Place the rice, milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon stick into a non-stick saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered but stirring occasionally for 35 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Stir in the vanilla extract, the heavy cream and any other flavoring ingredients you choose. Loosen to the desired consistency.

Remove the cinnamon stick and decide if you are serving this warm or cold. If you are serving this warm, spoon the pudding into bowls, topping with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or a little heavy cream, some nuts, raisins, chocolate, or whatever you like. If you are serving this cold later, transfer the pudding to a baking dish and cover with plastic wrap (pressing the wrap right down onto the surface of the pudding). You may need to loosen the pudding again once it is cool.