Today is National Butterscotch Pudding Day! 🌞

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING

Karen DeMasco, the pastry chef at Craftbar, gave butterscotch pudding
some gentility. She cut out the cornstarch, which so many recipes call for—
cornstarch is just a cheat’s shortcut to thickening, and a sure way to get a
sticky pudding—reduced the sugar, and added more salt. Her pudding is
light and milky, like a good panna cotta, and as intense as a caramel.
The salt in her recipe plays with your head, flickering over your palate
like candlelight. The pudding is salty, you think. No, no, it’s just rich and
sweet. I must taste it again to see.

Once when I made this, I let the pudding come to room temperature, then
thinly paved the top with chilled crème fraîche, completely covering the
pudding. That way, in every bite you got a temperature contrast and the
right amount of tangy cream.
———
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crème fraîche for serving

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Warm the milk, cream, and brown sugar in
a medium pan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the granulated sugar and water in a deep heavy
pan, place over medium heat, and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the
sugar. Then monitor closely, swirling the pan so the syrup cooks evenly,
until the syrup is a very light golden caramel. Remove it from the heat. Put
on oven mitts and slowly whisk about a cup of the milk mixture into the
caramel; it will bubble up violently. Stir until smooth. Add this to the rest of
the milk.

3. Lightly beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Ladle some of the milk mixture into
the eggs, whisking, to temper them. Add the eggs to the milk and whisk to
combine. Stir in the salt and vanilla, and strain.

4. Pour the custard into 4 crème brûlée dishes or 8-ounce ramekins. Place
the dishes in a baking pan and pour enough boiling water to come halfway
up the sides of the dishes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake
for 15 minutes, then carefully lift up the aluminum foil to let out somesteam.
Reseal the pan, turn it 180 degrees, and continue baking, checking
every 10 minutes. The pudding is done when the sides are set but the center
is still wobbly when you shake the dish, about 25 to 35 minutes longer.

5. Remove from the water bath and let cool to room temperature, then chill.
Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche atop each pudding.

SERVES 4

APRIL 2, 2003: “TEMPTATIONS: A DUET OF PUDDINGS, PLAYING TASTE NOTES THAT TEASE,” BY AMANDA
HESSER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM KAREN DEMASCO, THE PASTRY CHEF AT CRAFT AND CRAFTBAR IN
MANHATTAN.
—2003

From "The Essential NYT Cookbook"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53681187-the-essential-new-york-times-cookbook

Mmmm Sweet!