Rijstevlaai (Limburg Rice Tart)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •28cm shallow vlaai pan or tart pan
• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Rolling pin
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the rice

   Put the pudding rice, whole milk, 75g sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring it just to a simmer, then lower the heat and cook gently for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring often along the bottom. The rice should be soft, swollen, and creamy, with the milk mostly absorbed. Remove the lemon zest and vanilla pod, then let the rijstebrij, the milk rice, cool until warm rather than hot.

2. 2

   Make the dough

   Mix the flour, yeast, 25g sugar, and 5g salt in a bowl. Add the lukewarm milk, egg yolk, and softened butter, then knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft, and elastic. It should feel like tender bread dough, not cookie dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. 3

   Finish the filling

   Beat the 2 eggs, then stir them into the cooled rice pudding. Do not add them while the rice is hot unless you want sweet scrambled egg, which has no proud province claiming it. The filling should be loose but not watery, with the grains suspended in a pale custard.

4. 4

   Line the pan

   Butter a 28cm vlaaivorm or shallow tart pan. Roll the dough into a round large enough to line the base and sides, then press it in neatly and trim the edge. Sprinkle the fine breadcrumbs over the base. They are not there for flavour; they catch excess moisture so the bottom bakes tender rather than damp.

5. 5

   Fill and rise

   Spoon the rice filling into the dough shell and smooth it level. Let the filled tart stand for 20 minutes while the oven heats to 190C. This short rest gives the yeast dough its last breath before the filling sets over it.

6. 6

   Bake just firm

   Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is golden at the rim and the rice filling is set with a faint wobble in the centre. Do not bake it dry. A rijstevlaai should slice cleanly after cooling, but the rice must still taste of milk, not patience pushed too far.

   If the crust browns before the centre sets, lay a loose sheet of foil over the tart for the last 10 minutes.
7. 7

   Cool and finish

   Cool the tart completely before slicing. For a birthday table, whip the cream with the icing sugar until soft and spread or pipe it lightly over the cooled tart, then scatter with dark chocolate curls. Plain is perfectly proper too. Limburg has never needed decoration to prove a point.

Chef Tips

• •Use short-grain pudding rice, not long-grain rice. You want grains that swell and release starch into the milk, because that creamy body is what lets the tart slice without becoming stiff.
• •Let the rice cool before adding eggs. Warm is fine; hot will curdle them, and the filling will lose its calm, even texture.
• •A proper vlaai pan is shallow and wide, usually about 28cm. A deep pie dish gives you too much filling and not enough Limburg.
• •Whipped cream and chocolate curls are common on birthday rijstevlaai, but keep them light. The tart should still taste first of milk, rice, yeast dough, and vanilla.

Advance Preparation

• •The rice filling can be cooked up to 1 day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator; bring it back to room temperature before mixing in the eggs.
• •The baked tart keeps well for 2 days refrigerated. Add whipped cream and chocolate only on the day you serve it.
• •The yeast dough is best made fresh, but it can rise overnight in the refrigerator after kneading; let it soften slightly before rolling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 165g)