Butterscotch Miso Pudding

Name: Butterscotch Miso Pudding
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 6-8 guests
Ingredients: 4 tablespoon butter, unsalted (preferably organic and European style); 1/2 cup sugar, brown dark (firmly packed); 1/4 cup sugar, coconut, Blonde (such as Coconut Sugar, Blonde); 1/2 teaspoon salt, Himalayan Pink (or kosher); 2 1/2 cup milk, whole (preferably organic, not homogenized from Straus Family Creamery); 1 cup half & half, (or heavy cream for the ultimate pudding from Straus Family Creamery); 1/4 cup cornstarch; 3 each egg, yolks, large (at room temperature, preferably Omega 3 rich, cage free, organic); 2 tablespoon Malted Milk Powder, (such as Nestle Carnation Original Malted Milk or powdered milk); 1 tablespoon miso, white (also called Shiromiso miso); 1 each vanilla bean (split and seeds scraped out); 1 tablespoon syrup, maple, (such as Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup ); 1 tablespoon scotch, (your favorite brand, or Bourbon | Whisk(e)y); 1 tablespoon additional fat, (such as more unsalted butter, coconut oil or rendered bacon fat)

Posted on April 27, 2020

by Sean Z. Paxton

Recipe

Before we begin, I want you to know this recipe for Butterscotch Miso Pudding, is not your old fashion style Butterscotch pudding, nor is it anything like a boxed | packaged version of butterscotch pudding. This recipe is for the adult pudding lover, with adult tastes, that loves complexity with each bite. Those who are daring eaters, adventurous in the kitchen, and fully embrace the true flavor of butterscotch. This homemade version has all the nostalgic undertones of a classic butterscotch pudding recipe, yet with my unique culinary twist, using food science, fermentation, and flavor development to achieve the perfect butterscotch pudding recipe.

If you are a fan of Home Brew Chef’s online cookbook, then you may have seen my Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies, Butter “Scotch” Sauce and Irish Whiskey Smoked Salted Caramel Sauce recipes. I do love butterscotch and this recipe was inspired by what I have learned from these other creations.

To create the Ultimate Butterscotch Pudding recipe I had to think about, what is the essence of butterscotch? What does butterscotch really taste like? So I did some culinary dissecting on this subject matter. Vanilla, oak, maple, coconut, salted caramel, butter, whiskey, bourbon, and scotch all have similar butterscotch flavor profiles that pop here and there in butterscotch. These flavor descriptors all define what butterscotch tastes like. Using a combination of these flavors, in the correct ratio from these ingredients, will enhance and intensify the butterscotch profile umbrella, expanding the finished flavor profile.

The ingredients and adjustments I’ve made to this recipe build off the classic flavor of butterscotch, and not just relying on brown sugar. Dark brown sugar (a blend of regular sugar with a percentage of molasses) is the dominant flavor in butterscotch. I don’t go as heavy on the dark brown sugar as too much, creates an overly molasses ladened pudding. Instead, I cut the brown sugar with blonde coconut sugar. Coconut sugar adds some vanilla flavor, coconut and caramel notes to the finished pudding, while also dropping that extra sweetness some butterscotch puddings have.

Outside of brown sugar and sweetness, most butterscotch has a backbone flavor of vanilla. Vanilla is used in so many desserts, that when vanilla is used it creates a foundation flavor, for other flavors to build off. There are some interesting connections between vanilla and wood, that creates unique flavors that we attribute to so many beverages we enjoy.

Oak is an interesting flavor, as vanillin, the organic compound with the molecular formula C₈H₈O₃ is found both in the wood of the tree and also in a vanilla bean pod. This is why so many of the delicious Bourbons, Scotches, and Whisk(e)ys all have that comforting vanilla flavor without using vanilla beans. Therefore, adding these alcohols can further increase the flavor of vanilla.

Vanilla is a very complex flavor. Real vanilla beans add the seeds and the pod’s flavor attributes to the recipe being made. They are superior when baking with the orchid pod over just adding an imitation | alcohol extracts. Using real vanilla beans to syrups, left to age, infuse and enhance flavor profile o the final product adds an extra touch that we desire. Blis Gourmet out of Grand Rapids, Michigan has a very inspiring product line. I have bought and used many of their products over the years and been blown away with their barrel-aged maple syrup. They have a Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup that tastes as incredible as it sounds. They made a limited edition product of a 100% pure maple syrup Tahitian Vanilla Infused #379 natural that was pretty outstanding. Using maple syrup, which in its raw form a maple tree sap (reduced and cooked down to intensify the final product, resulting in different grades of maple syrup). This tree by-product has some of those same chemical flavor elements that are parallel to vanillin. Taking that reduced maple syrup and aging it in a prior filled and saturated oak wood bourbon barrels would also be a great way to get more vanilla flavor into finished maple syrup. This common breakfast ingredient adds more vanilla depth into this butterscotch pudding recipe, with minimal added natural sweetness.

As pudding is usually a dairy-based dessert, I suggest using the best whole milk you can get your hands on. I suggest using non-homogenized whole milk, preferably organic, to get the most out of this pudding recipe. I am a huge fan of Straus Family Creamery, as they produce this style of milk. Straus Family Creamery also practices many environmental procedures, that make it a zero-emission dairy. The extra richness and full flavors from their milk, butter, and cream improve the final texture in this pudding.

To bring the savory and help cut the sweetness, adding salt is a unique way to add a counterpoint in flavor building. The ying to the yang if you will. I wanted to dance that fine line of savory and sweet in this pudding recipe. We all have heard about salted caramel. What the addition of salt does to a caramel sauce is pretty incredible. It elevates the almost burnt sugar flavors, that when you look at the science of caramel, the caramelization of the sugar, transforms a sweet ingredient to become more bitter, the darker the caramel gets. Think about molasses, it’s the byproduct of the sugar-making process, the reduced leftovers if you will. Molasses has a lot of extra nutritional benefits as well. Depending on how the molasses (or in England, Black Treacle) are refined, different sugarcane, age of the sugar cane, and the boil of the syrup from one to three times (blackstrap) for the most bitter version of molasses. As molasses is mixed back into sugar to make brown sugar (more molasses makes dark brown, less molasses equals light brown), that almost burnt flavor comes from the molasses. Adding salt to molasses, it acts much like salted caramel.

Now to go all crazy on your taste buds, add miso to this butterscotch mix. Yes, fermented soybeans and rice, mixed with koji and salt, left to ferment for around 6 months makes white miso, also called Shiromiso. White Miso is the sweetest of miso in the miso family. Depending on the brand, the ratio of rice to soybeans and age, the flavors of this ingredient bring umami (the fifth flavor in Japan) or savoriness, while also having flavors of browned butter, caramel, funky, sometimes fruits (banana, mango, pineapple) with an underlining of salt. Adding a spoonful of miso into a butterscotch pudding, with all the above flavors from this ingredient, combined with all the other ingredients, infuse to make a pretty amazing Butterscotch Miso pudding recipe. If you don’t think using miso in a sweet application sounds good, I highly suggest you try one of my other dessert recipes featuring white miso: Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur recipe or Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe.

To give this pudding a final touch of extra comfort, I add Malted Milk Powder. This ingredient amplifies the dairy flavor, while not really adding sweetness. The malted milk flavor has some of that nostalgia, that milkshake additional twist, to this recipe. When combined with the maple syrup, coconut sugar, Scotch, miso, brown sugar, and dairy, it rounds out the flavor profile, adds harmony, with almost an extra boost of baking umami.

This recipe is a solid, knock your socks off, comfort food classic. Below the recipe, directions are some recipe variations of this Butterscotch Miso Pudding recipe. Just think, if you added smoked salt to the mix? Or top the Butterscotch Miso Pudding with some Irish Whiskey Smoked Salted Caramel Sauce, to make a Butterscotch Budino (Italian for pudding) and add a big dollop of whipping cream, to garnish. I hope you enjoy this wonderful, make-ahead recipe, the flavor dissection, and why I use these ‘not what you would normally think about using in a butterscotch pudding recipe’ ingredients. I would love to hear your comments and if you came up with any of your own variations to this Butterscotch Miso Pudding recipe!

Makes: 6 – 8 servings, depending on size, from a 6 ounce to 8-ounce serving

Butterscotch Miso Pudding

A unique flavor experience, with both nostalgia and modern take on a classic, this Butterscotch Miso Pudding will delight the palate.

CourseDessert, Sunday Supper
CuisineAmerican, Comfort, Vegetarian
SeasonalFall Seasonal, Spring Seasonal, Summer Seasonal, Winter Seasonal, Year Around Seasonal
Food SectionButter, cream, Custard, Dairy, Eggs, Miso, Pudding
Cooking MethodBaking with Beer
CompanyStraus Family creamery

Servings	Prep Time
6-8 guests	5 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minute	4 hour

Servings	Prep Time
6-8 guests	5 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minute	4 hour

Butterscotch Miso Pudding

A unique flavor experience, with both nostalgia and modern take on a classic, this Butterscotch Miso Pudding will delight the palate.

CourseDessert, Sunday Supper
CuisineAmerican, Comfort, Vegetarian
SeasonalFall Seasonal, Spring Seasonal, Summer Seasonal, Winter Seasonal, Year Around Seasonal
Food SectionButter, cream, Custard, Dairy, Eggs, Miso, Pudding
Cooking MethodBaking with Beer
CompanyStraus Family creamery

Servings	Prep Time
6-8 guests	5 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minute	4 hour

Servings	Prep Time
6-8 guests	5 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minute	4 hour

Ingredients

Butterscotch Caramel Ingredients:

4 tablespoon butter, unsalted preferably organic and European style
1/2 cup sugar, brown dark firmly packed
1/4 cup sugar, coconut, Blonde such as Coconut Sugar, Blonde
1/2 teaspoon salt, Himalayan Pink or kosher

Butterscotch Miso Pudding Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup milk, whole preferably organic, not homogenized from Straus Family Creamery
1 cup half & half, or heavy cream for the ultimate pudding from Straus Family Creamery
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 each egg, yolks, large at room temperature, preferably Omega 3 rich, cage free, organic
2 tablespoon Malted Milk Powder, such as Nestle Carnation Original Malted Milk or powdered milk
1 tablespoon miso, white also called Shiromiso miso
1 each vanilla bean split and seeds scraped out
1 tablespoon syrup, maple, such as Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup
1 tablespoon scotch, your favorite brand, or Bourbon | Whisk(e)y
1 tablespoon additional fat, such as more unsalted butter, coconut oil or rendered bacon fat

Servings: guests

Units:

Instructions

Butterscotch Caramel Directions:

In a medium-sized pot, with a thick core bottom, add the butter, dark brown sugar, coconut sugar, and salt. Depend on your personal tastes there are two techniques you can use to change the finished flavor of your Butterscotch Miso Pudding.
Option 1: Light Butterscotch Caramel This option will create a lighter flavored butterscotch pudding flavor, sweeter and less bitterness, while still being full of nuances of vanilla, brown sugar, maple, and scotch.
Place the pan over medium heat and let the butter melt, mixing with the sugars and salt, stirring frequently with a spatula. Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved, before the butter and sugar start boil together, making a caramel. At first, the mixture will look lumpy | clumpy. As the sugar melts, the ingredients will start to melt together. Once this happens, remove from the heat, and continue with the Butterscotch Miso Pudding directions. This option will take about 3 - 4 minutes in total.
Option 2: Dark Butterscotch Caramel By cooking the caramel longer, as mentioned above, the sugars reach a higher temperature, creating more bitterness, replacing the sweetness of the sugar. This version will create a more bitter, slightly smoky version of the pudding. All the other flavors of vanilla, caramel, scotch, and maple will also come through in each bite.
As with Option 1, place the pan over medium heat and let the butter melt, mixing with the sugars and salt, stirring frequently with a spatula, as the butter and sugar cook together to make a caramel. At first, the mixture will look lumpy | clumpy. As the sugar melts | dissolves, the ingredients will start to melt together. Continue to cook the caramel until it just starts to smoke. This will take about 5 - 6 minutes on medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and continue with the Butterscotch Miso Pudding directions below.

Butterscotch Miso Pudding Directions:

As the Butterscotch Caramel is cooking, prepare the pudding base, or have this step ready to go before you start the caramel directions.
In a bowl, add the milk, half & half (if you want a richer version, use whipping | heavy cream or coconut milk | cream), cornstarch, egg yolks, malted milk powder, and miso. Using a whisk or a hand blender, mix together well, until the liquid has fully incorporated the cornstarch and yolks.
When the Butterscotch Caramel is cooked to your liking, add the Butterscotch Miso Pudding Ingredients. Be careful, as the addition of a liquid to the caramel will cause steam and some splattering | spitting, depending on how dark you like your caramel. Using a spatula, stir the mixture together. The caramel might seize or become pebble-like. This is ok, as the cold liquid mixture will cause the caramel to do this. As the pudding mixture re-warms up, the caramel will melt into the liquid and be smooth. Add the vanilla bean pod and scraped out seeds.
Continue to stir the pudding, scraping the bottom and sides, to prevent the egg yolks from cooking | scrambling. Using an instant-read thermometer, the eggs will thicken the pudding, as the cornstarch will also congeal the mixture around 180°F | 82°C. At or around this temperature turn off the heat and continue to stir | scrape as the pudding will equalize in temperature.
Now, add in the fat (more butter, coconut oil, or bacon fat, depending on your personal preference) and scotch (or Bourbon | Whisk(e)y), continuing with the stirring until the fat is fully incorporated into the pudding.
The Butterscotch Miso Pudding is ready at this point. If you want that ultra-smooth texture in the final pudding, use a sieve placed over a bowl and strain the pudding. This will leave any cooked bit of egg and the vanilla bean behind. Note: Save the vanilla bean, wash it well under hot water and dry it. Add it to your sugar container to make vanilla sugar.
Now comes the hard part, what container and size to put the finished Butterscotch Miso Pudding into? Depending on how you want to serve this pudding, it can be added to individual cups, bowls or decorative glass serving bowls. Or, as I have a mason jar fetish, an 8-ounce wide-mouth jar, filled almost to the top is my favorite way to serve this Butterscotch Miso Pudding recipe. Seal with a lid, or cover with a piece of plastic wrap, placed right onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin forming on the surface. Place into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to cool, set, and chill.
To Serve: This recipe can be served as is, or for an extra textural element, top with some unsweetened whipping cream. See below for more serving options.

Recipe Notes