Danish Risalamande (Almond Rice Pudding with Cherry Sauce)

About This Recipe

Danish Risalamande is a real, traditional Danish dish, known as Almond Rice Pudding with Cherry Sauce. Chilled rice pudding folded with whipped cream and chopped almonds, served with a warm cherry sauce, a beloved Christmas dessert.\n\nRisalamande is a fixture of Danish Christmas Eve dinners, traditionally hiding a single whole almond in the pudding — whoever finds it in their bowl wins a small prize, usually a marzipan pig, a tradition still widely practiced today.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Danish home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 200 gshort-grain rice
• 1 Lwhole milk
• 1vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbspsugar
• 300 mlheavy cream(whipped)
• 100 gblanched almonds(chopped, plus 1 whole almond)
• 500 gcherries(pitted, fresh or jarred)
• 3 tbspsugar(for cherry sauce)
• 1 tbspcornstarch(for cherry sauce)
• 1 tbspwater(for cherry sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the rice pudding

   Simmer rice with milk and vanilla over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes until thick and creamy. Stir in sugar and let cool completely.

2. 2

   Fold in cream

   Once the rice pudding is fully cold, fold in the whipped cream and chopped almonds until evenly combined.

3. 3

   Hide the almond

   Tuck the single whole almond somewhere into the pudding as a traditional surprise.

4. 4

   Chill

   Refrigerate the pudding for at least 1 hour before serving.

5. 5

   Make the cherry sauce

   Simmer cherries with sugar in a saucepan for 8 minutes, then whisk cornstarch with water and stir in, simmering until thickened and glossy.

6. 6

   Serve

   Serve the chilled rice pudding in bowls topped with warm cherry sauce.

Variations

• •

  Use a mix of fresh cherries and a splash of cherry liqueur in the sauce for an adult version.

• •

  Add orange zest to the rice pudding for a bright, citrusy note.

• •

  Serve with a marzipan pig as the traditional prize for whoever finds the whole almond.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions