Rijstvlaai (Dutch Rice Tart)

Yeasted base

• 300 g Plain flour
• 40 g Caster sugar
• 1 tsp Fine sea salt
• 7 g Instant yeast
• 120 ml Whole milk
• 75 g Unsalted butter, softened
• 1 Egg

Rice filling

• 800 ml Whole milk
• 180 g Arborio rice
• 90 g Caster sugar
• 1 pinch Fine sea salt
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 25 g Unsalted butter
• 2 Egg

1. Warm 120 ml of the milk until just lukewarm. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, 40 g of the sugar, 1 tsp of the salt and the yeast, then add the warm milk, 75 g butter and 1 egg. Mix and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
2. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. It should look puffy and spring back slowly when pressed.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling: bring 800 ml milk to a gentle simmer in a saucepan. Stir in the rice, 90 g sugar and a pinch of salt, then cook on low, stirring often, for 25 to 30 minutes until the rice is tender and the mixture is thick and creamy. Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla and 25 g butter.
4. Leave the rice mixture to cool for 10 minutes so it is warm rather than hot. Beat the 2 eggs in a bowl, then whisk them into the warm rice pudding until fully combined. Set aside while you shape the base.
5. Grease a 24 cm cake tin with a little butter. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a round large enough to line the tin with a slight overhang, then press it into the base and up the sides. Cover and leave to rise for 20 minutes while you heat the oven to 180°C (355°F).
6. Stir the filling once more, then spoon it into the dough-lined tin and smooth the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the edges are deep golden and the centre is set with only a slight wobble. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a rack before slicing.

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