Christmas rice pudding mix

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 small organic orange(s)
• 1 jar sour cherries, 350 g drained weight
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 30 g rock candy (Grümmelkandis)
• 125 g rice pudding (short grain rice)
• 1 stalk(s) cinnamon
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp speculatius spice
• 1 tbsp cranberries, dried
• 2 tbsp cashew nuts

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 5 minutes; Total time approx. 25 minutes

Rice pudding mix with cherry compote in a glass jar to give as a gift

Rinse the organic orange with hot water. Peel the rind with a vegetable peeler. Place the sour cherries and cherry juice in a saucepan. Add the star anise and orange zest and bring to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with 2-3 tablespoons of water and add to the boiling cherries. Discard the spices and pour the hot compote directly into clean, hot-rinsed jars. Seal tightly immediately. Screw-top jars with a capacity of 720-850 ml are best for this. This depends on how much liquid the cherries were soaked in. You can also use the jar you bought the cherries in, for example. For the rice pudding mixture, you’ll need another screw-top jar with a capacity of about 200-220 ml. Layer the rice pudding grains and the rock candy in this jar, alternating layers. Insert the cinnamon stick. Finally, combine the brown sugar, speculatius spice, cashews, and cranberries and add the final layer to the rice mixture. Seal the container. The compote can be stored for about 4 weeks; the rice pudding mix and sprinkles will keep for about 2 months. Preparation tip for the rice pudding: For 125g of rice pudding, you usually need 500ml of milk. Heat the milk in a saucepan, add the rice pudding mix, and slowly bring to a boil. Then let it simmer at low heat for 25-30 minutes. Please follow the package instructions. If you stir in 150g of whipped cream before serving, it will be especially creamy.