Earl Grey Pear Rice Pudding Squares with Lemon Yogurt Cream

Earl Grey Pear Rice Pudding Squares with Lemon Yogurt Cream 🍐☕ This is rice pudding reworked into a sliceable, tea-time dessert: creamy Earl Grey-infused rice, soft pears, vanilla, lemon and a cool spoon of yogurt cream. The texture should be tender and set, not dry, with the pears staying visible on top like a simple orchard tart. It is cozy enough for a weekend bake and neat enough to cut into squares for a dessert board. 🥄 Yield: 9 squares Time: about 1 hour 20 minutes, plus cooling Ingredients: For the Earl Grey rice pudding: - 900 ml whole milk - 3 Earl Grey tea bags, or 2 tbsp loose Earl Grey tea - 160 g pudding rice or arborio rice - 55 g caster sugar or light brown sugar - 1 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the tin - 1 tsp vanilla extract - 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest - 1/4 tsp fine salt - 2 large eggs, lightly beaten - 2 ripe but firm pears, peeled if you like, cored and thinly sliced - 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup, for brushing the pears For the lemon yogurt cream: - 220 g thick Greek yogurt - 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup - 1 tbsp lemon juice - 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract - Pinch of fine salt Method: 1. Infuse the milk. Heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming, not boiling. Add the Earl Grey tea, cover and steep for 6-8 minutes. Remove the tea bags or strain the loose tea. The milk should taste fragrant but not bitter. 2. Cook the rice. Stir the rice, sugar, butter and salt into the tea milk. Simmer gently for 22-28 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is tender and creamy. Keep the heat low so the milk does not catch on the base. 3. Cool slightly. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool for 8-10 minutes. It should still be loose and spoonable because it will set more in the oven. 4. Prepare the tin. Heat the oven to 170C / 340F. Butter and line a 20 cm / 8 inch square tin with baking paper, leaving overhang for lifting. 5. Add the eggs. Stir vanilla and lemon zest into the rice. Slowly stir in the beaten eggs until fully combined. If the rice is very hot, add the eggs gradually while stirring so they do not scramble. 6. Build the squares. Spoon the rice mixture into the tin and level the top. Arrange the pear slices over the surface, overlapping slightly. Brush the pears with honey or maple syrup. 7. Bake. Bake for 32-38 minutes, until the centre has a gentle wobble, the edges are set and the pears look glossy. Do not overbake, or the squares will lose their creamy texture. 8. Cool and slice. Cool in the tin for at least 1 hour. For the cleanest squares, chill for 45 minutes before slicing into 9 pieces. 9. Make the lemon yogurt cream. Stir Greek yogurt with honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla and salt. Keep it cold and spoon it over the squares just before serving. 🍽️ Serving and storage: - Serve chilled, room temperature or gently warmed. - Add toasted almonds, pistachios or a dusting of cinnamon if you want a little crunch. - Store the squares covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. - Keep the yogurt cream separate so the top stays neat. - If reheating, warm gently and add the cold cream at the table. Save this for pear season, slow breakfasts and cozy dessert plates. 🌿