German Chocolate Rice Pudding

I went with a good friend to New York the weekend before Christmas last year.  It blows my mind that it was practically a year ago.  

There were a mountain of people visiting that weekend.  It didn't help that it was unseasonably warm.  We went skating in Central Park and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I had never done either.

We also ate copious amounts of rich and delicious food.  We went to a restaurant that only served mac and cheese and another store that only sold rice pudding.  You have to make a good product if you're going to be so specialized.

I ordered a creamy and decadent German chocolate rice pudding.  I have been thinking about making my own for almost a year.  

The chocolate rice pudding recipe came from allrecipes.  I added more cocoa powder, an egg, coconut flakes, and pecans.  I used basmati rice, which was a bad choice.  You live and learn.

The ingredients are 3/4 cup rice, 1 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/3 cup raisins, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon butter, 4 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 cup sweet coconut flakes, and 1/3 cup pecans.

I cooked the rice and water for 12 minutes.  The pan was covered, and I didn't stir.  The water was already hot when I added the rice.  After 12 minutes, I lowered the heat to low. I added the milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.

I also added raisins, butter, a beaten egg, and the cocoa powder.

I stirred this constantly over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes.  The pudding became thick and most of the liquid was absorbed by the rice or evaporated.

I added the coconut and pecans and stirred for another 3 to 5 minutes.

I removed it from the heat, and it was ready to be consumed.  You can eat rice pudding warm or cold straight from the fridge.  I prefer cold, but the pudding in these pictures was warm.

Rice pudding doesn't look like much, but it is a delicious, hearty dessert.  The pecans and sweet coconut flakes were great additions.  Raisins are not traditionally in German chocolate cake, but they're so chewy and desirable in rice pudding I couldn't omit them.  

This wasn't as good at the rice pudding I had in New York.  It wasn't as creamy.  I should have used arborio rice instead of basmati.  I also should have used cream instead of milk.  Oh well!  I still enjoyed my insufficiently creamy pudding.