Spiced Chai Rice Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Doesn’t chai just seem like the perfect most appropriate contender against the fall pumpkin spice craze? In my opinion, Chai is just better. Don’t kill me.

Chai has every flavor that warms the soul. Cinnamon, clover, star of anise, even peppercorn! Chia is just a beautifully balanced combination of flavors that gives all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings.

Beautiful thing about chai is; it works with both warm and cold. A scalding chai latte hits the spot on a cold afternoon but a cold frozen chai frappuccino can brighten anyone’s day.

This Spiced Chai Rice Pudding is just that, perfect served warm or cold. Cooked until the rice is tender and nicely puffy after absorbing all the flavors of the spiced chai tea and the sweet milks. But wait, this is not over yet, this Spiced Chai Rice Pudding is made even more extra with the addition of a velvety and luscious caramel sauce that just compliments the rich flavors of the chai tea.

Let’s get right to it!

How I made this Spiced Chai Rice Pudding:

Rice pudding has a bad rep. People think it takes hours and hours to make. While it does take a bit of time and of course love and care, it doesn’t take hours. The key, I have found, is to make sure the rice gets the most proper care at the very beginning of the process.

The first 10 minutes of cooking are crucial.

Start by rinsing the rice over running water.

Discard the milky water and repeat the rinsing 3 times.

On the last rinse, cover the rice with enough water that it has about 1 inch over.

Let the rice soak overnight or for a minimum of 4-5 hours.

After it has soaked, strain the rice but do not get rid of the water, save it on the side. 

In a small sauce pan, combine the 2 %milk, evaporated milk, sugar and the chai tea packets. Heat on high until the the chai has steeped into the milk DO NOT LET it come to a simmer. 

After the tea has steeped squeeze every drop out of each tea bag to ensure all this chai flavors infuse the milk. 

In a medium size pan, on medium high heat, combine the rice with 1 tablespoon of butter, melt the butter into the rice and allow it to get coated with the butter. 

Tip! The water on the rice will slowly cook out and the rice will get coated with the butter. The butter will add extra richness to the finished product. 

After the butter has been melted into the rice completely, add the water the rice was soaked in.

Lower the temperature to medium low and stir constantly for 8-10 minutes until the water has almost completely evaporated. 

Tip! Think of this process as popcorn popping. This step will ensure that the rice “pops” and it will allow the remaning cooking process for this dessert to be no longer than 30 minutes instead of hours like rice pudding sometimes takes. 

After the rice is almost completely dry, add the warm chai milk mixture and stir well. 

Tip! This is where the time and dedication come in. Make sure you have eyes only for this. 

Lower the heat once more now to low.

Contstantly stir the rice. You can take little breaks but not for more than 1 minute, the key is low and slow right now.

Tip! When the mixture is left unattended, it forms a skin on the top of the milk that sometimes does melt into the whole mixture but at times can create strings, almost like strands of hardened milk. Not a good thing. Keep staring to prevent this from happening.

Stir constantly so the mixture cooks slowly and steady without coming to simmer. 

This will be steady for the first 10-15 minutes of this cooking process. As time goes on, the mixture will heat more and will start reaching simmering temperatures. 

Tip! If for some reason it is taking longer than that, increase the heat a little bit.

As soon as the mixture reaches a slow simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool, all the while still stirring it. 

Return the pot to the heat and keep stirring it.

This will take another 10-12 minutes where the constant “simmer babysitting” must occur. Keep stirring, and if you must, remove from the heat to help it cool a bit.

After the 10-12 minutes of controlled simmer have passed, remove the pot from the heat. With a separate  spoon, taste the rice. It will not be very sweet but focus on the texture. 

The rice should be soft all the way through the middle. If there is even one hint of hardness then return to the heat and continue cooking until it has reached a point where it is undeniably soft. 

The milk is also thicker as well. It will appear as if there is too much liquid left but the rice will continue to absorb it, plus when it’s cooled, the liquid will harden.

Once the rice is absolutely cooked through and through, remove from the heat. 

Add the condensed milk and the vanilla. Stir well until completely incorporated. 

It’s time to make the caramel. Place plastic film over the rice pudding so it doesn’t create a film while the caramel sauce is being made.

For the caramel sauce:

In a medium size pot, add the sugar. 

The sugar will start melting and it will start to turn color.  

The sugar will melt unevenly. It all happens quickly so to help the sugar melt evenly, swirl the pot to help incorporate the rest of the sugar that has not melted.

If the sugar is melting quickly and turning color into a darker richer amber, it can burn in seconds! Remove from the heat and swirl it to help it keep the temperature from rising even more.

Once the sugar has turned amber colored (make sure it didn’t burn), slowly add the butter, one tablespoon at at time. Use a whisk to stir the butter in. 

Tip! This will create steam so use a long whisk to avoid your hand being too close. 

After the butter has been all mixed in, remove from the heat and add the heavy cream. This will create a lot more steam, be careful and whisk it in carefully yet quickly as it needs to be incorporated at once. 

Once the heavy cream is well mixed allow the caramel to sit for 5 minutes. The longer it sits the thicker it gets.

Once it is less scalding, pour the caramel sauce onto a bowl or gravy boat that will make pouring an easier task. 

Serving this rice pudding in individual servings makes it so special. Pour a bit of caramel into the bottom of a clear glass or ramequin, about 2 tablespoons per serving.

Tip! It is important to serve the caramel while it is still hot as it will pour easily. However, it needs to set before adding the rice pudding over it. Otherwise they will mix into each other and the caramel will disappear.

The longer the rice pudding cools down the easier it will be for the two layers, the caramel, and the rice pudding to be separate from each other.

It is completely up to each person if they prefer to enjoy this spectacular dessert warm or cold. So unless you prefer it cold I would definitely say ENJOY this right away!