Actor Sam Heughan released a bottle of blended scotch whisky called “Sassenach.” I'm an enormous Outlander Stan, so I obviously had to buy it. I was enjoying a wee dram of Sassenach when it occurred to me that it would be perfect for butterscotch pudding.

In late January, I made a delicious butterscotch pie with Sassenach, and the filling was so tasty that I thought it could stand alone. Here’s my recipe for butterscotch pudding with toasted pecans and whisky whipped cream.

Ingredients

Pudding

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons good blended scotch whisky
• 1 teaspoon good quality sea salt
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toasted Pecans

• 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon good quality sea salt

Whisky Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoon blended scotch whisky, chilled

Instructions

Step 1

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and egg yolks until thick and smooth. 

Step 2

Melt butter in a large pot. Pour the dark brown sugar into the pot and increase the burner’s temperature to medium-high heat — cook for about five minutes. The mixture should be a bit foamy and smell a little smoky. I cooked my sugar/butter mixture for almost 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in both the heavy cream and milk. Whisk until the sugar melts - this will take several minutes. Be cautious because pouring the dairy in will cause some pretty aggressive foaming.

Temper the egg and cornstarch by quickly whisking in 1 cup of the butterscotch cream. Increase the temperature to medium-high (cornstarch activates at about 203 degrees) and add the tempered egg while continuously whisking. Keep whisking to ensure the pudding doesn’t stick to the bottom or become overly curdled. Whisk until thick and pudding-like. Stir in the whisky, sea salt, and vanilla.

Step 3

Get a mesh sieve and strain your pudding. Nobody likes a lumpy pudding. Allow the pudding to chill in the refrigerator for 2+ hours.

Step 4

Combine pecans, cooking oil, and sea salt in a skillet over medium heat. Toast the pecans until brown, glossy, and fragrant. Toasting the pecans takes about five minutes. Do this step right after putting the pudding in the refrigerator, you want the pecans to be at room temperature before serving.

Step 5

Whisk the heavy cream and sugar together using chilled beaters. Once the whipped cream is almost at the right consistency, whisk in chilled whisky. Make the whisky whipped cream right before serving.