ButterIrish Pudding?

It's come to this. The only things that are comfortable to eat have to be the consistency of pudding. As the happy owner of Dorie Greenspan's fabulous cookbook, Baking: from my home to yours, I have the means to make that an OK thing. Really, who would have thunk that dental work would give me the excuse needed to make the rich and ravishing Butterscotch Pudding?

The two keys to this recipe are diligent stirring and having a food processor. Check and check. It also helps to have the ingredients. A quick check of the pantry showed that I did have everything, but I forgot to check liquor cabinet (which is actually just a shelf in the corner of the living room amongst the many, many military books that Sweetie has collected). Turns out that the Scotch to make this butterscotch had been used up on the last grilled salmon he made.

It also turns out that Irish whiskey makes a great flavoring for this pudding. Somehow ButterIrish Pudding doesn't have the same ring. It does have a wonderful smoky flavor which reminded me pleasantly of the peat smoke in Cousin M's stove.

Allow enough time to make this gentle dessert and for it to cool for at least 4 hours in the fridge to reach a lovely, silken, mouth filling perfection. If you must gild the lily, a dollop of whipped cream and/or some candied nuts work well. Since I'm still at the soft food stage, I stuck with unadorned pudding. My camera skills also seem to be impaired...darn those drugs...but it was yummy pudding even if pics don't quite reflect that. A little thinner than I had hoped, but I added an extra egg yolk by mistake (can I blame that on the drugs, too?), so not too surprising.

Real Butterscotch Pudding Recipe

Taken from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home To Yours (page 386)
Dorie says, "Here's the real deal--butterscotch pudding made with real butter and real Scotch whisky. It is, as all good puddings must be, smooth, creamy and comforting, but it's also got a little kick, making it anything but a nursery sweet."

• 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1 3/4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons Scotch whiskey (preferably a strong single malt)

Have six ramekins or pudding cups, each holding 4 to 6 ounces 1/2 to 3/4 cup), at hand.

Put the brown sugar and water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, put the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stirring and lowering the heat if necessary, boil for 2 minutes. Add 1 and a 1/2 cups of the milk and the cream and bring to a boil--don't worry if, as it's heating, the mixture curdles.

While the milk is heating, put the cornstarch and the salt in a food processor and whir to blend. Turn them out onto a piece of wax paper, put the sugar and egg yolks in the processor and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and pulse just to mix, then add the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to blend.

With the machine running, very slowly pour in the hot liquid, process for a few seconds, then pour everything back into the saucepan. Whisk without stopping over medium heat--making sure to get into the edges of the pan--until the pudding thickens and a couple of bubbles burble up to the surface and pop (about 2 minutes). You don't want the pudding to boil, but you do want it to thicken, so lower the heat, if necessary.

Scrape the pudding back into the processor (if there's a scorched spot, avoid it as you scrape) and pulse a couple of times. Add the butter, vanilla and scotch and pulse until everything is evenly blended.

Pour the pudding into the ramekins. If you don't want a skin to form, place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of each pudding to create an airtight seal. Refrigerate the pudding for at least 4 hours.

Makes 6 servings.