Butterscotch Pudding With Maple Whipped Cream Food

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING WITH MAPLE WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup and the salt to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.
• In small bowl, stir cornstarch into 1/4 cup of the milk until dissolved. Add egg yolks; beat with whisk until blended.
• Into saucepan with brown sugar mixture, pour remaining 2 3/4 cups milk and the cornstarch mixture. Heat to boiling over medium heat, beating constantly. When pudding comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat. Pour pudding through strainer into large bowl. Stir in whiskey and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap touching surface of pudding. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.
• In chilled medium bowl, beat whipping cream and 2 tablespoons maple syrup with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Store in refrigerator until serving time.
• To serve, divide pudding into individual dessert bowls. Top each with maple whipped cream and maple flakes.

CREAMY BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING

Steps:

• Add the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, maple syrup and salt to a medium saucepot. Turn the heat to medium-high and allow the sugar to caramelize until it becomes deep amber and begin to smoke slightly, about 8 minutes. Add the heavy cream and milk and stir until the caramel melts back down (it will firm up when the milk goes in). Reduce the heat to medium.
• Whisk together the cornstarch, eggs and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Add a cup of the caramel to the eggs, mixing vigorously until combined, then add the egg mixture to the caramel and stir to temper. Mix constantly until it starts to bubble and thicken, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir to combine. Pour the pudding into 4 serving cups and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the pudding is cool and set, 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Dollop each serving with whipped cream and sprinkle with a pinch of flaky salt. Enjoy!

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDINGS WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND CRUSHED ENGLISH TOFFEE

Steps:

• Whisk 1 cup half and half, egg yolks, and cornstarch in medium bowl until smooth. Combine remaining 2 cups half and half, brown sugar, and salt in heavy medium saucepan. Bring just to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Gradually whisk hot half and half mixture into egg yolk mixture. Strain mixture back into same saucepan. Whisk over medium-low heat until mixture just boils and thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter, Scotch, and vanilla.
• Divide pudding mixture among six 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Cover ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.
• Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon large dollops of whipped cream atop pudings. Sprinkle with crushed toffee and serve.
• GOOD TO KNOW:
• Crushing the toffee bar with a mallet while the bar is still in its wrapper helps keep the crushed pieces contained. W hisking the hot half and half into the egg yolks gradually-instead of all at once-keeps the mixture from curdling. And finally, straining the pudding mixture helps get the smoothest, silkiest result.
• *Vanilla paste, made with vanilla bean seeds, packs big flavor. It can be found at Trader Joe's markets, specialty foods stores, and surfasonline.com.