Riskrem

Riskrem is made by cooking rice slowly in milk into risgrot, a porridge eaten hot on its own with butter, cinnamon and sugar, and then chilling it and folding in whipped cream, sugar and vanilla to make a cold dessert served with a warm red sauce of raspberries or strawberries. It belongs to Christmas Eve, when it is served after the main meal or, in many households, as lunch on the day itself. One whole blanched almond is hidden in the bowl, and whoever finds it wins a marzipan pig, a prize that generates real competition among children and a certain amount of concealment among adults who find it early. Restaurants serve it through December.

What you actually see

• The folded cream - cold rice porridge lightened with whipped cream.
• The red sauce - warm raspberry or strawberry sauce poured over.
• The hidden almond - one whole almond concealed in the bowl.
• The marzipan pig - the prize for whoever finds it.

When to go

December, when it appears on restaurant menus and in every household over the Christmas period; it is occasionally served at other times but the association is firmly seasonal.

Honest expectations

It is bland by design, a mild sweet dessert rather than a striking one, and visitors often find it underwhelming. The almond is a genuine choking risk for young children. Restaurant versions rarely include the almond ritual.

Nearby

Christmas markets and December restaurant menus across the country serve it.