Best Rice Pudding

Boozy Fruit

Combine brown sugar, rum, orange juice, and a splash of water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes. Stir in dried fruit and cook until liquid is syrupy, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool.

Rice Pudding

Combine milk, rice, cream, sugar, cinnamon sticks, orange peel, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add pod. Bring to a rapid simmer, stirring occasionally to ensure mixture doesn't stick to pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally and scraping all the way down to the bottom of the pot to make sure mixture doesn't stick or scorch, until rice is tender and mixture is thickened, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Discard vanilla bean, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel. Quickly and thoroughly stir in egg yolk until completely incorporated. Keep pudding warm, covered, or let cool, then cover and transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely. Serve warm or chilled, topped with boozy fruit.

Do Ahead: Rice pudding and boozy fruit can be made up to 2 days ahead. Reheat pudding over medium heat, with a splash of milk or cream.