This luxurious butterscotch pudding is made from a wet caramel base. The caramel flavor surprises you at the end of each bite, making you want more.
My amazing husband has been doing the grocery shopping for us since our state’s stay-at-home orders. Those of you who have been here a while know that I dealt with a long bout of bronchitis last year. Technically speaking, it was a post-viral asthmatic bronchitis. It resulted from a perfect storm of allergy season, a lingering cold, and aging. The bronchitis lasted a good 4-5 months before it went away. However, last fall, it started back up again, although to a much more manageable degree. These days, I just get some yucky stuff stuck in my chest, but it doesn’t bother me.
Since my husband wanted to keep me healthy, he’s done all the grocery shopping. One evening, he came back with a little container of heavy cream. Because I didn’t have any meals planned that used heavy cream, I asked Addie what I should make with it. She happily requested butterscotch pudding. While I’ve made her butterscotch pudding before (plus this vegan version), I wanted to try a new recipe.
I have to admit that this butterscotch pudding was NOT love at first bite. It didn’t have the pronounced caramel flavor that I was accustomed to with traditional butterscotch puddings. However, after I finished the first bite, that’s when I got the flavor punch. Bam! My tastebuds were happy and wanted more.
My husband and Addie, however, loved this pudding as soon as they put it in their mouth. Maybe my tastebuds were just plain lazy, but I don’t know why it took my brain so long to like this. Perhaps I was skeptical about the wet caramel method for this pudding. I’m used making caramel out of plain sugar, adding heavy cream to it, and then liquifying the hardened caramel. Nevertheless, I ended up being a fan of the pudding. Although I used a sieve to get rid of any cooked eggy bits, my final pudding was still a bit grainy. But that’s most likely an error on my part – I know you can do better than me!
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Smitten Kitchen's butterscotch pudding
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup heavy cream cold
- 1 cup milk whole milk or lowfat
- 2 Tablespoons corn starch
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix together the sugar, water and salt. Turn the stove to medium high and DO NOT STIR THE PAN.
- Once the sugar mixture turns a dark brown and smells like caramel (be careful that the caramel doesn't burn!), take it off the stove and pour in the cold cream. Your pan may sizzle and bubble. Then pour in the milk. Put the saucepan back on the stove and stir, stir, stir until it comes up to a boil.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together the corn starch with the egg and egg yolks. Pour about ½ to 1 cup of the hot caramel mixture and stir vigorously. Pour this into the saucepan and constantly whisk or else your eggs will scramble. Keep stirring until the pudding thickens up.
- Set a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Pour the pudding into the sieve to strain out any egg yolks that might have cooked. Discard the cooked egg. Then whisk in the butter and vanilla until the butter is fully melted.
- Evenly distribute the pudding into 4 to 6 cups, ramekins or other serving vessels. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 2 hours and enjoy.