Earlier, I raved about Pizzeria Mozza, a great little restaurant in Los Angeles and what great food they have. Their signature dessert that everyone raves about is called Butterscotch Budino with Caramel Sauce. The first time I visited Mozza the waiter recommended it.
I have made this two times at home. The recipe was featured in the New York Times. It is not super easy but is worth the effort. The combination of the creamy butterscotch pudding, tart creme fraiche topping and a hint of fleur de sel salt is perfect. My friends were skeptical when I told them about it but became believers after the first bite!
I started with the Butterscotch Budino , which is basically Butterscotch pudding. The recipe said to wait until it turned dark drown, nutty color but it started as dark brown sugar so it was hard to tell when it had carmelized. The second time I went by the time and was happier with the results.
Next, I added the cream mixture followed by the butter and rum. The first time I forgot to add the milk and it broke up. I was able to whisk it in and it turned out after all. It seems to be forgiving in that even if every step is not perfected the end result is still a good thing.
I spooned the pudding into ramekins, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.
For the caramel sauce I swirled the sugar, corn syrup, water mixture and let it become amber color and added the cream mixture. It was a bit smoky amber with the vanilla beans showing.
I made the cream mixture but don’t think I thickened the cream enough first. The second time I made it a bit thicker. The last time I served in a little glass which was made a more attractived presentation. Both times I’ve made it the dessert has been a huge hit.
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