Butterscotch is a variation on a caramel sauce; it starts with a fairly light caramel for a delicate toasty base, and then it’s enriched with the addition of butter. This sauce is irresistible drizzled over a couple of scoops of ice cream or nibbled right off the spoon. Serve it warm, when it’s thick and pourable; it takes on a pleasant, slightly chewy consistency when it comes in contact with cold ice cream.
AT A GLANCE
MAKES: about 1½ cups
TECHNIQUE: Variation on caramel
SHELF LIFE: 2 weeks (or longer!)
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- ½ vanilla bean
- ½ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch slices
- Pinch of kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Set the cream by the stove so it’s at hand when you need it.
- Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and use the knife to carefully scrape the seeds from the pod. Put the seeds and the split pod in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Add the water and cream of tartar to the pan and carefully pour the sugar into the center of the bottom of the pan. Do not stir.
- Put the pan over medium-high heat. At this point you must watch the sugar constantly because once the caramelization begins the mixture can burn in a matter of moments! Cook without stirring until the sugar begins to brown in spots, 8 to 11 minutes. Gently swirl the pan once to evenly distribute the contents.
- When the caramel is a light amber color (just a little darker than honey), about 5 minutes longer, remove the pan from the heat and immediately but slowly pour the cream into the pan. (The mixture will steam and bubble up, so wear oven mitts and be very careful to avoid splatters and steam burns.) When the bubbling subsides, gently stir to completely blend the cream into the caramel, scraping the vanilla bean seeds from the sides of the pan back into the sauce. If you have lumps of hardened caramel in your pan, put the pan over low heat and stir until the caramel is melted.
- With a fork, carefully remove the vanilla pod from the sauce (it will be very hot!). Add the butter and salt and stir gently to blend. Let cool until just warm. If not using within a few hours, transfer to a container and refrigerate. Rewarm before using.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN
•Make it boozy! Add a couple of tablespoons of scotch or bourbon along with the butter and salt.
