Rice pudding holds so many memories for me, eating it hot, still steaming from the pot. My mom telling me to wait until it cooled down. Long nights with champurrado, and chilled arroz con leche waiting in the fridge.
It’s more than just food.
We were low income, and we knew it. Same shoes for years. Clothes that didn’t quite fit. But food never lacked. And whenever our parents were proud of us, whenever they wanted to show love, they did it with food.
That’s what makes this dish special.
Beyond the usual winter dishes; tamales, pozole… I couldn’t wait until it was past 10pm. The rice almost done. The hot chocolate just starting. Those moments stayed with me.
My incredible wife, Sam, who as some of you know, is the human responsible for all of our great desserts on the menu at Lilia– wanted to bring this memory back to life in a winter format—clashing it with one of her all-time favorites: crème brûlée.
So here we have it.
Brûléed arroz con leche, layered with citrus: sumo syrup, satsuma gelée, cara cara supreme, pickled raisin. Finished with a deeply savory crumble of caramelized coconut cream.
It only takes about eight hours to make.
Something simple—taken just far enough to push it over the top.
— Juan
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