Rijsttaart (also known as Rijstvlaai) is a traditional Belgian and Dutch pie made with a rice pudding filling. The word “rijst” means “rice” in Dutch, and “taart” or “vlaai” refers to a tart or pie. It’s typically made with a sweet pastry crust that is filled with a creamy, slightly sweet rice pudding mixture, and then baked until golden.
Rijsttaart (Rice Tart) Recipe
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
Icing sugar, to dust
Finely grated nutmeg, to dust
Prune filling
¾ cup pitted prunes, chopped
¼ cup brandy
¼ cup caster sugar
Rice filling
4 ½ cups milk
½ cup caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 cup short grain rice
2 egg yolks
1 tsp cornflour
2/3 cup milk, extra
Pastry
2 tsp instant yeast
¼ cup caster sugar
2 cups plain flour, plus extra to dust
2 eggs
20g unsalted butter, melted
Method:
For the prune filling, combine the prunes, brandy, sugar and a cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cook for 15 minutes, or until prunes are soft and sticky. Set aside to cool.
For the pastry, in a medium bowl add ¼ cup warm water and yeast. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy on the surface.
Combine remaining sugar, flour, and ¼ tsp table salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the yeast mixture, eggs and butter and process until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with cling film and set in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
For the rice filling, place the milk, sugar, a vanilla bean, seeds and rice into a saucepan on low-medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally for 50 minutes or until the rice is cooked and mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Whisk egg yolks and cornflour together. Place extra milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring just to the boil. Pour over the eggs mixture; whisk until combined. Add the rice and mix to combine. Remove vanilla bean and discard.
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Punch down the dough and on a lightly floured surface, roll to 4mm thick. Line a 21cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin with the pastry. Spread prune filling in the base and cover with the rice filling, smoothing the top. Place on a baking tray and bake for 40 minutes, or until lightly blistered on the surface. Cool for 20 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and nutmeg.
Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled.
Smart Tip:
You can make use of any jam in the base of the tart instead of the prune mixture. The tart will keep refrigerated for up to four days.
