Classic Butterscotch Pudding | The Magic of Butter and Brown Sugar

Watch my butterscotch pudding recipe web story here.

Your Butterscotch Pudding was amazing. As for freezing it – well there was none left to freeze!
The trifle turned out great. A really good winter dessert. (We live in New Zealand) Thank you again for your advice on what to expect from the way the butterscotch separates and comes back again.

Reader and Butterscotch Lover Alison

What Makes This Recipe So Great

If you look at a lot of recipes for butterscotch pudding, you’ll find that most have you:

• melt butter
• add brown sugar
• add the rest of the ingredients
• cook until thickened

While I have made this version before, I contend this is not real butterscotch.

The real magic happens when you cook the butter and brown sugar together until the butter browns and the sugar caramelizes.

You’ll know it’s ready when it just barely starts to smoke and smell caramelized.

It’s the magical combination of browned butter and caramelized sugar with an undercurrent of molasses that defines the flavor “butterscotch.”

And you can’t get it without cooking the butter and brown sugar together for a pretty long time.

What Does It Taste Like?

Old-fashioned butterscotch pudding has a deep and rich flavor. It is not too sweet, and it has just a bit of a bitter edge from the caramelized sugar and the molasses.

It contains enough salt to round out the flavor, although when you taste it, you don’t think, “Hey, this pudding is salty!”

Butterscotch is the perfect blend of browned butter, caramelized sugar, a touch of molasses, and salt. Think toffee, but without any nuts in it.

If you want to explore that further, you can read my recipe for cashew toffee.

How to Make Butterscotch for the Pudding

The ingredients themselves are very simple and straightfoward. Making butterscotch is really all about the technique rather than using specialty ingredients.

Ingredients

• brown sugar: since the flavor profile includes molasses, I prefer to use dark brown sugar. If all you have is light brown, you can also add an additional 2 teaspoons of molasses if you have it
• butter: I like to use unsalted since it’s easier to control the overall amount of salt when I add my own
• salt: I generally use kosher salt. Salt plays a big role in the flavor of butterscotch, so don’t skimp
• egg yolks: provides richness and is what makes this a custard rather than “just” a pudding. For a bit less richness, you can go with 2 or even 1 yolk
• cornstarch: provides thickening power and body. When using cornstarch, you have to boil it for 2 full minutes. You can substitute all purpose flour if you want. In that case, you only need to boil your mixture for about 20 seconds
• milk: I prefer whole milk, but you can also use 2%.
• vanilla extract: rounds out the flavors

A Note About the Video

The video I’ve chosen for this post is of me making butterscotch creme brulee, but the butterscotch making process is exactly the same.

Since making butterscotch is the most important part of making this pudding, please take a look so you know what to expect.

Making the Butterscotch

Keep in mind this is just one step in the process of making this recipe. But it is the most vital step.

But I’m breaking the “how to make it” part out so you can get a feel for it. Be sure to have the rest of your ingredients ready to go, because you’ll continue making the pudding after you make the butterscotch.

Time needed: about 20 minutes.

1. Melt the butter together with the dark brown sugar and salt.
2. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly. At first, it will be hard to get the butter and sugar to blend together. Then all of a sudden, it’ll be a smooth, boiling mixture. Keep cooking and stirring.
3. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the sugar caramelizes. Once your butterscotch is boiling, continue cooking. First the butter will separate out again and you think you will have messed up. But then it will come back together after a couple of minutes of cooking and stirring. Once it comes back together, that’s when you add the milk. Hopefully these photos will come in handy.

Troubleshooting Butterscotch Pudding

A pinner left this comment over on Pinterest:

Made this 3x tonight. First time, it never broke like the recipe said it would. Used my judgement and added the milk before it burned. Second batch, waited longer to see if it broke and came back together… never did. Tasted horrible and burned. Threw it out. Made 3rd batch and added milk early again and it turned out great! Great flavor, but if you follow the recipe, you will burn it!

Pinner Karyn

Then, reader Hassan said this in a comment on the post:

Tried this and failed abjectly… I kept waiting for the butter to separate out but it never did and I scorched the sugar waiting. Final product looks like chocolate pudding and tastes… inedible. Maybe some indication of how long to cook the sugar would help idiots like me. Also I assumed the salt goes with the butter and sugar?

Reader Hassan

I thought I’d better address this so you don’t run into the same issue.

Every time I have ever made butterscotch, the mixture has “broken” and then come back together before caramelizing.

I guess this is not always everyone’s experience. So, here’s what to look for before adding your cream:

Once you see/smell these signs, immediately remove your butterscotch from the heat and add the dairy.

NOTE: You can make this pudding before the color darkens, before the sugar starts to caramelize, and before it begins to smoke just a tiny bit like Karyn did, but the flavor will not be as intense or as deep.

To reiterate, the butterscotch making is the most important part of making this recipe.

Here’s a reader’s take on making their butterscotch for this pudding:

I pinned this recipe ages ago and finally tried it out last night. It was a success! I did experience the sugar and butter separating like you said, but I see how someone else might not see it because it’s not necessarily super obvious that it’s separated. For me it looked like the sugar and butter solids had blended together but the water in the butter had oozed out a bit and I could see it in streaks in the pot. So maybe other people wouldn’t call that “separated”. But it did definitely look “sad”! But it came back together, and the final result was very butterscotch-y and delicious! Will definitely be making this one again.

Reader and Butterscotch Lover Jem

If you’re concerned you may overshoot the mark, definitely err on the side of caution and add the milk sooner rather than later.

Once you get the hang of it, though, you’ll be able to get the depth of flavor and slight smokiness that makes butterscotch such a complex flavor.

PS I also amended the recipe to indicate when to add the salt. Thanks for that catch, Hassan. Also, I sincerely doubt you are an idiot.

Pro Tip to Make Sure the Sugar Dissolves When You’re Making Butterscotch

Making the Pudding, Step by Step

• Mix the yolks and cornstarch together, and set aside.

• Make the butterscotch (see the How-To above) and add the milk. Stir until smooth.

• Once the butterscotch is all melted back into the milk and it is steaming hot, temper into the eggs.
• Pour the egg mixture back into the pan and bring to a boil. Boil two minutes.
• Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the vanilla. Stir until combined.

How to Temper Eggs

Here’s a quick how-to on tempering eggs. It’s important that you raise the temperature of eggs slowly so they don’t scramble. You can see the process in the first three images in the collage above.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Whisk eggs well.
2. Pour a little of your hot liquid into the eggs, whisking all the time until combined.
3. Continue adding about half of the hot liquid in a steady stream, whisking and whisking, until the egg mixture is hot.
4. Pour the now-hot egg mixture back into the pan while continuously stirring.
5. Continue with the rest of your recipe.

Tips and Tricks

Get in the habit of always straining your pudding. The strainer will catch any little bits of egg or lumps of flour that may have gotten away from you.

Depending on the pudding texture you like, rich and dense or lighter and creamier, you can:

• let the pudding set up in individual bowls and then top with whipped cream (or not),
• or you can chill the pudding, whisk it smooth, and then fold whipped cream into it.

PRO TIP: When chilling the pudding, if you don’t want a skin to form on top (I’m weird and like the skin), press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding while it cools.

For double butterscotchiness, you can serve your pudding with whipped cream sweetened with a couple of spoonfuls of homemade butterscotch sauce.

Q & A

If you have any questions about this or any other recipe or post on the site, there are a few ways to get in touch.

You can leave a comment on the post, and I’ll be back in touch within 24 hours.

If your question is more pressing, don’t hesitate to email me, and I should be back in touch within 4 hours (unless I’m asleep) or often much more quickly than that.

More Old-Fashioned Pudding Recipes

Pudding is the best. So creamy and comforting. Here are some more you might enjoy.

As far as I’m concerned it’s never the wrong time for pudding, so I make this easy vanilla pudding often. It’s rich, creamy, and easy to remember so I don’t always have to run to the recipe when I need a pudding fix.

If you’re feeling chocolatey, caramel chocolate pudding is rich and has a complex and wonderful flavor.

And if you’re not feeling like caramelizing some sugar, make my easy chocolate pudding. It seriously is super easy to make, and oh, so satisfying!

A Note About Measurements

This is the kitchen scale that I recommend for home cooks and bakers. Using a scale will help you be more accurate and consistent in your measurements.

It is lightweight, easy to store, accurate, and very easy to use.

I hope you’ve learned something from this post or that you’ve decided to make the recipe.

It would really help me and other readers out if you’d rate the recipe using the star ratings in the recipe card.

It’s also very helpful to me and to other readers if you leave a comment and/or a recipe review.

Thank you so much for being here and for helping others find my recipes by sharing on your social platforms!

And there you have it friends, rich and comforting butterscotch pudding. Please give it a try, and then let me know how you like it!

Thank you for spending some time with me today. Take care, and have a lovely day.