Gourd Stiff

October 7, 2011 1:23 PM

Here is a recipe for butterscotch. Here is a recipe for butterscotch pudding. Here is a recipe for squash pudding. MeFites, can you help me combine these concepts to create a recipe for Buttersquatch Pudding?

My partner brought home three big butternut squashes that are just taking up space in our kitchen right now. I love a good play on words and Buttersquatch Pudding sounds delish.

Possible setback: I haven't got a food processor, only a beleaguered blender.

posted by Lieber Frau to food & drink (10 answers total)

It should be noted that your squash pudding link calls for yellow squash/summer squash, not a winter squash like butternut.
posted by advicepig at 1:34 PM on October 7, 2011

1. make the butterscotch recipe
2. replace the sugar in the squash pudding with the butterscotch. Omit vanilla and butter from pudding recipe.

Part of me wants to say you'll need to add a little more flour, because of the molasses in the brown sugar and the heavy whipping cream from the butterscotch. Problem is that you cook a lot of the water out of those. You could try another tablespoon.
posted by royalsong at 1:34 PM on October 7, 2011

Noted. Here is a butternut squash recipe.
posted by Lieber Frau at 1:35 PM on October 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

oop, okay. That one is a little less similar in ingredients then the first.

The basic premise I was trying to get at is that butterscotch itself it sweet. So it should replace the main sweetener in the squash pudding. I would be careful adding it in equal proportions though. You concentrate the amount of sugar by volume when you make the butterscotch (when you reduce it). So if you just swapped out the butterscotch for the sugar, keeping the volume the same - it might end up unbearably sweet.

Unfortunately there's no real way to tell you how much or little you should use without making the recipe. If you're comfortable tasting the pudding as it cooks, you could adjust it by adding more butterscotch later.

And although that recipe is using cornstarch instead of flour, I would still add a little bit more to make up for the increased liquid from the butterscotch.
posted by royalsong at 1:46 PM on October 7, 2011

OP, please report back with the results. I'd like to try some buttersquatch!
posted by reverend cuttle at 1:46 PM on October 7, 2011 [2 favorites]

Another name for winter squash pudding is "pumpkin pie filling" -- a baked custard made with cream or evaporated milk, precooked and strained or pureed squash, sugar and a few other flavorings. The butterscotch pudding recipe you linked to is also a baked custard. The two should be very compatible. The butternut squash pudding recipe you linked to is cooked on the stovetop rather than baked, and so uses corn starch to help thicken it. I'd go the baked route (skip the cornstarch), and so look for a pumpkin pie recipe to use as a template.

Much like royalsong, I'd make a batch of butterscotch and sub it into a pie filling recipe for some of the sugar and cream. Play with the ratios until it tastes good. Bake in a water bath.
posted by jon1270 at 1:53 PM on October 7, 2011 [4 favorites]

The easiest way to achieve this would be to add pureed squash to a butterscotch pudding recipe. Try to get the squash reasonably dry, don't add too much, and you should be OK. If your pudding mixture ends up too wet, you could reduce the milk a little next time.
posted by ssg at 1:53 PM on October 7, 2011

"pumpkin pie filling" -- a baked custard made with cream or evaporated milk, precooked and strained or pureed squash, sugar and a few other flavorings.

And eggs, of course.
posted by jon1270 at 1:54 PM on October 7, 2011

That one recipe linked from the butternut squash recipe is also called "Butternutscotch pudding" so maybe it's pretty close already.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:02 PM on October 7, 2011

And eggs, of course.

Not necessarily. This vegan pumpkin pie recipe is outstanding. (The filling, at least; I can't speak to the crust.) And making it vegan means you can lick the bowl afterwards without worrying about salmonella.
posted by Lexica at 11:16 AM on October 8, 2011