Molded Rice Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Riz à l’impératrice—Rice in the Empress’s Style—is one of the most traditional French desserts and, as the name suggests, a luxurious one. It is traditionally molded in a low smooth-sided ring mold called a savarin ring, with a Bavarian cream base—custard set with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream. Here’s a new version, inspired by the traditional one, but radically simplified and lightened. The caramel sauce is clear and deeply flavored.