Don't Mock Me - I'm Eating Low Carb Mock Rice Pudding!

Hello LilyOnTheLam.com Readers:

In my low carb cooking and baking recipe research, I have found a lot of "mock" recipes - using zucchini or tofu noodles instead of pasta, using zucchini instead of apples, using cauliflower instead of potatoes and even using it as the crust of a pizza.  

I like black bean "burgers" and portobello mushrooms instead of an English muffin for a crab melt, but I don't think the "burger" tastes like meat and mushrooms don't taste like bread to me.  I like zucchini "noodles" with a raw pasta sauce (like a fresh tomato salsa), but I'll never think it's a plate of fresh semolina noodles.  

So when I saw a "mock" rice pudding recipe online where the author claimed that it was better than real rice pudding, I put on my skeptic's hat.  I put on an even bigger skeptic's hat when I saw that the "mock rice" was cottage cheese.  How was that going to taste like rice pudding?

But I love, love, love desserts - and a good, hot rice pudding filled with cinnamon and topped with fresh whipped cream is definitely a comfort food dessert that I crave now and again.  I have been avoiding sugar which means I have been avoiding my beloved desserts too.  A truly sad state of affairs.  Could this mock rice pudding give me the same homey, delicious satisfaction of a real rice pudding?  I thought it was worth a shot, but I was a Doubting Thomas ... um, a Doubting Lily? 

I saw a recipe for "Nancy's Mock Rice Pudding" on the website "Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes."  I wasn't sure who Nancy was, but I hoped it wasn't "Nancy who likes to fool internet readers - the mock means she's mocking you!"

I reviewed the recipe - eggs, heavy cream (remember low carb does not necessarily equal low calorie!), cinnamon ... basic elements of a rice pudding, but no rice.  The recipe also said you could add 1/2 teaspoon of blackstrap molasses to add flavor without too many added carbs.  I did not have molasses, so I left this out.  I prefer to use Stevia as my sweetener, the recipe calls for Splenda.  I have heard that Stevia gets bitter-tasting when baked, so I decided to just follow the recipe.  I only used about half the amount of Splenda though.  I prefer a less sweet rice pudding and I knew I'd be topping it with full fat fresh whipped cream.  

I would like to try using a different sweetener - perhaps erythritol- instead of Splenda, the next time I make this recipe.  I like golden raisins in my rice pudding.  I added a few tablespoons to the recipe.  This increases the carb count, so if you're strictly watching your carbs you may want to leave the raisins out.  I also added a healthy dash of fresh ground nutmeg and ground ginger in addition to the cinnamon listed in the recipe.

The recipe lists baking the mock rice pudding in large or small casserole rounds (ramekins).  However I purchased an aqua speckle 9 inch x 9 inch Paula Deen stoneware casserole baking pan from Walmart.com that I wanted to try out.  What's more homey and Paula Deen-style than a dessert chock full of heavy whipping cream?  This 9x9 stoneware casserole is HUGE.  I seriously wonder if the 9 inch x 9 inch is measured the same way Paula Deen measures butter - generously!  I need to break out the measuring tape and see if it really is truly 9 inches x 9 inches.  It seems much larger.  

I poured the mock rice pudding "batter" into the greased stoneware casserole.  The pudding was very shallow because of my huge pan, but I was determined to use my new Paula Deen stoneware!  For best results, use a smaller baking dish than I did for a thicker pudding.  Unless you too have a Paula Deen stoneware dish you want to break in - then by all means, use it!  

I baked the mock rice pudding for 70 minutes as indicated in the recipe.  The recipe also suggests stirring the pudding halfway through the baking process to evenly distribute the cottage cheese.  However my pudding was baking in such a thin layer that I didn't think the cottage cheese and raisins falling to the bottom of the dish would be a big deal.

The house smelled wonderful while this dessert was baking - cinnamon is such a great aroma.  I have not used my regular sized oven (I'm a toaster oven girl) in months ... maybe even longer.  I wanted to run up and down the halls of my condo screaming "Hey, I'm using the BIG OVEN - not the toaster oven!  Look at me!  I'm BAKING!  No eating Greek yogurt over the kitchen sink!  I'm a CHEF!"  However, my neighbors (most of whom are on the high end of geriatric ... um that means they are really old, not that they are high on marijuana) already think I am a man-crazy, crazy-crazy floozy gal.  Running down the halls screaming about cottage cheese as rice would probably not elevate their opinion of me.    

After 70 minutes, I pulled out the baked mock rice pudding.  It puffed up and had a nice golden color.

Feel free to "ooh" and "aah" over my gorgeous aqua speckle Paula Deen Stoneware

The mock rice pudding certainly smelled like the real thing.  My home smelled wonderful-- cozy, comfort food nirvana!  A good dessert (or one that I hoped was good) deserves a fancy dish.  So voila, my dragonfly bowl from Oahu, Hawaii.  (LilyOnTheLam trivia - Lily's favorite Hawaiian island?  Kaua'i.)  

I cut the thin pudding into nine squares.  The recipe gives the calorie count for 4 or 6 servings.  I used two squares as my serving.  

I stacked the two pieces of mock rice pudding on top of each other.  You can see the large curd cottage cheese bits in the picture below.  No, large curd cottage cheese does not look like rice!

About five minutes before the mock rice pudding was done baking, I poured 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream in my stand mixer.  This will make around 1 cup of whipped cream - a generous amount to top the rice pudding squares.  To the whipping cream, you could add vanilla or almond extract (about 1/8 tsp if you're using almond extract or 1/4 tsp. if using vanilla extract) and 1-3 packets of sweetener.  

I personally prefer to whip the cream without any flavoring or sweetener.  I place the unflavored whipped cream on top of a dessert and then sprinkle 1/3 - 1/2 of a packet of Stevia in the Raw on top of the unflavored, unsweetened whipped cream.  This is just my preference - I don't like overly sweetened whipped cream.  Sprinkling the Stevia on top of the whipped cream adds the right amount of sweetness for me. 

I also like to whip the cream until it is very thick and solid - a few minutes away from butter!  (See below)

I topped the warm mock rice pudding with a generous scoop of unflavored, unsweetened whipped cream and then sprinkled some Stevia in the Raw on the cream.  Ahhhh it smelled so good, I could not wait to take the first bite!

          
The Verdict?:  Is there such a thing as Rice Pudding-flavored cheesecake?  This warm mock rice pudding did really taste like rice pudding with a cheesecake like twist.  OK rice pudding where the rice had been blended until smooth.  I agree with Linda of Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - this really is better tasting than rice pudding.  Sometimes rice pudding is made with a starchier variety of rice and the rice pudding can have a wallpaper paste like texture.  You won't find that taste here.  The golden raisins really did make this mock rice pudding taste like real rice pudding.  Had I left out the golden raisins I think this would have tasted more like hot cheesecake.  It was very rich - especially with the fresh whipped cream topping.  

Linda says she prefers to eat this rice pudding cold.  I ate it both ways (I'm doing it all for you, LilyOnTheLam.com readers!)  I like it both ways, but my preference is eating it warm with the whipping cream starting to melt down the sides.  Very rich.  Very delicious.

I tip my hat to you "Mock Rice Pudding Recipe," you really do taste like rice pudding.  A+++ recipe.  I would make you all the time, except as I said above "Low carb does not equal low calorie."  With one cup of heavy whipping cream in the recipe (plus extra for topping), this is definitely a once in awhile dessert.  I walked eight miles today, so I don't feel too bad eating it though.  Who would have guessed a mock recipe really does taste better than the real thing?

Maybe it's time I try that cauliflower for pizza crust recipe from YourLighterSide.com after all ...         

P.S. There is such a thing as rice pudding cheesecake!  Check out a recipe from Kraft Foods here and a recipe for a pretty awesome looking one on Free Spirit Eater. 

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I love my Paula Deen stoneware - good quality and attractive.