Risalamande — Danish Christmas rice pudding with cherry sauce

i. Origin & history

Rice porridge, risengrød, has been a Danish Christmas dish for centuries. Rice was an expensive import, so a pot of it cooked slowly in milk was a festive luxury, eaten on Christmas Eve and traditionally shared with the nisse, the household elf, who was left a bowl in the loft or barn to keep him content. Risalamande grew out of that porridge.

In the late nineteenth century, prosperous Danish households began transforming leftover risengrød into something more refined: cold, sweetened, lightened with whipped cream and studded with almonds. In keeping with the fashion of the time, which looked to France for elegance, the dish was given a French-sounding name, ris à l'amande, which Danes have long since run together into risalamande. Despite the name, it is not a French dessert. It became more widespread in the twentieth century and today is eaten in the vast majority of Danish homes on 24 December, often with risengrød made the day before specifically to provide the base.

The almond game came with it from the older porridge tradition, in which a single almond hidden in the Christmas porridge brought luck to the finder. The finder receives the mandelgave, classically a marzipan pig, though today it can be anything from chocolates to a board game. A well-known part of the fun is that the finder often hides the almond in their cheek until everyone has finished, so the whole family keeps eating — sometimes long after they are full — in hope of finding it.

Neighbours eat similar desserts. Norway's riskrem is a simpler rice cream served with red berry sauce, Sweden has ris à la Malta, often with orange, and Finland hides an almond in its Christmas riisipuuro. The Danish version is distinguished by its chopped almonds folded through and the warm cherry sauce poured over.

ii. Why the rice is cooked slowly and folded cold

The base must be a thick, creamy rice porridge in which the grains are fully soft but still separate. Danes use grødris, a short-grain pudding rice, whose surface starch dissolves into the milk as it cooks, thickening it into a creamy sauce around the grains. Long-grain rice stays too separate and never becomes creamy.

Cooking is slow, at the barest simmer, with a lid, for 35–45 minutes. Milk scorches easily because its proteins and sugars stick to the bottom of the pan; a heavy pan, low heat and an occasional stir prevent this. Some Danish households put the pot under the duvet — the 'duvet method' — to finish cooking in its own heat, a reminder of how long the tradition has been around.

The porridge must be completely cold before the cream goes in. Starch sets as it cools, so warm porridge is loose and cold porridge is firm and thick. If whipped cream is folded into warm rice, it melts and the result is thin and runny; folded into cold, stiff rice, it lightens the mixture into a mousse-like pudding. Cold rice also needs to be loosened with a spoon first, as it sets quite firmly in the fridge.

The contrast between the cold, creamy pudding and the warm, slightly tart cherry sauce is what makes the dish. Sour or morello cherries are traditional precisely because their acidity cuts through the cream.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 8 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 180 g short-grain pudding rice (grødris)
• 200 ml water
• 1000 ml whole milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split
• ½ tsp salt
• 40 g sugar
• 100 g blanched almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 whole blanched almond, for the game
• 400 ml whipping cream
• 680 g jar of morello or sour cherries in juice
• 50 g sugar, for the sauce
• 1½ tbsp cornflour or potato starch
• 2 tbsp cherry liqueur or kirsch, optional

Grødris is Danish pudding rice; any short-grain pudding rice, Arborio or Spanish bomba will do. Whole milk gives the creaminess; skimmed milk makes a thin, watery porridge. A vanilla pod is traditional and its seeds give the pudding its flecked look, though 2 teaspoons of extract work. The chopped almonds should be in rough, noticeable pieces, not finely ground: their crunch is part of the texture. For the sauce, Danes use jarred morello cherries or ready-made kirsebærsauce; sweet cherries need extra lemon juice. Use whipping cream (about 35–38 per cent fat).

iv. Method

1. Bring the rice and water to the boil in a large heavy-based pan and boil for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the milk, the vanilla pod and its scraped seeds, and the salt.
2. Bring back to a gentle simmer, stirring, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 35–40 minutes, stirring every 5–10 minutes and scraping the base, until the rice is completely soft and the porridge is thick and creamy.
3. Remove the vanilla pod, stir in the 40 g sugar, and leave to cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until completely cold.
4. Make the sauce: drain the cherries, keeping the juice. Bring the juice and sugar to a simmer. Mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water, stir it in and cook for 1 minute until thickened and glossy. Add the cherries and liqueur and keep warm.
5. Stir the cold rice with a spoon to loosen it, then mix in the chopped almonds.
6. Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold it gently into the rice in two or three additions until evenly mixed and light.
7. Push the whole almond into the pudding in an unmarked spot, and spoon into a serving bowl. Serve cold, with the warm cherry sauce poured over each portion.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Use short-grain pudding rice. Long-grain or basmati rice never releases enough starch to make a creamy porridge.
• Cook gently and stir often. Milk catches easily on the base; a scorched pan gives a burnt taste to the whole pudding.
• Cool the rice completely. Folding whipped cream into warm rice melts it into a runny pudding. Make the porridge the day before.
• Chop the almonds coarsely. Rough pieces give a pleasant crunch. Finely ground almonds disappear into the pudding.
• Do not over-sweeten the rice. The cherry sauce adds plenty of sweetness. The pudding itself should be only lightly sweet.
• Serve the sauce warm, not hot. Very hot sauce melts the cream instantly. Warm sauce on cold pudding gives the right contrast.

vi. Variations

Some families add a spoonful of cherry liqueur or amaretto to the pudding itself. Riskrem (Norway) uses no chopped almonds and is served with a red berry or raspberry sauce. Ris à la Malta (Sweden) often includes orange segments. Modern Danish twists include caramel sauce, dark chocolate shavings or roasted almonds, though the cherry version remains the standard. Leftover risengrød is also eaten warm with cinnamon sugar and a knob of butter.

Rice pudding is one of the world's great shared desserts: compare the British rice pudding, Portuguese arroz doce, Indian phirni and payasam, and the cardamom rice pudding. For another Danish cream-and-fruit dessert, try rødgrød med fløde.

vii. Serving & storage

Risalamande is served after the main Christmas Eve dinner of roast duck or pork, with the whole family gathered for the almond hunt. Serve it from a large glass bowl, with the warm cherry sauce in a jug, and keep the mandelgave visible as an incentive. A glass of dessert wine or coffee follows.

The rice porridge can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept covered in the fridge. Once the cream is folded in, risalamande keeps for 1–2 days in the fridge. The cherry sauce keeps for a week refrigerated and is reheated gently before serving. Risalamande does not freeze well; the cream separates and the rice becomes grainy.

ix. More from Scandinavian

• Rødgrød med Fløde — Danish berry pudding
• Æbleskiver — Danish Christmas pancake balls
• Klejner — Danish twisted crullers
• Arroz Doce — Portuguese rice pudding
• Rice Pudding — British rice pudding
• Phirni — Indian ground-rice pudding