Everyone needs a motto, an inspirational catchphrase or a daily affirmation and at least for the duration of this post, mine is going to have to be: when life gives you stupid, annoying pudding that never, ever sets, make ice cream. What? You don’t think it will work for t-shirts and taglines? I’m crushed.
But I have, indeed, come a long way from my late-February butterscotch pudding nadir. On the heels of the Valentines-timed chocolate pudding rave, it occurred to me that the world really needs more pudding recipes. They’re a great thing to master–not too difficult, not too heavy and complete and total comfort food. And while some (coughmomcough) have tried the chocolate pudding and still feel that it doesn’t have much on her beloved My-T-Fine [Deb shakes head in shame, clucks tongue] it is impossible to argue that store-bought or from-a-mix butterscotch pudding has any relation whatsoever to that which is coaxed from a brown sugar, vanilla and bourbon-hinted caramel.
Alas, both recipes I tried had it in for me. The first, from the Joy of Cooking, never set though it is entirely possible that their admonishments about not overdoing this or that when working with cornstarch puddings sent me into a tizzy whereby I did not cook the pudding long enough. Possibly, I said. I haven’t yet released Joy from my narrowed-eyed accusatory glare.
The second recipe, from Christopher Kimball’s Dessert Bible has only itself to blame for my wrath and subsequent temper-tantrum. I shouldn’t have followed his suggestions so blindly, I know, but I get into this mode when I’m hanging on a recipe’s every word and I swear, if Step 5 said “walk to window, open it and chuck bowl’s contents out over sidewalk occupants below” it is entirely possible I would do just that, pedestrians be damned. This is the only way I can explain why a seasoned (stop laughing) cook such as myself would follow his Step 3 to take a pot full of simmering ingredients right off the stove and pour them over egg yolks, creating–you guessed it–some fugly chunks of hard-boiled egg. I kid you not. The man behind Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen, he whose reputation is built upon exhaustedly-tested and finely-tweaked recipes, ruined my pudding.
Hm. I don’t sound bitter, do I?
Kimball’s pudding really did have the best butterscotch flavor, however, and even though I knew it wouldn’t set, I had to try anyway. I strained out the offending yolks, left it in the fridge overnight, and, lo, it did not set, but seeing as I couldn’t keep my spoon from it just the same, I decided to run it through the ice cream maker so I could shake off the whole dismal experience with a Meant To Do That finish.
Turns out, butterscotch ice cream is amazing, amazing enough that I had to make more the following week. A recipe I found online from an old Sunset Magazine brought intentional butterscotch ice cream to our kitchen at last, the unquestionably best thing that could have come out of weeks of butterscotch aggravation. I would go as far as to argue that, given the choice, butterscotch pudding dreams of being ice cream when it grows up, which (uh, unlike the rest of this entry) sounds crazy until you try it. It is really that good.
Butterscotch Ice Cream
Adapted from Sunset Magazine
Makes one quart
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 cups half-and-half (light cream)
6 large egg yolks (hint: if you make a hazelnut brown butter cake, you should have these in your fridge already!)
1. In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar and butter until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup whipping cream until smooth; remove butterscotch mixture from heat. Add vanilla and bourbon, if using.
2. In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium-high heat, combine remaining 1 cup whipping cream and the half-and-half; bring to a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat egg yolks to blend. Whisk 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture into egg yolks, then pour egg yolk mixture into pan with cream. Stir constantly over low heat just until mixture is slightly thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove from heat.
4. Pour through a fine strainer into a clean bowl and whisk in butterscotch mixture. Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or cover and chill up to 1 day.
5. Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve softly frozen, or transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.
Note: If you serve with espresso-chocolate shortbread cookies, your friends might never leave. Proceed with caution.
This is pure torture. Especially since I’m stuck at work for the night, and am therefore incredibly tempted to go search for ice cream makers on amazon. Gorgeous photos, as usual!
don’t think of it as getting it wrong, when you obviously got it so right. yum!
By the time my butterscotch just barely started to bubble, it was also slightly burnt. Next time I’ll pull it off the heat as soon as it melts, and/or increase the butter a bit. End result reads as a coffee (straight out of the ice cream machine) or toasted marshmallow (fully frozen) flavor, neither of which is bad – just not quite what I was going for.
It is fabulously creamy and smooth and luscious, so definitely will be trying again with minor changes to the butterscotch!
Mari, I have no idea why this posted as a reply to you instead of a regular comment. Sorry!
I love butterscotch and that ice cream looks SO GOOD!!!!
This is so worth me making some space in my freezer for my ice cream maker! Now I only have to wait “at least” 12 hours for it to be cold enough… Ugh…
Now, the only question is, as good and scrumptious as that looks, what are we serving it with?
Apple pie? Fresh, hot cinnamon rolls? Baked spiced apples? A peach clafoutis?
Sour Cream Gingerbread?
What?!?!?!?!
:)
Ah, I recently had a Cooks Illustrated failure myself…I was so surprised I made the recipe again a week later, and yeah, it still didn’t work. How weird is that?
In Chris Kimball’s defense though, Martha Stewart’s recipe for Maple Buttercream calls for 240 degree syrup to be poured into egg yolks. It’s added slowly and drizzled down the side of the bowl. I was surprised when it was successful. Maybe a similar method would have worked for the pudding recipe you tried.
I love the progression of these pictures. What an interesting process from hot to cold. Yum!
That is such a great story. “I meant to do that. Yeah!”
Looks great. And deadly rich.
So rich and a beautiful color! I would love to try some of this right now. I really need to invest in an ice cream maker soon. I have too many kitchen gadgets just taking up space. The color reminds me of my favorite food…speaking of which, what about Peanut Butter Ice Cream? How easy would that be?
– The Peanut Butter Boy
I don’t keep bourbon in my bar… can you give any hints as to what to pick up?? I loved your story-telling with this post. Nice work. ;)
I probably missed this, but what ice cream maker do you use? It looks soooooo good.
Butterscotch is my absolute favorite pudding (and pie) flavor and it has to be homemade, otherwise it’s just not the same. I’ve never had butterscotch ice cream but I bet it’s just as amazing…..it looks delicious and I can’t wait to give the recipe a try!
Looks delightful. I wish I could try some. We have an ice cream maker so we will have to give it a try.
Thanks,
Sharona May
This looks so good! I love butterscotch, and it’s hard to find a good butterscotch ice cream. Making it yourself sounds like a great idea!
Belle
Don’t get me started on Chris Kimball. Or yes, maybe get me started, but only when we’re out sometime for a martini or seven.
If you start feendin’ for pudding again, I’d recommend Shuna’s butterscotch pudding on eggbeater. I made it a while ago with dreamy results.
In the meantime, I really wish I had some butterscotch ice-cream, since it would probably be total perfection with the apple galette I made today (sorry, I’m using Shuna’s cheat sheet on how to do html in the comments sections of blogs, and I’m obviously getting a little carried away…)
Butterscotch is my muse. Soon blogging will be served with butterscotch everything and there won’t be a person safe from making, eating, churning, setting, baking and searing it. mmmmm grilled butterscotch. butterscotch confit anyone?
But pray tell, why the omission of salt? I find that butterscotch without salt is like a person without a soul.
As for the cornstarch conundrum, you must whisk constantly until you see a slow large bubbling. As soon as it boils it is done.
See more butterscotch pudding with cornstarch how-to here.
Guess I’m going to have to get that ice cream maker after all…I cannot resist this..I love butterscotch.
Oh, and I’ve had similar experiences with Cooks Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen baking recipes…some of them are ghastly and way off the mark…
Since you have been on a Giada kick lately and love citrus I was wondering if you had seen/tried this
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37266,00.html
I am a little leary that it doesn’t have you add any acid to the oil, but am wondering if the supremes add enough acidity to not merit it being added to the oil? I keep going back and forth on making it as I will be stuck eating it by myself, my husband doesn’t care for citrus.
oooooo lovely, WAY better than toffee or caramel it’s all about the butterscotch!
I have never had butterscotch ice cream.
I must make some. It must be done, as butterscotch is my second favorite of all time, next to chocolate.
I have three words: I love you! ‘Nuff said.
This may be worth the diabetic coma that will result…
I suspect that once I make this, I will never eat anything else ever again.
This blog is consistently entertaining and inspiring, but I love this post in particular.
It’s like an iconic comeback-kid story: aspirations, complications, inspirations… and at the end of the whole sticky tale, the butterscotch ice cream happy ending. Bully for you.
To think I’ve been panicking over what to do with the build up of egg yolks multiplying in my fridge! You must be sent from heaven… to avoid food-wastage ^__^. I’m sure there are angels for that.
That sounds delicious! I keep making more ice cream than I know what to do with, but this looks awfully tempting…
My Butterscotch recipe comes from Molly Katzens Vegetable Heaven. Perhaps i will make and document it.
Yum! It was good. Thank you!
God that sounds good. Butterscotch pudding, out of a box, was my childhood favorite.
LOL there’s an upside down smiley face on the ice cream! does anyone else see that?
Heavens.
Oh heavens.
My o My.
I’m getting fat b/c of you.
Butterscotch ice cream is definitely what I want to eat when I grow up :)
mmmmmm! that looks amazing! i don’t have much time to cook lately- but looking at your blog pretty much satisfies my hunger for the kitchen. now, if i we could only have a tiny taste of what looks so delicious….
Lovely. My husband would probably crawl on his belly to get some of that…think I will have to give it a try :)
Perhaps faced with a string of bad-luck kitchen karma, i have never had a good experience with the Joy of Cooking. Ever. I just checked my Martha book and there’s no recipe for butterscotch pudding there.. Hmm… I’ll look elsewhere at some point. The ice cream, however, is a brilliant way to turn the situation around though. what I wouldn’t give for KS not being lactose intolerant, so i can make these treats at home.
yes! i saw the smiley face too. and i have to agree, butterscotch pudding would definitely be at the top of the comfort food must-haves….was a fave of mine as a child, especially when it was still warm. my father, however, loved the butterscotch ice cream so make sure he doesn’t sneak into your freezer!
I saw similar puddings in David Lebovitz’s and Molly’s blog sites. I haven’t tried making one yet, but it seems worth a try-that is, after I try and make chocolate pudding.
My Favorite! I made salted caramel ice cream a while ago. I think it was my thirsd post when I started the blog. the funny thing is that I served it in the same glass bowl you have for your butterscotch ice cream! That’s funny. I love that bowl!
You have just shot me dead with this marvelous recipe. It will be an absolute hit among my friends. I’m so sure of it :-)
Your butterscotch ice cream looks amazingly good. So sorry for the aggravation with the recipe instructions – that’s so frustrating!
WOW! That looks great. My husband will love it.
Great story and an amazing turn around triumph!
Though I’m sure it was unplanned, I especially love the hopeful, upside down smiley face you captured on that scoop of ice cream! Even the ice cream cheers you on!
Best, Brooke
I made Lebovitz’s coffee ice cream last week, and added candied bacon and some maple flakes. Divine. But butterscotch pudding with candied bacon might be even better. Hmmmmmm…… methinks I have to try it this week.
Yum! Butterscotch pudding is my favorite and if this is what it dreams of being when it grows up I can’t wait to try to make it.
deb
well, intentional ice cream is a lovely stand-in for pudding, but I know that you can get pudding to set! Think of all the amazing things you have made!
Here is a link to a lemon pudding that might be just the ticket. Yes, I know it is not butterscotch but it might help you get over the bitterness. If not, please do not give me the evil eye or throw it out a window at pedestrians.
L*Joy
http://www.soupspoon.typepad.com/soupspoon/2008/03/proof-of-the-pu.html
okay, i need to make this. i did a variation of your chocolate pudding and it was *amazing* but i have failed several times at butterscotch. ice cream it is!
Quick question: did you use an actual ice cream maker or just a bowl? And if it was a bowl, what kind? I love butterscotch and enjoy ice cream, but I don’t know if I want to splash out on an ice cream maker just yet.
Love the site. Keep up the good work. :)
My eyes are so very wide right now! So very wide.
It sounds like you were trying to temper your egg yolks. I don’t suppose you poured the simmering material into the yolks very (very!) slowly, whisking the mixture voraciously until everything was mixed in?
That said, butterscotch ice cream sounds like a blast. I might have to give it a shot… after I’m done with David’s vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks.
That looks great!
while the pudding episodes were unfortunate, i guess they serve as proof that everything happens for a reason! the butterscotch ice cream looks amazing! :)
michelle
http://www.thelittledish.com
so, sort of a non sequitor, have you ever heard of monkey bread? if so, have you ever made it? my mother and i have made mini cupcake type ones by guessing, but we are dying for a real recipe….
this ice cream looks great by the way, my aunt loves pudding, i imagine she would love this. thanks.
This looks **so** tasty. And I like the pudding motto. I’ve done the same thing myself with chocolate pudding that wouldn’t set.
your first paragraph reminded me of the it’s happy bunny cartoon e-card that a good friend sent me that says “when life gives you lemons, use them to squirt juice in the eyes of your enemies!” If that can sell (and it does), I’m sure your line would sell even more!! You should try it! Just remember me when you’re rolling in dough (and i don’t mean the flour kind…although I would be a really happy girl if i ever got a chance to eat one of your pretty cakes) ;)
I bet if you did a mix-in of pralines your friend might never leave either…
For the life of me, I could not get this recipe to set in an ice cream maker. :-(
Did you have your bowl in the freezer for a day before using it? I find that unless the bowl insert is practically sub-zero cold, it never gets thick in 30 minutes? (I use this one, for reference.)
I made this w/o an Ice cream maker, so with a little more effort I urge all of you to give it a try! What I did was cool the final mixture in an ice bath to get the temperature down, giving it a stir every 10 minutes or so till it turns cold (be sure to use a metal bowl that will conduct the cold better than a glass one). Then i poured it into a square glass baking dish, covered with plastic, and put in my freezer. I took my egg beaters to it every so often to mix it up and keep it smooth, and after about 5 hours it was ready.
My only issue with the recipe is when the butterscotch is taken off the heat, I then turned my attention to the eggs and cream. It hardened and was not easily combined with the yolk/cream mixture, but maybe I wasn’t working as fast as most people.
nathan,
I haven’t tried this specific recipe yet, but I’ve found that I need to add a pinch of salt to any ice cream recipe to get it from soupy milkshake consistency to soft ice cream consistency, which then will later harden beautifully in the freezer. I also have to keep the ice cream bowl in the back corner of the freezer for a while until I can no longer hear any liquid (usually takes a few days… so I just keep it in the freezer all the time). I have this ice cream maker: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-30BC-Indulgence-2-Quart-Automatic/dp/B0006ONQOC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1205862175&sr=1-2
sorry I don’t know how to make pretty links.
If you do want to make a really delicious butterscotch pudding that is easy and DOES set (I tried it just last week), go to David Lebovitz’s website and try this: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/02/a_butterscotch.html
It worked really well for me and was delicious and fully butterscotchy and yummy.
Oh this looks fabulous…I think I have to start making this tonight. I think I have a new favorite food blog!
Another recipe bookmarked!
This looks fabulous! I recently found a tiny tube of saffron in my cupboard which I had forgotten about. It must be 10 years old. Do you have any idea if it is still usable?
Thanks for the intriguing recipes!
Boy do I regret not registering for an ice cream maker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the one hand, it’s been far too long since I dusted off the ice cream maker.
On the other, I doubt this last long enough to make it to ice cream. I’d chug that ingredient mixture like Gatorade at a marathon.
By the way, technically aren’t you making butterbouron ?
As a child I had almost unlimited access to a wonderful ice cream parlor. Our favorite sundae was coffee ice cream with real butterscotch sauce. Way too sweet for me now, but now I’m imagining your ice cream with some sort of coffee syrup. Or on a good, warm, fudgy brownie. OMG next time I go anywhere near the grocery store I am DEAD MEAT!
We finally made this today. We had some issues with the brown sugar and butter, and actually messed up our first attempt. On our second attempt we doubled the butter, which helped the brown sugar get to the correct consistency. It was a truly tasty ice cream. I’m very tempted to mix in some candied nuts the next time we make it.
In the future, it might be semi-helpful if notes were made about your photos as to which step exactly they’re representing—some people, like us, would find it handy to know the last photo up there is how it looks after you mix in the cream (though I guess I could have guessed by the small drops of cream on the rubber scraper/spatula).
Thanks for the recipe. Delicious. :)
Made this yesterday for my husband’s birthday. It is transcendent.
Though the butterscotch mixture did harden and get clumpy when I added the 1/2 cup cream, I was able to melt it all back down by keeping it on the stove (stirring constantly) for a few extra minutes. That actually got the sugar a little toasty, just enough to give the finished ice cream a really nice complexity of flavor — so it worked out.
I served this with Cooking Light’s Black and White Cake (chocolate and vanilla, as you can probably guess).
I tried making this recipe tonight and it kind of failed. The brown sugar and butter smelled good at first but then it quickly burned (i was using a low/medium flame) and no amount of cream could save it. When exactly do I add the cream? Does it need to turn to a full on liquid (which is what I thought “dissolved” meant) or just be kind of mixed with the butter? It never really bubbled as far as I could see until about 15 minutes (which is way more than you say it needs to cook). At that point it was very bitter even with the cream (i have a bitter tolerance and love dark caramel but this was beyond that point). Any insight in to this early stage of the butterscotch process would be helpful. I am desperate for butterscotch so I can’t wait to get this right, your help is really appreciated! thanks!
Hi every one, this is one of the most popular ice creams in India but it would also have some hard chunks of caramelized sugar like things of the size of chocolate chips in the cookie.
Hi Deb,
I made this yesterday and then wrote about it today. I had some of the same problems that James (and other commenters) had, but I got it to work the second time. It’s delicious. Thanks!
I made them! They taste great! Thanks for the recipe- I quoted it here: http://glimmercreations.blogspot.com/2009/04/lody-o-smaku-butterscotch.html
I am an ice cream junky. I make my own bc freezing high fructose corn syrup and red #40 doesn’t make it better. I had a pumpkin ice cream cake at my wedding bc if I want anything smashed in my face it’s pumpkin ice cream. Anyway, I made this recipe this morning (7am) and ended up having ice cream for breakfast (note: completely negated my 530am workout) bc it’s that good. AMAZING! Thanks Deb.
yahoo! gorgeous. this has been added to my list of ice creams to make, hooray!
thanks for sharing the recipe and the gorgeous pics!
:)
Wow! I am an ice cream fanatic and this looks REALLY good! I have wondered how to get that Butterscotch flavor into ice cream or anything? I will definitely be trying this and then covering it in homemade chocolate sauce. Salivating now.
Thanks!
Shuna Fish Lydon is the butterscotch goddess. I love it that she reads your website!
I finally tried this recipe. I had problems with the butter and brown sugar at first, as others have mentioned. I checked the Sunset recipe and saw that it called for stirring the butter, sugar, AND vanilla together in the first step. Once I tried adding the vanilla (and bourbon) as everything melted, it all worked out fine. Delicious!
What good timing! I made an unsuccessful batch of tapioca pudding this afternoon and you’ve inspired me to strain it and see what kind of ice cream it will make. Plus the pearls were fine in the second batch of custard so no waste!
What is the difference between butterscotch and caramel?
Butterscotch uses brown sugar; caramel uses white sugar.
I just wanted to say that this icecream is absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! My goodness did I enjoy that, plus I was able to impress my mother in law. Well done! and thanks
Didn’t read the comments and in trying to melt the brown sugar, I burned it. But I’ve had a burnt sugar ice cream before that was really delicious, so I just went with it. AWESOME. So good! Like the best part of creme brule, in an ice cream.
Deb,
I’ve been lurking on your site for about 3-4 months now. Your posts are such an inspiration.
I tried making this recipe twice and each time the sugar scorched before it had melted fully. The second time I tried keeping the temp really low, but this didn’t seem to help. It also took much longer than 3-4 minutes to melt…
Does anyone have any hints on what I could be doing wrong?
Thanks!
Gosh, this sounds and looks wonderful, but … I, who love rich dishes made with butter and cream (and, yes, sugar), who won’t even eat ice milk because it doesn’t have cream … am going to have to pitch this ice cream and mourn the waste of my eggs, cream, half & half, etc. I can’t eat it. Believe me, I’m not all that picky when it comes to ice cream! It may be my favorite food. :-) This, however, coated the inside of my mouth with a slick layer of fat. That is a turn-off for me, same as not being able to eat too greasy food (fried foods, yes, but not grease soaked). I am puzzled as I have never had ice cream do this. Either I somehow did something to produce this kind of oddball result in my ice cream (and I don’t see how, the recipe is fairly straightforward) or others must like that coating of fat in the mouth. ???
BTW, Deb, my comments are definitely not intended as criticism of you. Obviously, the recipe worked for you and you really like it. What more can you do? And I have no doubt many people will love it. We are all different, that’s for sure. But, because I am so surprised by this outcome, I’d really like to know whether you experienced that coating? (e.g., could be you did and like it) I hate feeling puzzled. Heck, not the first time a recipe others love didn’t work for me, and for sure won’t be the last — but curiosity itches on this one.
Sorry that it wasn’t to your taste. It happens! I don’t take offense; I know that not every recipe will be for everyone. I don’t remember experiencing a coating of fat but this was also from three years ago and I don’t clearly remember the taste. But, I think I would have brought up something as icky as that in the post.
LOL. Oh, I think if it had seemed that icky to you, you probably wouldn’t have posted the recipe! I dunno, I was thinking maybe others didn’t notice it so much (and thus didn’t think anything of it). That was the puzzler for me. But you know what … that mouthfeel *was* so icky that I don’t see how anyone could enjoy it. So maybe I just got some freakishly super-high-fat whipping cream or something. Thanks for answering, Deb. Stuff like this drives me nutz. I may try the recipe again later subbing whole milk for the half and half and see what happens. Hate to give up on butterscotch. Next for me though is a recipe I stumbled across today — David Lebovitz’s orange and szechuan pepper ice cream. Ooooooo. I am pysched. BTW, let me just say I’m a long-time fan of your site — I very much enjoy the recipes, but what hooked me and kept me coming back for more was the writing.
LOVE IT!!!
made it today with great success. only problem is, i have to refrain from eating it semi-frozen so the rest of the family can enjoy it.
i added a nice pinch of salt to the recipe to make it a SALTED butterscotch ice cream.
::LA BOMBA::
thanks for sharing the recipe!
hi deb. i made a large amount of butterscotch recently to make butterbeer, and ended up not using much so i have heaps left over and love the idea of making butterscotch ice cream. What volume is the butterscotch mixture you mix in at the end? anyone else has followed this recipe may be able to help to? or would it not matter if i add too much butterscotch?
thanks
In response to Tish, I have also made ice cream that leaves a fatty filmy feeling in my mouth – Dulce de Leche – which is delicious in all other ways. We have an ice cream party each year, and I am not making it this year for just that reason. No one else seems to notice or care. Shrug. I would be interested to hear if you tried it again with milk, if that helped or not.
Hi Deb. I am really hoping you can respond to Frances’ post of May 13th. Or posts 58, 67, 68, 69, 71, 77, and 82. We all burned the sugar and had to try again. In my case, after two tries I am giving up. It’s too depressing. The only solution I have read in all the posts were to either a) add the vanilla first, b) double the butter, or c) live with it. I’m not sure I am willing to try a third time, except that I already separated all the eggs! =(
Oh my god. I just made this (also my first time using the kitchen aid ice cream maker attachment) and it’s HEAVEN. I used Jack Daniels because I’m a peasant, and it’s super super good anyway. It’s for a dinner party tomorrow night, and I’m tempted to not serve anything but this. I might if I’d made more. Amazing. Thank you for this recipe.
I made this last night. At first I thought I burned the butterscotch (maybe I did?) but once it’s mixed in with the cream and frozen, the burnt flavor is much more slight and dare I say completely delicious. Also, I don’t’ know what I did but somehow the cream mixture came out very chunky (like, tiny cottage cheese-like chunks). I don’t have a fine strainer so I put it through some cheese cloth and strained it for a long time to extract as much liquid as possible, but there was quite a bit of “cheese” left in the cloth, which made me think I did something wrong. However, after mixing it in the ice cream maker and pouring it in a container to “cure”, I licked the spoon and it was the most delicious ice cream, so maybe I didn’t do too bad. I’m sure it will cure beautifully and be amazing. But I wonder if anyone else had the same chunky issue as I did or maybe I just cooked the cream/egg mixture too long? (And yes, I did whisk 1/2 cup of the hot cream into the yolks before adding it, so I don’t think my problem was scrambled eggs.)
Anyway, this is soooo good and worth making.
A heavenly dessert! I have always loved tapioca. It is so versatile and delicious.
Wow …just tried butterscotch ice cream with salted caramel topping!!! Yum :)))
Wow! Yum! This is one of the best ice creams ever. Honestly, to me it tastes more like creme brulee than butterscotch. No matter, it’s delish. My husband who hates sweets was leaning over the sink licking the ice cream machine paddle.
Do you think this will work with all heavy cream instead of half and half?
The unchilled liquid was amazing and I couldn’t stop eating it and it was perfect and tasted kind of like a frappucccino. Unfortunately, the ice cream turned out terribly with fat chunks and fat that coated my mouth. Probably the problem was that I’d had frozen heavy whipping cream which my husband thawed by putting in the oven and then forgetting about so it was heated too much. But once I’d made the ice cream “batter”, the separated fat chunks seemed to disappear, but I guess they returned when the ice cream chilled.
I made both the butterscotch icecream, and, because I seem to make lots of icecream and therefore always have containers of egg whites in my fridge doing nothing, I also made the hazelnut brown butter cake. OMG what a cake! This has totally solved my egg white dilemma. This cake tastes just like Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Ferrero Rocher! If you don’t, you’re a freak!
Just made this recipe this morning. Yum! It is amazing. Was like eating frozen butterscotch pudding. Thanks for a great recipe.
I think this is by far the favorite ice cream flavor in my house. I think I’m going to have to start making this in double (triple!) batches since a single batch doesn’t last more than a few hours. I did make some changes to the recipe. I used one yolk and three whole eggs for a more custardy taste and texture and I played around with the cream/half and half ratio and used whole milk in one of the batches. Both batches were devoured almost instantly. I will be making this again very soon! Thanks for the recipe!
Wow, i really wanna make this for my family, but how do i do it without the need of an ice cream maker?
I had the same problem with trying to make the butterscotch as a few others noted. Once I add the cream, even when it’s at room temp, the sugar and butter harden up. By the time i try to whisk everything, there are still hard remnants and it gets a burned taste. Why is the butterscotch in this recipe different from the butterscotch sauce you have posted? Would the other butterscotch sauce recipe, which incorporates all the ingredients at once, be better?
It still tastes ok, but I’m not getting the delicious flavor I imagine it’s supposed to have :(
Are you all using Salted or Unsalted butter in this recipe?
Unsalted butter.
After two butterscotch disasters (and I cook/bake all of the time), I took the advice of my son and youtubed it. Eureka — perfect butterscotch! The trick was to increase the butter to 4 T melted over low-med heat then add brown sugar. Mix it in but don’t stir much. Cook over low-med heat for 3-5 min until more liquid than wet sand. Add bourbon and vanilla and let cook down slightly then add 3/4 cup cream all at once. Whisk over med heat for 9-10 min. Remove from heat and add 1 t salt. HOWEVER, THE KEY IS TO USE A NON-STICK PAN!!!! I cannot tell you how much difference this makes.
I made this for a Labor Day BBQ yesterday. I was having trouble getting the sugar to melt and get all bubbly. I took a quick look at David Lebovitz’s recipe which was very similar, but called for twice as much butter (and to melt the butter first), so I stirred in another 2 T. Butter then continued as above. It turned out great. Really delicious butterscotch flavor. I topped it with a little sprinkling of Trader Joe’s candied pecans. YUM! Oh yeah, and I did make the Espresso Chocolate Shortbread cookies to serve with it. My friends still haven’t left. Lol.
Have you ever tried making this with maple sugar instead of brown sugar? I want the flavor of maple, butter and whiskey, but maple sugar is slightly drier than brown sugar. Perhaps add a little maple syrup? Thoughts?
Ber — I wouldn’t worry about the dryness. I haven’t made it with maple sugar, but it’s worth trying at least a partial swap.
Is this ice cream better with light brown sugar or dark brown sugar? I can’t tell from the picture which was used. By the way, I’ve been experimenting with Jen’s Spledid Ice Cream recipes to duplicate her Salty Caramel Ice Cream. It has a wonderful very lightly burned, salty butterscotch flavor (it’s apparently made with brown sugar even though it’s called a caramel ice cream). Do you have any recipes (aside from this one which probably tastes similar) that include that type of salty/burned flavor? I’m going to try it next using an old copper pan, which they use and wondering if using a copper pot will impact the flavor.
I made this yesterday and it’s almost as good as sex! Next time I make it (and there will be a next time) I’m going to drizzle home made caramel in it, and add some chocolate chips and possibly roasted hazelnut pieces, and then I’m sure it will be!
My son made this for tonight’s dessert – it was outstanding. Absolutely delicious; lovely creamy texture; wonderful. The only problem is that, since we didn’t have 6 eggs in the house, he only made a half recipe. Drat and zounds – must make a full batch! Soon!
its my first time making this ice cream
I’am a 70 year old man that loves to make ice cream. If you follow this recipe this is one of the best ice creams I have ever made. To die for!
Lane, do you use light or dark brown sugar? I’m hoping to solve the burnt-flavor problem that so many of us (including myself) have had. Your comment makes me want to try again! Thank you. :)
If I don’t use the bourbon will it still taste like butterscotch?
Yes. Bourbon is not part of the flavor profile for butterscotch. You can read more about it here, if you’d like.
Would using dark (vs light) brown sugar make it even more “butterscotchy”?
It can but the dark can burn more easily
I don’t have a fine strainer (or any strainer); is that okay?
Yes, it’s just for the smoothest, silkiest texture.
I just made this, and now I wish I had read all these comments beforehand. I kept the brown sugar and butter on very low and it started to smell burnt as soon as the sugar finally began melting (which took a while). I just barely let it get to the liquid bubbly phase before pouring in the cream because I could tell it was burning. Once it all gets mixed together, it’s not so bad, but it’s not nearly what it should be, I’m sure. Looks like so many others have had this problem, but Deb hasn’t (yet?) weighed in. But she did say (in response to a different question) that dark brown sugar burns more easily than light, so if I ever try this again, I’ll mix dark brown sugar with granulated sugar (I don’t buy light brown sugar). I’ve made caramel a few times so I’m confident that will help.
Butterscotch is typically “burned” a little to get it right; that’s where the flavor comes from. A little smoke coming off the caramel is fine.