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Mary Berry Traditional UK Rice Pudding Recipe

Mary Berry Traditional UK Rice Pudding Recipe

Mary Berry's traditional rice pudding is slow-baked until creamy, golden-skinned, and completely wonderful — the best version of a British classic.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 6 Portions
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 310
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g pudding rice rinsed
  • 900 ml whole milk
  • 150 ml double cream
  • 50 g golden caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or ½ vanilla pod seeds scraped
  • 20 g unsalted butter in small pieces
  • Freshly grated nutmeg — a generous amount
  • To Serve:
  • Good quality strawberry or raspberry jam
  • Clotted cream stewed rhubarb, or honey (optional)

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 150°C / 130°C fan / Gas 2. Butter a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish generously.
  2. Place rinsed pudding rice in the dish. Add sugar and vanilla. Pour over whole milk and cream. Stir gently to combine. Dot butter pieces over the surface. Grate fresh nutmeg generously over the top.
  3. Bake at 150°C for 30 minutes. Stir gently once.
  4. Reduce oven to 140°C / 120°C fan / Gas 1. Bake without stirring for a further 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours until the skin is deep golden and the rice beneath is thick, creamy, and tender.
  5. Rest 5–10 minutes. Serve warm with strawberry jam alongside

Notes

Use pudding rice only — short-grain, high-starch. No substitutes.
Whole milk and double cream together — this ratio is exactly right.
Grate nutmeg fresh — pre-ground nutmeg has almost no flavour by comparison.
Stir once at 30 minutes then leave completely undisturbed so the skin forms properly.
Serve slightly warm — 5 to 10 minutes out of the oven is the perfect moment.
Jam alongside is not just nostalgia — the sharp jam and sweet cream genuinely work together.
Do not freeze — rice pudding becomes grainy and watery on defrosting.
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