These paletas de arroz con leche (rice pudding ice cream) are creamy, soft, and chewy, in the best way! If you’ve never had arroz con leche before, it basically has the flavor of horchata, but with soft & chewy rice throughout.
I have to admit, this recipe took me multiple test runs to get down. My first batch came out WAY too starchy, which made paletas with a very gummy & unpleasant mouthfeel.
The starch became a problem for me. At first I thought it was perfect that rice is starchy- that means no need for a stabilizer right? Nope! I guess rice starch just isn’t it when it comes to ice cream texture. Use the stabilizer! More on this later.
Ingredients:
Long grain rice- I recommend washing the rice for the best results. If it’s too starchy, the texture of the paleta will be gummy and unpleasant.
Cream- a combination of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and crema Mexicana. Mexican crema is not as sour as American sour cream, so don’t worry about that ingredient- just trust me on this!
Spices- salt, vanilla extract & cinnamon (stick & ground)
Cellulose gum – This is the secret to making the paletas smooth & creamy, NOT icy. More details about this below.
How to achieve a smooth, creamy texture
Use cellulose gum in your cream base. The cream base has milk, crema Mexicana (creme fraiche), and sweetened condensed milk.
If you don’t have cellulose gum, it’s totally fine to leave it out since rice has starch which can help with texture. However, I still highly recommend the cellulose gum because it really helps to stabilize ice cream so it’s really smooth and creamy, with a pleasant mouthfeel.
Sweetness
I don’t like super sweet desserts so my recipe is a bit on the conservative side with the sugar (sweetened condensed milk). Make adjustments according to your taste.
Paletas, especially fruit based ones, tend to lose some of its flavor and sweetness when they are frozen, so keep that in mind before you freeze your mixture. For arroz con leche in particular, you’ll definitely want to add more sweetener than you think you need.
Equipment needed
To make paletas, you will need a popsicle mold, popsicle sticks, and plastic bags for storing. You will also need a blender and electric hand mixer.
I recommend a silicone popsicle mold because they are easier to remove the popsicles from. The exact one I have is no longer available on Amazon, but I found a similar one that you can purchase. It also comes with the popsicle sticks and baggies. Here is the link to purchase:
What is the difference between a popsicle and a paleta?
Though similar, paletas and popsicles do have some key differences that make paletas way better, in my opinion.
Popsicles are mass produced and have lots of preservatives and artificial flavoring. Paletas use natural ingredients like fruits and are made fresh, so they don’t require artificial flavoring or preservatives.
Paletas also have a rich history and are culturally important to Mexican street snacks. Nowadays, you will find plenty of brick and mortar paleta shops but it is still common to get your paletas on the street from paleteros (ice cream carts).
Two Types of Paletas
There are MANY paleta flavors & combinations, but there are generally 2 types of paletas made:
Water based- these are typically fruit pops that have a water or juice base. These paletas are more true to the integrity of the fruits, and are also healthier (and vegan too!). A few of my favorites on the blog are lime, strawberry, and mango & chamoy!
Cream based- these are creamy paletas with a texture that is more similar to ice cream than a popsicle. They usually have some combination of heavy cream, milk, mexican crema, and/or sweetened condensed milk. These also tend to have more flavors available because it isn’t limited to fruits- some common popular flavors are coconut, coffee, strawberry, and pistachio.
Try some of my other paleta recipes:
Click here to see a list of ALL of my paleta recipes!
Paletas de Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding Ice Cream)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup long grain rice uncooked
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk or regular whole milk
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1 cup Mexican crema
- 1/4 tsp cellulose gum
Instructions
- Rinse the rice. A little starch is needed, but too much will make the overall texture gummy.
- In your smallest sauce pan, add 1 cup of water and a cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil.*Photo shows two cinnamon sticks because mine were lacking in fragrance. I recommend only using one!
- Add the rice to the pot, then cover and cook over low-ish heat for about 12 minutes. Careful not to let the rice burn at the bottom!
- Next add the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens slightly and the rice has absorbed some milk (about 10-15 minutes). Do not let it come to a rolling boil- just let it cook hot enough that there is steam, and make sure to stir frequently. Optional: add some ground cinnamon. There is enough cinnamon flavor from the stick in my opinion, but the ground cinnamon adds a stronger flavor and it also looks pretty with specks of cinnamon in the paleta.
- Remove the cinnamon stick, then pour the thickened mixture into a large measuring glass (you can instead put the rest of the ingredients straight into the pot if you want to, but it will take longer to cool down)
- Add the Mexican crema (preferably straight from the fridge and cold, to help bring down the temperature of the mixture faster)
- Using an electric hand mixer on high, slowly sprinkle in the cellulose gum while the mixer is ON, so that the powder distributes evenly and doesn't clump. The cellulose gum works as a stabilizer and gives you a paleta that is creamy, not icy.
- At this point, taste test for sweetness. Keep in mind that once frozen, it will lose a little bit of sweetness, so make it a little sweeter than desired.
- Pour mixture into a sanitized popsicle mold. Slide in the popsicle sticks and freeze for at least 8 hours. To remove the paletas from the mold, place it in warm water for about 20 seconds to loosen. With a little wiggling and force, the popsicles will slide right out.
- Because there is rice in this paleta, I recommend letting sit out at room temp for a few minutes before eating it. The rice should be soft and chewy, not hard!
