Butterscotch Pudding

Oops, a touch late with this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays, but boy, are these worth the wait!! In the UK, we don't really have pudding and I honestly can't say it ever appealed. I think I imagined something like Angel Delight which, quite frankly, scarred me as a child. But these?? Well! Let's clear one thing up - they're nothing like Angel Delight (which, if you haven't tried it, isn't the least bit delightful).

These bear a much closer resemblance to crème brulees, both in texture and method. I called on JJ to help with these as he is the official crème brulee master in our house. He doesn’t tend to cook that much (mostly because I politely tell him to stop stirring the sauce and no, that lasagna does not need chilli added to it) but what he does cook, he thoroughly researches, tweaks and makes repeatedly until he perfects the recipe to his exacting standards. And crème brulees fall into that category (was that ever a bad month for the waist line!).

So when I presented him with a ramekin of pudding to try, he immediately asked whether he could get the blow torch out and brulee the tops. His method produces the most stunning glassy finish ever – caster sugar spread in a uniform layer on the surface then, with a small spray bottle, gently spritz the surface with water. This helps the sugar dissolve slightly and prevents clumping of the caramelizing sugar.

These puddings are stunning. Just stunning. I had to barricade the fridge to stop JJ eating the lot before I had a chance to photograph them. Now, I’ve never had another pudding to compare these to, but I doubt anything could come as close to sweet, creamy, dreamy heaven as these do! The brulee top was gorgeous but they were equally delicious with a cloud of cream and a sprinkling of nuts.

So thank you so much to Jen of Maple n’ Cornbread for introducing me to the world of puddings – I’m not sure I can wait until someone picks the chocolate version in the cookbook to make it!! Don’t forget to check out the other bakers’ blogs and if you would like the recipe (and TRUST ME, you want this recipe) you can find it here*!

Rosy xx

*lots of other bakers reported that the 1tsp salt called for made the puddings far too salty. I didn’t find this, but then I’m always cautious when using American recipes as they so often use kosher salt which has larger grains than regular table salt. So a word of warning! When making this, maybe just use 1/2tsp rather than the full amount.