Chef Juliette
Convent Pancakes
Crêpes au Couvent trap ripe Williams pear dice between two thin pours of sweet batter, then turn in one clean toss and reach the table butter-gold, powdered, and burning hot.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Rice Croquettes
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2452, Rice Croquettes, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Croquettes de riz turn cold sweet rice into little pears and apricots with a crisp à l'anglaise shell, fried in fierce fat before the tender centre can slacken.
Pastries & Cookies
French
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Make Ahead
35 min
Active Time
15 min cook•1 hr 40 min total
Yield8 croquettes (4 servings)
Croquettes de riz (rice croquettes) teach the contract between a tender centre and a protective crust. Know this before you touch the pan: the croquettes must be thoroughly cold and the frying fat fierce. À l'anglaise (floured, dipped in seasoned egg, and crumbed) is not decoration; it is the coat that seizes before the sweet rice can slacken.
The original formula assumed an entremets station, a brigade batch of rice ready to hand, several cooks shaping a procession of fruit, and a deep frying range already at temperature. At home, one pound of finished rice becomes eight exact two-ounce croquettes, and a heavy saucepan with a thermometer replaces the dedicated fryer. The service quantity and extra hands were scaffolding, so they go; the portion size, fruit moulding, à l'anglaise coat, hard chill, and fierce fat are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When they are right, the shell is evenly bronzed and crisp beneath the teeth, while the vanilla-scented grains inside remain distinct and tender. Shape pears, apples, and apricots without fuss, then chill them until they hold themselves. The moment that matters most is the first contact with 190°C / 375°F fat; keep the batch small, and the crust will close before the centre loosens.
Croquettes de riz belong to the classical Parisian entremets repertoire, where sweet rice was moulded into pears, apples, and apricots before frying, then sent to table with sauce apart. Their fruit forms are decorative rather than flavoured, the centre remains rice, while actual apricot appears only in the accompanying sauce. À l'anglaise names the flour, egg, and crumb coat that lets fragile preparations survive fierce frying fat, a grand-kitchen technique that passed comfortably to the bourgeois home table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Rice Preparation for Entremets
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 454 g) Rice Preparation for Entremets (No. 2404)
vanilla-flavoured and completely cold
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 60 g)
Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing)
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 115 g) Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174)
fine dry breadcrumbs
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 200 g)
refined sunflower oil
Quantity
6 cups (1.4 L / 1.3 kg)
for deep-frying
apricot sauce
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / about 250 g)
warmed gently for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Rice Preparation for Entremetsvanilla-flavoured and completely cold | 2 cups (475 ml / 454 g) Rice Preparation for Entremets (No. 2404) |
| all-purpose flour | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 60 g) |
| Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 115 g) Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) |
| fine dry breadcrumbs | 2 cups (475 ml / 200 g) |
| refined sunflower oilfor deep-frying | 6 cups (1.4 L / 1.3 kg) |
| apricot saucewarmed gently for serving | 1 cup (240 ml / about 250 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Digital scale
- •Parchment-lined tray
- •Three shallow coating dishes
- •Heavy 4-quart (3.8 L) saucepan or Dutch oven
- •Clip-on deep-frying thermometer
- •Wire skimmer
- •Wire rack and sheet pan
Instructions
- 1
Portion the rice
Set the Rice Preparation for Entremets (No. 2404) beside a parchment-lined tray. Weigh it into eight 2-ounce (57 g) portions, returning each portion to the cold as soon as it is measured. The rice must feel firm and cohesive, not merely cool; if it smears across the scale or settles under its own weight, chill it for another 20 minutes before shaping.
- 2
Mould the fruit
With barely damp hands, press each portion firmly enough to close any cracks. Shape three as little pears with narrow tops, three as round apples with shallow dimples, and two as plump apricots marked with a gentle seam. Keep the forms simple and compact. If one slumps, don't work flour or crumbs into the rice; return it to the cold until firm, then begin again. Chill the finished shapes uncovered for 30 minutes so their surfaces dry slightly.
- 3
Coat à l'anglaise
Arrange the flour, Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), and breadcrumbs in three shallow dishes. Roll each cold shape in flour and tap away every loose patch, dip it thoroughly in the Anglaise, let the excess drain, then roll it in breadcrumbs, pressing lightly around the seam and narrow pear tops. No rice should remain visible. If the flour turns gummy and transparent, the surface is too damp; brush away the paste, chill the shape uncovered for 10 minutes, and flour it again. Ça se rattrape. Chill the coated croquettes for 20 minutes.
Use one hand for flour and crumbs and the other for Anglaise. The croquettes stay neat, and so do your fingers. - 4
Heat the frying fat
Pour the sunflower oil into a heavy 4-quart (3.8 L) saucepan or Dutch oven. It should stand about 2 inches (5 cm) deep and never fill more than half the pot. Set a wire rack over a tray, then heat the oil to 190°C / 375°F. A thermometer is the honest home equivalent of the brigade fryer. If the oil begins to smoke, remove the pot from the burner and let the temperature fall before continuing.
Keep the pot handle turned inward and lower each croquette close to the oil with a wire skimmer. Dropping it from a height splashes fierce fat, which has no sense of humour. - 5
Fry to bronze
Lower two croquettes into the oil at a time. The temperature may fall, but keep it above 180°C / 355°F so the coat seizes immediately. Turn the croquettes gently and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until evenly deep gold and firm beneath the skimmer. If one opens, lift it out at once and skim away every loose crumb. Return the oil to 190°C / 375°F, patch any fissures in the remaining shapes with flour, Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), and breadcrumbs, then chill them for 10 minutes before continuing. Ça se rattrape.
- 6
Drain and serve
Transfer the croquettes to the wire rack and let them drain for 2 minutes; paper beneath them softens the lower crust. Arrange the pears, apples, and apricots on a warm platter and serve the apricot sauce separately, never poured over the crumb. The shell should remain crisp until the fork breaks it and finds the tender rice within. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Plain leftover rice cannot replace the Rice Preparation for Entremets (No. 2404). The finished reference component has the sweetness and cohesion required for clean moulding; ordinary rice will crumble or leak.
- •Choose fine, dry breadcrumbs. Coarse crumbs leave gaps around the fruit shapes and make a rough, spiky coat; sift them if necessary.
- •The thermometer matters more than the frying vessel. Fat below 180°C / 355°F soaks into the crumbs before they set, while fat much above 190°C / 375°F darkens the coat before the centre warms.
- •Apricot sauce gives a bright, tart answer to the sweet rice. The source also allows vanilla-flavoured Sabayon in its place; choose one sauce and serve it separately so the crust stays crisp.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the Rice Preparation for Entremets (No. 2404) a day ahead and chill it thoroughly in a covered container. Cold rice is easier to portion and mould without breaking the grains.
- •The croquettes may be shaped and coated up to 8 hours before frying. Refrigerate them uncovered until the crumb feels dry, then cover them loosely so condensation does not soften the coat.
- •Warm the apricot sauce gently while the oil heats. Fry the croquettes near serving time; once fried, they are at their best within 20 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 290g)
Calories
925 calories
Total Fat
46 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
35 g
Cholesterol
110 mg
Sodium
550 mg
Total Carbohydrates
111 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
45 g
Protein
16 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Entremets (Sweets) - Pancakes
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
Georgette Pancakes
Paper-thin pineapple, maraschino, and supple buttered batter meet in a crêpe cooked golden at the edges and tender within, a composed French sweet built on moisture control, not ornament.
Chef Juliette
Gil-Blas Pancakes
Crêpes Gil-Blas teach the discipline of beurre en pommade: cool butter, sugar, liqueur brandy, and lemon held in a creamy emulsion, spread over tender crêpes and folded twice.
Chef Juliette
Pancakes à la Normande
Fine apple slices browned in butter, sealed between two tender layers of crêpe batter, and glazed with sugar: a Norman lesson in driving off moisture before it can soften the pancake.