Baked Rice Pudding

This weekend has definitely been a weekend for a comforting, warming dessert. I tried making this recipe a couple of months ago but failed as I a) didn't read the recipe carefully enough and didn't realise just how long it would take and b) didn't own a suitable dish to make it in. The dish situation was rectified through the Marks and Spencer's sale where I purchased a shiny new dish with a lid. Be warned - the pudding needs a long time to cook (just under 4 hours) so you will need to plan and prepare ahead! It is easy to prepare and doesn't require a lot of attention. This is a Jo Wheatley recipe from her 'Home Baking' book and serves 6-8. You will need a round glass dish (Pyrex or similar) 18cm wide and 8cm deep with a lid (my dish was a little bigger than this).

Ingredients:

125g pudding rice
800ml full-fat milk
100ml double cream
60g caster sugar
50g unsalted butter (cubed)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I didn't use this)

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2) Tip the rice, 700ml of the milk, the cream, sugar and butter into the dish and stir gently to combine. Place the dish, with the lid on, on a baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

3) Turn the oven down to 100C/200F/Gas 1/2 and bake the pudding for a further 2 1/2 hours until the rice is tender and half of the liquid has been absorbed. (This is what it should look like at this point.)

4) Stir through the remaining milk and sprinkle over the grated nutmeg (if using). Turn the oven up to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and return the pudding to the oven without its lid.
5) Cook for a further hour or until the rice is plump and tender.