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Ultimate Salted Caramel Pudding (with Butterscotch Pudding Variation)

Susan S. Bradley — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:06:52 +0000

This post began as a response to repeated requests from a tenacious reader for The Best Ever Butterscotch Pudding (her words). She was impressed with Ultimate Vanilla Pudding (Perfect Stovetop Custard) and Ultimate Chocolate Pudding and wanted the same perfect results with a butterscotch flavor. She had tried a few recipes on the web but was disappointed in the results.

I began rather cavalierly with the Ultimate Vanilla Pudding recipe, substituting brown for white sugar. The pudding was pale and bland. The whole bowl went into the fridge until it spoiled, forgotten and uneaten.

Then, in what seemed like a stroke of genius, I tried caramelizing the brown sugar to give it a deeper color and flavor. It burned almost immediately. I tried again. It burned again.

I gave up and moved on to Salted Caramel Pudding instead. It tested perfectly on the first take, and we ate the entire batch within hours.

But after eating it, I felt a little guilty. Not for eating it (heavens no!), but for failing to deliver on Butterscotch Pudding as I had promised. So I traipsed around the web looking for a solution and thought I found it at Serious Eats: Butterscotch Pudding: Searching for the Perfect Recipe. What they did that was pure genius was to caramelize the sugar and then add molasses to give the pudding that distinctive butterscotch taste.

To my palate, however, the taste of molasses was too distinguishable. So instead, I added just a teaspoon of molasses and some brown sugar to the aforementioned Salted Caramel Pudding formula, and by golly, it worked. Because the recipes for Salted Caramel Pudding and Butterscotch Pudding are similar, I give them both to you here.

How to Make Perfect Pudding

To repeat some of what I said in the Ultimate Vanilla Pudding post:

All we are doing when we make pudding is melting sugar in milk and then thickening it with cornstarch and egg yolks. The cornstarch should be introduced before the egg yolks, although simultaneously will also work.

Without cornstarch, we can’t bring a pudding containing egg yolks anywhere near a boil. In fact, if you want to use egg yolks alone to thicken your pudding, the pudding must not exceed 165°. Otherwise, the egg yolks will curdle. Cornstarch, on the other hand, begins to thicken at 203° and needs to go to 208° for full activation. As long as sufficient cornstarch is present, even a slow simmer will not curdle the egg yolks.

Heat kills enzymes in raw egg yolks, which will otherwise break down the starch bonds and thin the custard. After adding the egg yolks, the pudding must be brought to just under a simmer (208º). I like to maintain that temperature for a minute or longer to be on the safe side.

Ultimate Salted Caramel Pudding

This pudding is heavenly, transcendent, divine. There’s something about the contrast between deep caramel and salt that takes the taste buds on an exhilarating ride that doesn’t end until you shamelessly lick the bowl and then go looking for a second helping.

To recap, all we are doing when we make pudding is thickening sweetened milk with cornstarch and egg yolks. In this case, we add the step of caramelizing the sugar before sweetening the milk with it. Easy peasy!

NOTE If you want a pie filling that will hold its shape, rather than this more loosely mounding pudding, increase the cornstarch to 5-6 tablespoons.

3 cups whole milk, room temperature (or 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg yolks, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 12 chunks
1½ teaspoon vanilla (I love Mexican vanilla here)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Garnish
lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional

Burnt Caramel Sauce, optional

In a large measuring cup with a pour spout, add 3 cups milk. Set milk and a silicon spatula next to the stovetop.
In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with ½ cup of the milk until well combined. Set next to the stovetop.
In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch with ¼ cup of the milk until smooth. Set next to the stovetop.
Make the caramel: In a light colored (stainless steel), 3-quart saucepan, add the sugar and set over medium heat. Swirl the pan as the sugar begins to melt. Use a silicon spatula to move the sugar from side to side as necessary to help it melt and caramelize evenly. When the sugar melts entirely and is a medium-dark caramel color, quickly remove from the heat.
Stand back and CAREFULLY stir in the remaining milk. The mixture will boil and sputter furiously. The caramel may seize into a solid sugary mass. No worries! When the mixture stops sputtering, put it over medium heat and bring to a simmer while stirring to melt the seized caramel. Scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan with a silicon (heatproof) spatula to make sure all seized caramel dissolves.
Stir, and then add the cornstarch mixture to the pan and bring the pudding to a very slow simmer. Simmer, stirring or whisking for 2 minutes to thicken. Decrease heat to medium-low so that pudding is no longer simmering.
Ladle ½ cup of the hot pudding into the egg yolk mixture and whisk rapidly. Repeat two times. Now add the egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan. This tempers the egg and helps to prevent curdling.
Raise the heat slightly, and continue stirring the pudding until it thickens to the point that it thickly coats the back of the spatula, from 2-4 minutes. Don’t boil.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, and salt until the butter is melted.
Immediately pour the pudding through a single mesh strainer into a medium mixing bowl or 4-cup glass measuring cup. Alternatively, you can pour pudding directly into six ½-cup serving dishes. (The reason I rarely do this is that I prefer to mound the servings.)
Ignore what David Lebovitz says (just kidding, David!) and quickly press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming.
Let cool, and then refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.
To serve, spoon pudding into six, ½-cup ramekins (if you didn’t do this earlier).
Top each serving with a generous mound of whipped cream.
Serve immediately.

Makes 3 cups, or six ½-cup servings.

Ultimate Butterscotch Pudding

This pudding relies on a combination of caramelized sugar, brown sugar, and just a hint of molasses to give it a true butterscotch color and flavor. The process is the same as for Ultimate Salted Caramel Pudding, with a few minor differences: the sugar and salt amounts are decreased, the caramel is cooked to a light rather than medium caramel color, and brown sugar and molasses are added. The four ingredient changes are noted below in red text.

3 cups whole milk, room temperature (or 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg yolks, room temperature

¼ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon unsulphured molasses

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 12 chunks
1½ teaspoon vanilla (I love Mexican vanilla here)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Proceed as in Ultimate Salted Caramel Pudding, making the following changes.
In Step 4, add ¼ cup sugar to the pan (rather than ¾ cup sugar) and caramelize the sugar to a light caramel hue.
In Step 5, add brown sugar and molasses along with the milk.
In Step 9, add ¼ teaspoon salt (rather than ½ teaspoon salt).

More from LunaCafe

Ultimate Vanilla Pudding (Perfect Stove-Top Custard
LunaCafe’s Ultimate Chocolate Pudding
Rosalyn’s Toasted Coconut White Chocolate Dream Pie (Coconut White Chocolate Custard)

Additional Inspiration

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Please leave a comment. Include your blog URL and CommentLuv will automatically link to your most recent blog post. And join me at LunaCafe on Facebook for daily adventures in the OtherWorldly Kitchen. Happy cooking! …Susan

Warm-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cake

Susan S. Bradley — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:57:49 +0000

I know, I know! Molten Chocolate Cake, or Lava Cake, as it is sometimes called, is so YESTERDAY. I am almost perturbed today when I see one on a dessert menu.

I mean, really, can’t the pastry chef think of SOMETHING ELSE? Haven’t we moved beyond warm, fragrant, oozing, fudgy chocolate soufflé cakes and their requisite ice cream accompaniments?

At the esteemed Paley’s Place Bistro & Bar in Portland, Oregon, Chef Vitaly Paley told me that he does not dare remove his famous Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake with Toasted Hazelnuts & Honey-Vanilla Ice Cream from the menu. There would be an uproar.

At the Heathman Restaurant & Bar, after several years at least, they still serve Chocolate Gourmandise, which is a flourless, molten, Guittard chocolate cake, accompanied by, that’s right, vanilla ice cream. I expect that it remains on the menu for the same reason that Chef Paley cited. Diners demand it.

There was a time in the recent past when nearly every trendy restaurant in Portland had a molten chocolate cake on the menu. In true Portlandia style (obsessive, compulsive, weird), I sampled most of them.

At Clarklewis, I devoured Flourless Milk Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Chestnut Honey.

At Clyde Common, I dove into Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Sherry Raisin Ice cream, Cocoa Fudge Sauce & Hazelnuts.

At Jo Bar, it was Wood Oven Baked Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce and Crème Anglaise.

At Oba!, Cinnamon-Chocolate Volcano Cake with Caramel Crème Fraîche Ice Cream.

At Paragon, Flourless Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Anglaise, Blackberry Coulis, Whipped Cream, and Fresh Blackberries.

At Tabla, Chocolate Truffle Cake with White Chocolate Crème Anglais.

At Toro Bravo, simply Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream.

At Urban Farmer, Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla-Champagne Sorbet & Blood Orange.

At Giorgio’s, Warm Soft Chocolate Cake with Homemade Caramel Ice Cream.

At Fenouil (now sadly gone), Chocolate Soufflé Cake with Mint Ice Cream & Peppermint Cacao Lollipop.

At Sel Gris (also sadly gone), Chocolate Overdose: Fallen Chocolate Soufflé, Chocolate Rum Mousse, Chocolate Glaze & Cocoa Nibs

Come to think of it, I have every right to be a little perturbed by Molten Chocolate Cake. If it’s on the menu, I am simply unable to order any other dessert.

But you don’t have to hit the best restaurants in town to enjoy this wonderful cake. It’s super easy to make. When I originally developed this recipe, it came as a wonderful surprise to learn that the batter would hold in the frig for days. I baked two tiny cakes each evening until the batter was gone. How fantastic to have a hot, oozing chocolate dessert with virtually no effort. What a boon for a dinner party!

Warm-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cake

This is quite possibly the best molten chocolate cake in the world, or at least in Portland. The evocative spicing takes it over the top. You must of course use the best quality bar chocolate you can get, as the success of this simple desert depends on it.

To bake these cakes, you will need six, ½-cup capacity custard cups or similar-sized baking dishes. If you plan to unmold the cakes, they look best on the plate if they are slightly pyramidal in shape (wider at the base) when turned out.

I have purposely limited the size of these cakes. You want guests clamoring for more, not struggling to eat the last, incredibly rich, bite.

½ cup unsalted butter
6 ounces premium quality, bittersweet chocolate (70%-75% cacao solids), chopped

3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1½ cups powdered sugar, in a sifter

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour, in a sifter

Accompaniments, optional (and highly recommended)
powdered sugar, in a sifter
heavy cream, plain or softly whipped
-or-
premium quality ice cream

In a saucepan over very low heat, melt the butter and then stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla.
Sift the powdered sugar over the top of the egg mixture, a bit at a time, whisking to incorporate each addition.
Add the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
Stir in the coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and white pepper.
Sift the flour over the top a bit at a time, whisking to incorporate each addition. If you add the flour in a heap, without sifting it in slowly, you may get a few lumps.
Put the batter into a plastic container with a tight lid and refrigerate until ready to bake. This keeps for days this way, and you can bake off one individual serving at a time if you wish.
When you are ready to bake, butter individual custard cups heavily, pour the batter into the dishes, and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake at 425° for 13-15 minutes if the batter is room temperature and a couple minutes longer if it is cold. Less baking time will yield a liquid center, while just a minute or two longer will yield more of the cake texture around the sides and a fudgy interior. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
To serve, set custard cups on dessert plates, or unmold cakes on dessert plates by putting the plate on top of the custard cup, and then inverting the dessert plate and custard cup together in one quick flipping motion. Lift the cup off the cake. Sift powdered sugar over each cake before serving.
If desired, accompany with a generous quantity of plain or softly whipped cream, or ice cream.

Makes six, ½-cup capacity cakes.

More LunaCafe Chocolate Cakes & Tea Loaves

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Please leave a comment. Include your blog URL so CommentLuv will automatically link to your most recent blog post. And join me at LunaCafe on Facebook for daily adventures in the OtherWorldly Kitchen. Let’s get cooking! …Susan

Chocolate Ginger Chipotle Stout Cake

Susan S. Bradley — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:54:52 +0000

I have a confession to make. This is not a new cake. I created it at the tail end of LAST YEAR’S All Chocolate! All Month! celebration, and then in the excitement of planning a slew of new spring recipes, forgot to post it. In fact, I forgot it altogether. Until yesterday.

I was plowing through the LunaCafe Dessert Pictures folder and stumbled upon a folder marked Chocolate Ginger Cake. I opened the folder and voila, there it was. The memory of the aromatic intermingling of chocolate, ginger, smoked chile, and stout brought the pictures into focus.

I had chocolate and stout cake on my mind for some time before developing this recipe, as we kept encountering variations on the theme in Portland restaurants.

Maybe the fine folks at Kells Irish Pub started it with their Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake. On the other hand, I was also under the spell of the Oatmeal Stout Cake with Praline Hazelnuts at Higgins, Chocolate, Apple & Stout Cake at Aviary, Chocolate Guinness Beer Cupcake at Papa Haydn, Ginger Stout Cake with Praline Bacon at The Sugar Cube, and Chocolate Stout Brownie with Bailey’s Ice Cream & Whiskey Caramel at the now defunct Ten 01.

Every dessert chef in Portland is enamored with the concept. And why not? It’s a wonderful flavor pairing. It was inevitable that I would eventually create a chocolate stout cake of my own. And I did. Last year. Now, finally, here it is.

Chocolate Ginger Chipotle Stout Cake

This easy, oil-based cake has a moist and tender texture, which actually improves after a day or two, if well wrapped. The flavor is intriguing and surprisingly good, something like a chocolate gingerbread with a dark beer kick. It is wonderful plain, dusted only with powdered sugar, and divine when topped with Bittersweet Pecan Fudge Glaze.

vegetable spray, to line pan
1 tablespoon sugar, to line pan

1 cup King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened, premium-quality, natural-process cocoa
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground chipotle chile (or 1 teaspoon ground ancho chile if you prefer)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup unsulfured molasses
¼ cup Guinness stout or Rogue Chocolate Stout
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Lightly coat a six-cup capacity bundt pan or bread pan (8½ by 4½-inches) with vegetable spray. Sprinkle the sugar into the pan and tip the pan in all directions to coat evenly. Turn the pan upside down to remove any excess sugar that does not cling.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, ginger, chipotle, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Reserve.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, stout, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Don’t overdo it or the cake may be tough.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 325°, on the middle rack of the oven, for about 30 minutes, until the top feels springy and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven BEFORE the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Over baking will produce a dry cake.
Cool the cake on the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes or so. Turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
To finish, simply dust with sifted powdered sugar or prepare Bittersweet Pecan Fudge Glaze and spoon over the cooled cake. Let the glaze set until dry to the touch.
To serve, slice the cake with a serrated knife.

Storage If well-wrapped to prevent moisture loss, this cake will keep at room temperature for several days; or longer in the freezer.

Makes one 7½-inch diameter bundt cake or one 8½- by 4½-inch loaf cake; about 8 servings.

Bittersweet Pecan Fudge Glaze

This lovely cake glaze remains shiny even after fully set and dry to the touch.

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup premium-quality, unsweetened, natural-process cocoa powder
½ cup water
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup lightly toasted, roughly chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
Whisk in the cocoa powder, water, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and creamy. Don’t let the glaze get too hot.
Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.
While the glaze is still warm, set the cake on a wire rack set over an edged baking sheet (to catch the drips and then pour the glaze over the cake. Let the glaze set until it is dry to the touch.

Makes 1½ cups.

More LunaCafe Chocolate Cakes + Tea Loaves

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Spicy Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf

Susan S. Bradley — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:33:16 +0000

It’s All Chocolate! All Month! in the LunaCafe OtherWorldly Kitchen. As usual during the Month of Love, I am covered in chocolate: milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, and unsweetened cocoa powder. All in an effort to come up with the most delectable, memorable Valentine’s Day dessert ever.

This year, I want to create several homey, comforting chocolate desserts that are both out of the ordinary and easy to make. Nothing fancy that takes hours to make or breaks the bank. It has just been that kind of year.

Last week it was Mexicano Chocolate Ebelskivers with fragrant cardamom, ancho chile, cayenne, and Mexican vanilla. I pushed the whole adventure over the top by filling some of the ebelskivers with Burnt Caramel. But in essence, these are pancake balls, both fun to make and fun to eat.

This week I supervised a bunch of bananas over several days as the skins turned first a speckled brown and then eventually almost black. I feared I was letting them go too far near, but needed the peak of full banana flavor for this tea loaf. Otherwise, the dark chocolate would steal, rather than share, the limelight.

When I tasted the batter, it was lovely, deeply chocolate with the haunting essence of banana. But it needed an additional counterpoint. So in went a generous measure of freshly grated ginger, a hint of cardamom, and enough white pepper to leave a lingering heat on the palate after the last bite.

The result is exceedingly delicious, out of the ordinary, and, yes, memorable.

But the aspect of this tea loaf that surprises me most is its keeping quality. The texture, moistness, and flavor improved each day for nearly a week, right up until I ate the last comforting, chocolaty bite.

Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf

This is the most unusual banana bread I have ever created. I love the spicy heat from both the grated fresh ginger and the freshly ground white pepper. The hint of cardamom complements the chocolate exceedingly well.

vegetable spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
½ cup high quality, unsweetened, natural process cocoa powder (1.2 ounces) (tested with Scharffenberger cocoa)
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, cool room temperature, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla

1½ cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
2 tablespoons peeled, finely grated fresh ginger (1 ounce prepared)
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (or less if you don’t want the heat)
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven with plenty of room above it and preheat the oven to 350°.
Coat an 8½- by 4½-inch (5-6 cup capacity) loaf pan with vegetable spray and then a light layer of flour, tapping out any excess flour that does not cling to the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another large mixing bowl, using a large whisk, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes.
Stir the mashed banana, grated ginger, white pepper, and cardamom into the batter.
Add the flour mixture to the batter, and with a large spatula, combine gently but well. No flour should remain visible in the batter.
Spoon the batter immediately into the prepared pan, and set in the center of a preheated 350° oven.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. If the loaf is pulling away from the edges of the pan, immediately pull it from the oven. Hopefully you will catch it before this point. Over baking this bread makes it dry.
Let the loaf cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.
To store, wrap well in two layers of plastic wrap, and store in a cool dry place.

Makes one 8½- by 4½-inch loaf.

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