Risalamande

SUNDAY DESSERT #99: Risalamande

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Denmark 🇩🇰

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Easy

INSPIRATION: I am SO happy that Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year because this traditional Danish treat is ONLY made and eaten on Christmas Eve for dessert! It feels extra authentic!

RECEPTION/COMMENTARY: The bourgeoisie of Denmark wanted something a little more luxurious than the dessert of commoners. So what did they do? They took classic rice pudding and flavored it with almonds. Brilliant! Once the pudding was chilled and set, whipped cream was mixed in for extra richness. Another brilliance! But because the dessert was not particularly sweet, a cherry sauce was served on top for elegance and pleasure to the palate. Going for the amaretto vibe? Pure genius! It was given the French name of riz à l'amande (rice with almonds) which was eventually changed to "risalamande."

Fun fact: A delightful tradition that remains to this day is that a whole almond is hidden in the large batch of pudding. Whoever finds it in their serving bowl wins a special Christmas gift! Fun!!

So the Danes must have a special import of cherries in winter for their Christmas festivities because I had the hardest time finding any! I searched several stores and couldn't find fresh cherries anywhere. Then I decided I'd have to slum it with canned cherries. Nope! Couldn't find those either. I wasn't about to special order them for this one dessert so I had to settle on getting cherry-pomegranate preserves. With it warmed up and drizzled over this creamy almond dream, it was actually pretty pleasant! I can assume that using fresh cherries to make a sauce would be outstanding, but we use our resources as we can, right? It was still a 9/10! Lovely. Simply lovely.

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN? Oh a big, fat YES! This is rice pudding at its finest. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! 🎄