations: first by Jean and Charlotte, then by their son Francis, and finally by their granddaughter Hélène. Named the “world’s best female chef” in 2015, she is driven by this lineage of cooks. One figure particularly inspired her: her grandmother Charlotte…

Charlotte Darroze delighted the area around Mont-de-Marsan with her delightful dishes. Whenever there was a bowl to be scraped or a sauce to be tasted, her grandchildren were always eager to help. On the savory side, her cheese soufflé is legendary. And for dessert, she often prepared one of her specialties: a creamy rice pudding, served still warm, and accompanied by cooked apples (likely her own grandmotherly trick to get her grandchildren to eat fruit). For Hélène Darroze, it’s a true Proustian madeleine. She shares with us the recipe for this indulgent dessert.

For 6 servings:

• 200 g of Arborio rice
• 450 g of milk
• 450 g of heavy cream
• 70 g of sugar
• 1 g of salt
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 untreated lemon and 1 untreated orange
• 10 green cardamom pods (Hélène’s optional personal touch)

For the baked apples:

• 6 reinette apples
• 75 g of semi-salted butter
• 60 g of sugar
• 4 star anise and 10 green cardamom pods
• 1 vanilla pod

1. Blanch the rice in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain it. “The idea is to remove the starch to prevent sticking,” she explains.

2. Next, pour the cream and milk into a saucepan, add the rice and cook over low heat. Then add the cardamom (if using), the vanilla bean seeds, and two zests each of lemon and orange.

3. Let it cook for between 30 to 40 minutes on low heat, and add the sugar only towards the end of cooking.

4. Cut the tops off the apples, then core them. Place them in an oven-safe dish, then sprinkle with sugar. Add some lemon and orange zests, and the spices. The apples then go into the oven for 1.5 hours at 160°C.

This rice pudding is a true delight: in the autumn, it pairs beautifully with figs. However, it has zero tolerance for the fridge. “It’s out of the question to refrigerate it because the rice will swell and harden, and you’ll lose all its creaminess. It’s best enjoyed on the day it’s made,” the chef advises. A tip to follow without hesitation…