Why Your Butterscotch Pudding Should Always Become Ice Cream (Trust Me)

Thursday, August 21, 2025

A brown-sugar caramel folded into a rich egg-custard, chilled and churned — butterscotch ice cream that started life as a failed pudding and ended up brilliant.

Why Your Butterscotch Pudding Should Always Become Ice Cream (Trust Me)

Everyone needs a motto, an inspirational catchphrase or a daily affirmation and at least for the duration of this post, mine is going to have to be: when life gives you stupid, annoying pudding that never, ever sets, make ice cream. What? You don’t think it will work for t-shirts and taglines? I’m crushed.

At-a-glance

Servings

Yield

Not specified

Makes one quart

butterscotch ice cream

But I have, indeed, come a long way from my late-February butterscotch pudding nadir. After the Valentine’s chocolate pudding experiment, I decided the world needed better butterscotch pudding recipes. They’re comforting and not too heavy. Store-bought mixes, however, bear no resemblance to a butterscotch coaxed from brown sugar, vanilla and a hint of bourbon.

butterscotch ice cream

Alas, the first two pudding recipes I tried conspired against me. The Joy of Cooking version never set — possibly because I didn’t cook the cornstarch pudding long enough. The Christopher Kimball method produced the best flavor but collapsed when hot liquid was poured directly over yolks; the mixture curdled into lumps. I strained and refrigerated it, but still no set.

butterscotch ice cream

Kimball’s pudding tasted closest to proper butterscotch, though it wouldn’t set. I ran the loose custard through an ice-cream maker out of frustration and delightfully discovered a brilliant solution: butterscotch ice cream.

butterscotch ice cream

butterscotch ice cream

Butterscotch ice cream proved so good I made it again the next week. A Sunset Magazine recipe brought intentional butterscotch ice cream into my kitchen — and it felt like the natural destiny of butterscotch pudding.

butterscotch ice cream

butterscotch ice cream

Butterscotch Ice Cream

Ingredients

Ingredient

Amount

Brown sugar (firmly packed)

1 cup

Butter

2 tablespoons

Vanilla

1 tablespoon

Bourbon (optional)

2 teaspoons

Whipping cream

1 1/2 cups

Half-and-half (light cream)

2 cups

Egg yolks

6 large

Method

  1. In a 1– to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar and butter until the butter melts, the sugar dissolves, and the mixture bubbles, about 3–4 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup whipping cream until smooth; remove the pan from heat. Stir in vanilla and bourbon, if using.

  2. In a 3– to 4-quart pan over medium-high heat, combine the remaining 1 cup whipping cream and the half-and-half; bring to a simmer.

  3. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks in a bowl to blend. Whisk 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture into the yolks, then pour the yolk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the cream. Stir constantly over low heat just until the mixture slightly thickens, 2–4 minutes. Remove immediately from heat.

  4. Strain the custard through a fine strainer into a clean bowl and whisk in the butterscotch mixture. Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or cover and chill up to 1 day.

  5. Freeze the chilled mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve softly frozen, or transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.

    butterscotch ice cream

    Note: Serve with espresso-chocolate shortbread cookies for an irresistible pairing.

Practical Tips

Tip

Cook the brown sugar and butter until bubbly (about 3–4 minutes) before adding cream.

“stir brown sugar and butter until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes.”

Temper egg yolks with a little hot cream before returning them to the pan to avoid scrambling.

“Whisk 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture into egg yolks, then pour egg yolk mixture into pan with cream.”

Strain the custard and chill it thoroughly (2 hours or up to 1 day) before churning.

“Pour through a fine strainer… Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or… up to 1 day.”

Freeze churned ice cream at least 6 hours for a firm texture; serve softly frozen if preferred.

“Serve softly frozen, or… freeze until firm, at least 6 hours…”

If pudding won’t set, consider running it through an ice-cream maker — it can become a stellar ice cream.

“I decided to run it through the ice cream maker… butterscotch ice cream is amazing.”