Delicious and aromatic Rice Pudding
Don’t you love rice pudding? I do, always have. This amazing recipe has this awesome sweet blend of vanilla, cinnamon, and caramel notes.
From time to time, and even on hot summer days, I do crave a delicious bowl of Rice Pudding. There are many recipes for rice pudding, but I will never get tired of the Haitian Rice Pudding recipe. You know which one I am referring to and thinking about right now! Yes! The one with rum! “Rhum Barbancourt,” to be exact. Yummy!
Haitians, in general, are not alcoholics just because we love our rum. We are very proud to have such an excellent product. The rum Barbancourt is a product that speaks for itself. Below are a couple of reviews I found online at http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-4442.aspx:
“The look, taste feel, after burn, precludes that of any other rum I’ve tasted. It truly is one in a category of its own…. light soft…which allows the flavors to be even more speculated, though, when you read of the whole process of how it becomes an end product. How much time and patience is endured in creating what I can only say as nectar to the gods…of light fruity, not too offensive taste in your mouth. – Anthony from London Bridge, 16th Jun ’13”
Very few people know of Haitian rum, which is a shame because, in my opinion, they make the best Rum in the world! It is strong and smooth enough to drink alone or on ice.

I feel so proud and on cloud nine with this recipe. In my opinion, cooking with this rum is a wonderful way to spice up a dish. I still remember my Dad adding it to many of his recipes.
But let’s go back to my Rice Pudding. I have been making this rice pudding my whole life, with or without the soaked raisins. My preferred way is, of course, with the raisins soaked in rum. How did you guess?
My recipe is very generic and simple for Caribbean people, of course, because we add all the usual spices, cinnamon, anise star, nutmeg, ginger, and lime rind. The special ingredient, soaked raisins, is just a treat. In other cultures, I believe it is always good to try new recipes.
Have fun trying my Rice Pudding recipe, and let me know what you think. Don’t forget the rum!
Enjoy!
Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 cups of water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 whole anise star
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 cup of white rice long grain preferably, cleaned and washed
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 1 lime rind about 2 cm long
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp grated ginger
- 1 cup dark dried raisins
- 1 cup dark rum preferably Rhum Barbancourt
- Sugar to taste
Instructions
- Early in the day before cooking rice, place raisins in a large bowl and pour rum. Let macerate for about 3 to 4 hours or until they are soft and feel juicy again.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add water, cinnamon sticks, star anise and salt. Bring to a boil and add cleaned rice. Gently stir and let cook until water begins to evaporate. Add milk, nutmeg, ginger, butter and lime rind and gently stir to incorporate all ingredients. Let rice continue to cook on low heat for about 20 minutes on low heat, gently stirring from time to time to avoid the rice sticking to the bottom of the pot. Drain raisins and add to rice in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Add sugar to taste. Gently stir and remove from heat. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.