BUTTERSCOTCH BUDINO WITH CARAMEL SAUCE AND MALDON SEA SALT
Before we opened either restaurant, Dahlia and I scoured our favorite Italian cookbooks to get ideas for desserts we might want to offer. The one that seemed to be in every book was budino, or pudding. We decided to serve butterscotch pudding because we both love American butterscotch pudding. It immediately became our signature dessert in the Pizzeria. And it still is the most talked about, written about, dreamed about, and ordered dessert we offer-at either restaurant. Two things to keep in mind for the success of the pudding are, first, that you heat the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan so you can cook it sufficiently without it burning. But the real "secret," which our intrepid recipe tester Lyn Root taught us, is that if the smoke alarm in your house doesn't go off while you're cooking the sugar, chances are you haven't cooked the caramel long enough. We serve these in glasses, such as highball glasses, which look really pretty because you can see the different layers of ingredients. It's also convenient in that you probably have plenty of such glasses at home. You will need twelve heat-resistant 8-ounce glasses or 7-ounce ramekins to make this.
Yield serves 12
Number Of Ingredients 22
Steps:
- Fill a large bowl with ice water and set a smaller bowl inside. Set a fine-mesh strainer in the smaller bowl.
- To make the budino, stir the cream and milk together in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, egg, and cornstarch together. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup of water in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. Cook the sugar, without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally for even cooking, until the sugar is smoking, nutty smelling, and a very dark caramel color, 10 to 12 minutes. (Don't be alarmed: the sugar will become foamy and lava-like with slow-bursting bubbles.) Reduce the heat to low and immediately add the cream-milk mixture in a thin, steady stream, stirring with a whisk as you add it. This stops the cooking process and prevents the sugar from burning. This will cause the sugar to seize, or harden. Increase the heat to high and cook until the seized sugar has dissolved and the mixture is liquid again, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat. Ladle out 1 cup of the hot cream and sugar mixture and gradually add it to the bowl with the eggs, whisking constantly to prevent the cream mixture from cooking the eggs. Continue adding the cream to the eggs until you have added half of the cream. Gradually add the contents of the bowl to the saucepan with the remaining caramel, stirring constantly with a whisk, and cook the custard over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the butter and whiskey.
- Pour the custard through the strainer into the bowl set in the ice, and ladle it into the glasses or ramekins, leaving at least 1 inch of space at the top of each budino. Place the budini on a baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours to chill. (The budini can be prepared to this point up to three days in advance.) Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator, cover each budino with plastic wrap, and return the budini to the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.
- To serve, if the caramel sauce has cooled, warm it over medium heat until it returns to a loose saucelike consistency and is barely warm but not hot. Remove the budini from the refrigerator and spoon 1 tablespoon of the sauce on each budino. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and top each with a big dollop (about 2 tablespoons) of the whipped cream. Place each budino on a small plate, ideally lined with a small napkin or doily, and place two Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies, if you are using them, alongside each glass on the plate.
- Pour the cream into a medium saucepan. Using a small, sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Use the back of the knife to scrape out the pulp and seeds and add the scrapings and the bean to the saucepan with the cream. Heat the cream over high heat until it just begins to boil. Turn off the heat and add the butter, stirring until it melts.
- Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup of water in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook without stirring, swirling the pan for even cooking and brushing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush to remove the sugar crystals until the sugar becomes a medium amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove the caramel from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean from the cream mixture and discard the bean. Gradually add the cream mixture to the caramel, whisking constantly to thoroughly combine, taking care as the mixture will steam and bubble. Serve the caramel sauce, or set it aside to cool to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one month. Before serving, warm the sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to melt it.
- Pour the whipping cream into a chilled bowl and whip it with a chilled whisk until it thickens to soft peaks. Do not overwhip the cream, as it will become curdled. Add the crème fraîche and gently beat it until the whipped cream is thick and mousselike. (Use the cream or cover the bowl and refrigerate until you're ready to serve it or for up to several hours. Before serving, whip gently to stiffen if it separated.)
- Recioto di Soave (Veneto)
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