Thai-Style Baked Rice Pudding

There was a rice cake that my dad used to make that I really loved. It was made of black glutinous rice. He doesn't make it anymore, but I always remind him how much I loved it. Maybe its because he's been too busy lately baby-sitting my daughter, among other things, that he doesn't have time to anymore. He would tell me how hard it was to stir the mixture because it was such a thick and heavy mixture. He isn't getting any younger and he isn't as strong as he used to be. But I would hate to not have a taste of it ever again.

Thanks to my Thai cookbook, I found something similar to my dad's rice cake. Although its a rice pudding, the taste is almost there and I presume that this was a lot easier to make than how my dad would normally make it by stirring a heavy mixture. I've altered the recipe a bit by adding 3 more tablespoons of brown sugar and 1/2 cup more water to make it a more sweet and softer rice. Hubby doesn't really care too much for rice cakes, but I'll be making this again to get my rice cake fix.

1 cup white or black glutinous rice

5 Tbsp light brown sugar

2 cups coconut milk

1 1/2 cup water

3 eggs

2 Tbsp white sugar

1) Combine glutinous rice and brown sugar in a pan. Pour in 1 cup of coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid. Stir occasionally. Preheat oven to 300 deg F.

2) Spoon rice mixture into a large dish or divide among individual ramekins.

3) In a large bowl, beat eggs with remaining 1 cup coconut milk and sugar. Strain egg mixture into a pitcher, then pour even over the par-cooked rice in the dish or ramekins.

4) Place the dish or ramekins in a roasting pan. Carefully pour enough hot water in the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the dish or ramekins. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes or until the custard has set, depending on the size of your dish. Serve warm or cold.