Fluffy baked rice pudding with quark and apples: a sweet lunch with a strudel aroma

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1. Cook the rice in milk

   30 min

   Rinse the rice in a strainer. Bring the milk, salt, and vanilla sugar to a boil. Add the rice and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, until tender and thick like porridge. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Prepare the apples

   10 min

   Peel and coarsely grate the apples, then mix with the cinnamon, 1 tbsp sugar, and lemon juice. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F), conventional (top and bottom heat), and grease a baking dish measuring about 20 × 30 cm with butter.

3. Fold in the quark and beaten egg whites

   10 min

   Mix the quark with the egg yolks, 80 g sugar, melted butter, and lemon zest, then stir into the lukewarm rice. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the rice with a spatula to avoid deflating them.

4. Assemble the layers

   5 min

   Spread half the rice mixture in the baking dish. Distribute the apples and their juices over it, then cover with the remaining rice mixture. Smooth the top.

5. Bake

   50 min

   Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the top is golden. Let the pudding stand for 10 minutes so it can be sliced, then serve warm.

Tip: Short-grain rice works best for this pudding: cooked in milk, it becomes creamy and holds together. Tart apples, such as Idared, balance the sweet rice and quark. Read more: Frozen lemons: why to freeze them and use the peel

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Nadýchaný ryžový nákyp s tvarohom a jablkami: sladký obed z rúry, ktorý vonia ako štrúdľa