This decadent cinnamon-spiced vegan rice pudding, topped with a thick salted medjool date caramel sauce, is the embodiment of lavishness, and truly a confluence of flavors and sensations that represents the joy and jubilance of the holiday season. Arborio rice, when imbibed with almond and coconut milk, takes on a creamy and full-bodied bite, complimented astoundingly well by the smooth and sea salt flaked date caramel sitting atop it.
Add the almond milk, coconut milk, arborio rice, sugar, salt and cinnamon stick to a medium pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with a lid, and let the rice pudding simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, make the salted date caramel by combining roughly chopped dates, warm water, coconut yogurt, almond milk, ground cinnamon and salt together in a food processor until very smooth. Add more water for a thinner consistency of the caramel, if you'd like. Store the caramel in an air-tight container in the fridge until you're ready to use it. Helpful tip: If you're planning to double this recipe, don't double the date caramel ingredients. I actually had an excess of date caramel, but better too much than too little.
After the rice pudding has simmered for 15 minutes covered and the rice is becoming more al dente, uncover the pot and continue simmering the pudding on a low heat for 7 - 10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and the rice is perfectly tender without being mushy.
Remove the rice pudding from the heat, and take out the cinnamon stick. Gently fold in the vanilla extract and ground cinnamon, and then transfer the pudding to a bowl. Let the rice pudding cool for about 15 minutes uncovered, and then cover and store in the fridge until it's entirely chilled, about 2 - 3 hours.
Now you're ready to serve it! Scoop some rice pudding into some kind of fancy cup or glass, top it with a dollop of date caramel, and then sprinkle on some sea salt flakes.