Bake 10: Steamed Butterscotch Pudding

Episode 4, all about Pudding! Now, let's talk about pudding. The British folks have a long history with puddings of all kinds, and that did not seem to make it all the way across the pond, and the rest of the United States the northwest corner of Washington State where I grew up. This is the first hurtle where I feel confident in making pudding, once I figure out what all the words mean. 

In the signature, the bakers were asked to bake their own classic pudding, steamed or baked. Okay, swell. Yes, swell. Yup. Okay. SWELL. 

After much deliberation I have determined that we will jump right in and make a steamed butterscotch pudding. I love butterscotch, it is the more attractive but shy cousin of caramel. It makes a mean milkshake and is a great addition to a blonde brownie. 

I found some basic recipes and made a few adjustments. You will need a large stock pot or dutch oven to use for steaming your pud and don't worry if you don't have a lidded pudding mold, you can still make this!

Ingredients

Sauce 

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup salted butter

1 cup creme fraiche*

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pudding

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1.2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Cream

1 cup heavy cream

*if you don't have creme fraiche you can substitute sour cream, or for a less 'sour' finish 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Creme fraiche is the french version of sour cream and is more subtle. Who isn't more subtle than American's!

Prep your pud steamer first. I used our dutch oven, filled about 1/2 way with water, and a metal trivet on the bottom inside. You don't want the pudding mold resting on the bottom, no trivet? no problem, roll up some foil to make a ring and rest your pudding mold on that. Now, I mentioned that I don't have a pudding mold but I had a number of metal bowls. So I grabbed one that was small-medium sized, greased it up, and when it was time to steam, covered the top with plastic wrap, then foil, and tied baking string around the rim to ensure it was super secure. Rubber bands work well too. 

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Make the sauce by adding sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes until thickened.

Pour 2/3 of the sauce into the prepared bowl. Put the rest in the fridge for later on.

Next mix the pudding by creaming the butter and sugar, adding the eggs one at a time, and adding the vanilla. Then adding the flour and baking powder (stir the baking powder into the flour to distribute evenly and avoid getting out another bowl). Add milk when streaks of flour remain, and fold until just combined.

Carefully spoon the batter on top of the sauce. Leveling the top and then covering the top. Lower into the simmering water, so the water comes up at least 1/2 way on the bowl/mold. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

While steaming, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks and set aside with the remaining sauce for topping.

To serve, run a knife around the edge of the bowl and turn out onto a large plate or shallow wide bowl. As long as it has a lip you will be good to go. I was worried about loosing the sauce so I used a shallow wide bowl which made serving rather challenging, a lipped plate is advised. 

Serve with a dollop of cream and a touch more sauce if desired. It is a rich pudding so it doesn't need much!