Risalamande

About This Recipe

Risalamande is Denmark's beloved Christmas Eve dessert — creamy rice pudding enriched with whipped cream and chopped almonds, served with warm cherry sauce. Hidden in the bowl is a whole peeled almond, and whoever finds it wins a prize. This tradition has been central to Danish Christmas since the 19th century and is as much about the hunt for the almond as the delicious dessert itself.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 200 gpudding rice
• 500 mlfull-fat milk
• 400 mldouble cream(whipped to soft peaks)
• 100 gblanched almonds(roughly chopped, plus 1 whole almond)
• 2 tbspsugar
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 400 gcanned or jarred cherries(with juice, for sauce)
• 1 tbspcornstarch(for sauce)
• 1 tbspsugar(for sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make rice porridge

   Cook rice in milk over low heat, stirring frequently, for 35–40 minutes until very thick and creamy. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Cool completely.

2. 2

   Fold in cream

   Fold whipped cream into cold rice porridge. Stir in chopped almonds and the hidden whole almond.

3. 3

   Make cherry sauce

   Heat cherries with juice. Mix cornstarch with a little water and stir into cherries with sugar. Simmer 3 minutes until slightly thickened.

4. 4

   Chill

   Refrigerate risalamande at least 2 hours until firm.

5. 5

   Serve

   Serve in bowls with warm cherry sauce poured over. Whoever finds the whole almond wins the prize — traditionally a marzipan pig.

Variations

• •

  Add a splash of amaretto to the whipped cream.

• •

  Use vanilla bean instead of extract for a richer flavour.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Make cherry sauce fresh when serving.

Frequently Asked Questions