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Based on No. 2740, Rice à la Maltaise, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Orange-scented milk rice and orange Bavarois meet in equal measure, set in a cold dome, and emerge under glossy rows of raw-skinned orange sections: a grand pudding made practical for one careful cook.
Riz à la Maltaise (molded orange rice pudding) teaches one exact lesson: two soft preparations only set cleanly when they meet in equal quantity and at the same cool, fluid temperature. The milk rice is scented with orange rind, not vanilla, then bound with an equal weight of orange Bavarois (a gelatin-set custard lightened with whipped cream). The source deliberately omits apricot jam and candied-fruit salpicon, the little dice usually distributed through the base. Orange must carry the whole pudding.
The brigade entry assumed separate hands for the rice, Bavarois, and raw-skinned orange sections, then a dome-mould buried in ice until service. At home, a refrigerator, a rounded bowl, and a digital scale replace that handoff. I have reduced the yield and translated equal quantity into equal weight because evaporation changes the rice by a spoonful or two. The ice bed and extra hands were scaffolding. The orange-rind rice, equal measure of Bavarois, domed shape, and rows of fruit are the dish, so none has moved.
Keep the rice and Bavarois cool but fluid when they meet. Warm rice collapses the whipped cream; Bavarois allowed to set turns to threads when folded. The method catches both troubles where they happen. Ça se rattrape. That meeting is the one step that matters most.
Riz à la Maltaise belongs to the codified Parisian entremets repertoire, where à la Maltaise is culinary shorthand for orange, reflecting Malta’s strong citrus association in French kitchens. It is not a Maltese household rice pudding: the dish takes French milk rice, joins it to Bavarois, and covers the molded dome with orange sections skinned raw. It passed naturally from grand kitchens to bourgeois dinner tables because the mold waits in the cold and arrives fully finished, a practical virtue beneath its formal shape.
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 65 g)
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 370 g)
Quantity
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (50 ml / 40 g)
Quantity
⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.75 g)
Quantity
Up to 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 31 g)
Quantity
6
well scrubbed; reserve 3 wide rind strips, ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) strained juice, and 5 oranges for raw-skinned sections
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 124 g)
Quantity
2
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 38 g)
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 6 g)
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
for blooming the gelatin
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g)
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g)
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 100 g)
Quantity
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (95 ml / 95 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| short-grain white rice | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 65 g) |
| whole milk, for the rice | 1½ cups (360 ml / 370 g) |
| granulated sugar, for the rice | 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (50 ml / 40 g) |
| fine sea salt | ⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.75 g) |
| whole milk, for loosening the rice (optional) | Up to 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 31 g) |
| medium sweet orangeswell scrubbed; reserve 3 wide rind strips, ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) strained juice, and 5 oranges for raw-skinned sections | 6 |
| whole milk, for the Bavarois | ½ cup (120 ml / 124 g) |
| large egg yolks | 2 |
| granulated sugar, for the Bavarois | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 38 g) |
| unflavored powdered gelatin | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 6 g) |
| cold waterfor blooming the gelatin | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
| strained fresh orange juice | ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
| cold heavy cream | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
| granulated sugar, for the orange syrup | ½ cup (120 ml / 100 g) |
| water, for the orange syrup | ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (95 ml / 95 g) |
Pare three wide strips of orange rind, taking only the colored surface and none of the bitter white pith. Juice one orange and measure ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g). Cut the remaining five into suprêmes d’orange (sections freed raw from peel and membrane), working over a bowl to catch their juice. A small, sharp knife is better than force here; clean sections hold their shape on the dome.
Combine the syrup sugar, syrup water, and one strip of rind in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until clear, then simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the rind and cool the syrup completely. Pour it over the suprêmes and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes. Keep the fruit submerged, but drain it thoroughly before decorating the pudding.
Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Blanch the rice in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain it well; this washes away loose surface starch so the grains swell without becoming gluey. Bring the rice milk to a simmer with the rice sugar, salt, and a strip of orange rind. Add the drained rice, cover, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring once after 20 minutes, until every grain is tender and the milk has become a thick, spoonable cream. Remove the rind and spread the rice in a wide bowl to cool to room temperature. If it sets into a stiff mass, fold in warm milk 1 tablespoon at a time until supple. Ça se rattrape.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and leave it to bloom for 5 minutes. Heat the Bavarois milk with the final strip of orange rind until small bubbles gather at the edge, then cover and infuse for 5 minutes. Whisk the yolks with the Bavarois sugar until smooth. Remove the rind, pour the warm milk onto the yolks gradually while whisking, then return everything to gentle heat. Stir constantly until the crème anglaise reaches 180°F (82°C) and nappes, meaning it coats the back of a spoon and holds a clean line drawn through it. Never let it boil. If the first fine grains appear, remove it from the heat at once, blend briefly, and strain; the custard can still be saved.
Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved. Strain it into a clean bowl, whisk in the measured orange juice, and cool it to 75 to 80°F (24 to 27°C), stirring occasionally. Whip the cold cream to soft peaks, where it holds shape but the tip still bends, then fold it into the orange custard in three additions. If the custard begins setting around the bowl before the cream goes in, stand the bowl over barely warm water and whisk only until fluid again. Ça se rattrape.
Weigh the cooled rice mixture, then weigh exactly the same amount of orange Bavarois preparation, about 400 g of each. Evaporation and orange size vary, so if one component is short, use that smaller weight from both rather than diluting either one. Stir one-quarter of the Bavarois into the rice to loosen it, then fold in the remainder gently. The mixture should be evenly distributed, pale orange, and airy enough to settle from the spatula in a broad ribbon.
Rinse a 1.2-litre dome mould or rounded metal bowl with cold water and leave the faintest film inside. Spoon in the rice mixture, tap the mould once against a folded towel to settle hidden gaps, and smooth the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, until set through the centre. The source used ice because service demanded it; a refrigerator gives the same cold set with less ceremony.
Drain the suprêmes well, reserving their syrup. Press the mould briefly with a towel wrung out in warm water, loosen the rim with a fingertip, and invert it onto a cold round platter. If it does not release, repeat the warm towel for 5 seconds; patience, not hot water, keeps the surface intact. Cover the dome in close concentric rows of orange sections, reversing their direction from one row to the next, then brush them lightly with the rind-scented syrup. Serve properly cold. À table!
1 serving (about 200g)
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