Mexican-Style Rice Pudding with Cinnamon and a Kiwi Hokey Pokey Crunch (Arroz con Leche)

Mexican-Style Rice Pudding with Cinnamon and a Hokey Pokey Crunch (Arroz con Leche)

In Mexico, rice for rice pudding is usually cooked in water first with a cinnamon quill before any milk goes near it. It seems almost too simple, but once you add the milk and condensed milk and let it gently thicken, it turns into the creamiest, most luxurious rice pudding you’ll ever taste.

Honeycomb - known in New Zealand as hokey pokey - is one of the stars of our iconic hokey pokey ice cream. It’s the same golden, crunchy honeycomb you’ll find in a Crunchie bar here, or a Violet Crumble in the UK. Sweet, airy, caramelly, and perfect for adding a bit of texture.

This recipe, paired with hokey pokey, is inspired by one from Rick Stein’s Road to Mexico (2017), but at its heart it’s the kind of rice pudding made all over the world: simple ingredients, gentle cooking, and a comforting bowl of something warm and familiar. The hokey pokey is easy to make and gives it a fun Kiwi twist.

Ingredients:

(serves 6-8)

225g short-grain rice (sushi rice will do at a pinch)

1 cinnamon stick

550ml full cream milk

250 ml sweetened condensed milk (about 3/4 of a Nestle can)

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

For the hokey pokey

75g golden syrup

200g sugar, blitzed to make caster sugar (or simply use caster sugar)

2 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate soda)

Butter to heavily grease a baking tray

To serve:

Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Mango chunks or other fruit of your choice

You can watch me make the hokey pokey and rie pudding in this short Youtube tutorial:

Method:

Make the hokey pokey first. Lightly grease a baking tray with butter and set it aside. Put the golden syrup and caster sugar into a large saucepan over a low heat and stir gently until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and bring it to a low simmer for a few minutes stirring a couple of times.

Working quickly from here (the hokey pokey sets fast): remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Stir briskly as it bubbles and foams, then pour or tip it onto the greased tray. Use two utensils to help spread it out. It cools and hardens very quickly — but don’t worry, soaking the pot and utensils in water will dissolve any stuck bits. Leave it to cool for 1–1½ hours.

Once set, break the hokey pokey into pieces. Twisting the tray with your hands in opposite directions can help start the cracking. Store the pieces in an airtight container.

In a large saucepan, add the rice, water and cinnamon stick. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat and cook gently for 10–15 minutes until the rice is soft but not mushy. Drain off any excess water. (You can use a rice cooker for this part if you prefer.)

Return the drained rice to the saucepan, remove the cinnamon stick, then add the milk and condensed milk. Stir to combine over a low heat. Let it simmer for 5–7 minutes until the mixture is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and let it stand for a few minutes before serving — it will be extremely hot.

Serve hot or cold, topped with ground cinnamon, hokey pokey pieces and any fruit you like. If serving the pudding hot, the hokey pokey melts quickly, so having a mix of piece sizes — including crumbs — works well.