Serves 4 - 6 people.

For the salted caramel sauce:

Put all the ingredients except the whipped cream into a saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring often to prevent burning, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed and has thickened to a pouring consistency. This takes about 30 minutes.
Pour onto a flat dish and cover with cling film to prevent a skin forming, then let it cool. When the rice pudding has cooled, fold in the whipped cream.
For the caramel sauce, put the sugar into a saucepan, add enough water so it resembles wet sand, and boil until a light caramel colour is reached.
Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the butter and cream, then return to the heat, bring back to the boil, and add sea salt.
Toast the nuts in the oven. Put the sugar in a wide saucepan, add enough water so it resembles wet sand, and cook until the sugar is on the verge of caramelising.
Turn off the heat and add the nuts, stirring vigorously. The nuts will crystallise, turning white and coated in sugar. Turn the heat back on and stir continuously to re-caramelise. The nuts should be individually coated in a crusted caramel sugar.
Serve a small bowl of rice pudding with a little caramel sauce drizzled on top and the warm caramel sauce and nuts on the side.