This classic butterscotch pudding from the New York Times is thick and creamy. Top it with whipped cream or chocolate shavings!
It’s no secret in the Eva Bakes household that one of Addie’s favorite dessert flavors is butterscotch. She told me recently that she wanted some butterscotch pudding, so I happily went to search for a recipe. While I’ve made butterscotch pudding before, I wanted to try one that I hadn’t made previously.
Addie went to look for some eggless recipes since I ran out of eggs one week. The ones she and I both found were… uninspiring. Several used rarer ingredients like xantham gum, which I don’t have. So we nixed that idea and decided to make one with egg yolks after I had finally bought some eggs.
I found this one on the New York Times website that looked encouraging. She and I spent some time one lazy Sunday morning to make it together. I told Addie not to worry when the caramel seized up after we added the cold milk and heavy cream. As expected, the caramel came together after we continued heating it up and letting it re-melt.
While the pudding was good, it wasn’t phenomenal. Yes, it was thick, and yes, it was creamy. But the texture was a bit off – it felt more curdled than I liked. And no, that wasn’t because of the egg yolks because we strained those out after the pudding finished cooking. I made sure that the corn starch was not clumpy, so the lumpy parts of my pudding weren’t from unmixed bits of corn starch or egg yolks.
As a result, Addie and I both gave this pudding a lower score. Was it good? Sure. But I am not sure that I would make this version again. My husband disagreed and gave this a glowing review. He didn’t mind any of the texture in the pudding and really enjoyed the flavor, so there’s that.
Husband’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Butterscotch pudding from the New York Times
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3 Tablespoons corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, corn starch, and salt until it is lump-free. Set aside.
- In a medium sized saucepan set over medium heat, warm up the brown sugar and butter until the brown sugar fully melts into a liquid, about 3-5 minutes.
- Allow the mixture to cook another minute or so. It will start to darken in color and smell like it's starting to burn.
- Take the saucepan off the stove and immediately add in the milk and heavy cream. Keep stirring and put the saucepan back on the burner. Continue to whisk until the hardened caramel re-melts. This may take about 5 minutes or so.
- Pour about ½ to 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the large bowl with the corn starch mixture. Whisk well until there are no more corn starch lumps. Pour this back into the saucepan and continue whisking until the pudding boils.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and continue whisking until the mixture thickens.
- Place a fine mesh sieve over another large heatproof container. Pour the pudding through the sieve to drain out any cooked egg bits. Stir in the vanilla and mix well.
- Divide the pudding among 4-6 ramekins. Place plastic wrap over the top and chill in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until cooled.
- Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, or baking chips as desired.