Image is for illustrative purposes only.
A classic butterscotch sauce built on brown sugar, butter and cream, cooked until it is glossy and deep amber and lightly thickened so it clings rather than runs straight off the plate. The flavour is rich and toffee-like with the faint salty edge that butter gives, and the texture is smooth and pourable while warm, thickening further as it cools.
It is a very useful sauce to have in the fridge in cake work: spoon it warm over sticky date pudding or baked puddings, drizzle it around a plated dessert, layer it between sponge and cream, or use it as the caramel note in a banana or coffee cake. Because it is stabilised with a little starch it stays smooth on reheating and does not split.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 950
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: batch of about 950 g of sauce (roughly 3½ cups)
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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240 |
8.4 ounces
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Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content (natural brown sugar), or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar (commercial brown sugar).
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lightly packed |
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B
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400 |
1.7 cups
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Thickened Cream
Cream is used as an ingredient in many foods, including ice cream, many sauces, soups, stews, puddings, and some custard bases, and is also used for cakes. Perfect for pouring, baking, whipping or adding the indulgent touch to your favourite recipes.
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C
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300 |
10.6 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
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diced |
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D
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10 |
0.4 ounce
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Modified Starch
Modified starch is a corn or tapioca starch that has been treated so it thickens smoothly and stays stable when acid, sugar and freezing are involved. In a glaze it gives body and shine without becoming cloudy or watery; plain corn starch can be used instead, though the set will be a little softer.
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950
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Measure everything before you start and set a heavy based saucepan on the stove. Take a few spoonfuls of the cold B (thickened cream) from the weighed amount and whisk it with D (modified starch) in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. |
No lumps in the slurry |
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2 |
Melt |
Melt C (unsalted butter) in the saucepan over medium heat. |
Fully melted, not browned |
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3 |
Cook |
Add A (brown sugar) and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved into the butter and the mixture begins to bubble. |
Smooth, glossy and no sugar grains felt on the spoon |
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4 |
Add |
Pour in the remaining B (thickened cream) in a slow stream, stirring all the time. Stand back, as the mixture will steam and rise. |
Sauce comes back to a gentle boil and looks even in colour |
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5 |
Thicken |
Stir the starch slurry once more and whisk it into the simmering sauce. Cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. |
Sauce thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon |
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6 |
Strain |
Pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean jug or jar. |
Completely smooth |
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7 |
Cool |
Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. Warm gently before serving to bring it back to pouring consistency. |
Thick and spoonable when cold, pourable when warm |
Important Notes
This scaled batch makes about 950 g of sauce, roughly 3½ cups. Keep it in a clean sealed jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, or freeze it in small tubs. It thickens a lot when cold, so warm it in a microwave in short bursts or in a bowl over hot water, stirring, until it pours again. If it looks oily after reheating, whisk it hard off the heat and it will come back together. For a salted butterscotch, whisk a good pinch of salt in at the end.
Tools & Arrangements
Kitchen scales, heavy based saucepan, whisk, wooden spoon, small bowl for the starch slurry, fine sieve, heatproof jug or storage jars.
