Week 9 of the Reddit baking challenge was Latin America and any recipe we decided, so after looking at tons of recipes, I decided to do Arroz con Leche, with translates to rice with milk, which is a sweet rice pudding. Most of the recipes I found used raisins, and I’m not a huge fan of raisins, so after a conversation with a co-worker, I decided to go a pina colada route. Instead of raisins soaked in rum, I would use rum soaked, dried pineapple and for the milk, I would substitute coconut milk. The end result, topped with some like zest, ended up being pretty delicious. I found this recipe is better served warm and if needed, can be warmed up in the microwave the next day for 30 seconds or so. Because I have never made sweet rice, I used this recipe as a guide.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces dried pineapple chopped
• 2.6 ounces dark rum
• 1/2 cup of white rice
• 1 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk
• 1 13.5 ounce can of coconut cream
• 4 ounces pineapple juice
• 4 ounces of water
• 4 ounces crushed pineapple
• 5.3 ounces granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Juice of one lime
• Zest of one lime

Steps

1. Put dried pineapple in a bowl and pour in dark rum. Let sit overnight for the rum to soak into the pineapple.
2. In a medium pan, combine the rice, can of coconut milk, pineapple juice, water and salt and cook over medium heat until liquid is boiling.
3. Once boiling, cover and simmer, stirring frequently to avoid the rice from sticking until the liquid is absorbed.
4. Add in the sugar and coconut cream and continue to cook on low, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes, or until mixture is thickened.
5. Add in the pineapple and whatever rum is leftover, and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
6. Take off the heat and stir in the lime juice and zest.
7. Allow to cool a bit and enjoy!