Risalamande – classic, creamy Danish rice pudding with almonds and cherry sauce. The classic Christmas dessert.
Risalamande – or ris a la mande, as it is also spelt – is an essential classic on the Danish Christmas table. A traditional Danish Christmas dessert made from cold risengrød (Danish rice porridge) cooked with vanilla, folded together with softly whipped cream and chopped blanched almonds, with a generous spoonful of cherry sauce on top when it is served. Simple, but endlessly good.
I cook my rice porridge with both the vanilla seeds and the pod, so it is full of vanilla flavour right from the start. Once it is cooked and completely cold, I fold it together with lightly whipped cream, which gives the classic soft, creamy texture. Blanched, chopped almonds add the classic crunch and a little bite – and then, of course, a good cherry sauce to round it all off.
One important tip: never whip the cream too stiff – you risk a risalamande that is heavy and dry. It should be soft, creamy and light – better slightly on the loose side than too firm. It is that airy, soft quality that makes it so good.
Risalamande – a Danish Christmas tradition
Risalamande is a fixed part of Christmas Eve in a great many Danish homes – and has been since the late 1800s, when the dish began to catch on as a development of classic rice porridge.
The name comes from the French riz à l’amande, meaning rice with almonds – but in Denmark the dish took on a style all of its own and became risalamande, with soft rice porridge, creamy whipped cream, crunchy almonds and the indispensable cherry sauce on top.
In many families the almond present is part of it too – one whole almond hidden in a single portion, and whoever finds it wins a small gift. A cosy, fun tradition that gets children and adults alike to take one more spoonful… just to be sure.
Texture and serving – the best risalamande
The perfect risalamande should be light, soft and creamy. Here I have listed a few steps that ensure the best result, and a risalamande that is creamy, airy, soft and full of flavour.
– Whip the cream lightly – stop as soon as it forms soft peaks
– Make sure the rice porridge is COMPLETELY cold before you fold in the cream
– Don’t stir too much – fold the cream in gently instead
– Taste and add a little extra vanilla if you like
– Serve the risalamande ice cold – with warm (or cold) cherry sauce alongside
It is a simple dessert, but it can look really elegant if served in individual portions. And of course – remember the almond if it is Christmas Eve.
I hope you will try my risalamande recipe – you will find it below.
Risalamande (Danish Christmas Rice Pudding)
Ingredients
Rice porridge (risengrød)
- 200 g
pudding rice (short-grain)
- 250 ml water
- 1 l
whole milk
- 50 g
sugar
- 1
vanilla pod
- A pinch of salt (optional)
Risalamande
- 400 ml
whipping cream (38% fat)
- 80 g almonds, blanched
- The cooled rice porridge
To serve
- Warm cherry sauce
- Toasted flaked almonds (optional)
Method
Rice porridge (risengrød)
- Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Mash the seeds with a little of the sugar so they separate.
- Bring the water and rice to the boil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes – or until the water has almost boiled away.
- Add the whole milk, sugar, vanilla seeds and the vanilla pod, and bring the porridge to the boil, stirring. Once the porridge is boiling, turn the heat down low and put a lid on the pan.Leave the porridge over a low heat – at home I have it on 2 out of 9.
- Let the porridge simmer very gently, covered, for about 40 minutes – stirring regularly as it cooks.Over a very low heat the porridge should not catch on the bottom, but still stir it carefully while it cooks.
- For the last 5 minutes of the cooking time, remove the lid and cook the porridge until the rice is tender.Rice absorbs liquid differently from batch to batch, so keep an eye on it.
- Fish out the vanilla pod and season the porridge with a pinch of salt if you like.Be aware that the porridge will be fairly loose while it is hot. It thickens as it cools, so do not cook it any further once the rice is tender.
- Put the porridge in the fridge to chill, and if you can, leave it there overnight.
Risalamande
- Pour boiling water over the almonds and leave them to soak for 10 minutes.Drain, slip the skins off the almonds and leave them to dry on a tea towel.
- Roughly chop the almonds – remember to set aside a couple of whole almonds if it is for Christmas Eve.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks.
- Fold the whipped cream into the rice porridge together with the chopped almonds using gentle movements – do it in a couple of batches if you like.Do this gently so you don’t knock the air out of the cream. It is a good idea to fold the cream in last.
- Keep the risalamande in the fridge until it is to be served – then serve with warm cherry sauce and top with toasted slivered almonds if you like.
Nutrition
Premium
Hej – hvor mange personer er opskriften til!
Hej Kirken
8 personer ca – hvis det er ovenpå en julemiddag:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Bruger din opskrift hvert år. Simpelthen den bedste jeg har prøvet.
Du burde fokuserer mere på hvilke ris typer der er gode til denne dessert – personligt bruger jeg risotto ris
Hej Chris
Hmmm, jeg synes jo ikke mulighederne er så mange? Grødris eller risottoris!?
Jeg foretrækker grødris, men det skal man jo gøre som man ønsker 🙂
Dbh Dianna.
Skøn opskrift som vi skal lave igen i år ⭐️
Hejsa
Det er så skønt at høre, tak for de søde ord 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Hej Dianna,
Tusind tak for at du har delt denne lækre opskrift med os alle. Jeg bruger den HVERT år og alle elsker den.
Ps. Der burde ikke ændres på noget. Det er den helt perfekte ratio af alle ingredienserne. 😉
Rigtig glædelig jul.
Dbh Ida
Hej Ida
Åhhh hvor er du sød, tusind tusind tak for din dejlige besked, hvor gør det mig glad at høre:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
jeg bruger samme opskrift, kun kommer jeg lidt mandelessens i, det højner mandelsmagen
Hej Birthe
Det er også en god klassisk risalamande 🙂
Fif med mandelessens er her med givet videre.
Warm wishes, Dianna
simple og god
uden filosifie smage 100porcent god
Tusind tak 🙂