butterscotch – Deja Food

The deliciousness I have for you this week is something of a Lego™ recipe in that it started with A New Thing, which was exciting and delicious, but for which I had no use for at the time. However, if you then clip it together with two other things, Voila! A NEW New thing that VERY usable anytime, but especially as a delicious-mouth-filler-round-about-mid-morning-with-some-hot-strong-coffee-thankyousoverymuch.

OK, enough code-talking. The New Thing to which I refer is something that I found on the internet which is Whipped Caramel. A simple and straightforward combination of sugar, cream and butter which is whipped as it cools to incorporate air into the mixture, thus making it light and creamy. It holds it’s shape very well, making it an indulgent means of filling and topping cakes, large and small.

However, I must confess to taking issue with the name, because it’s not so much caramel as butterscotch. Because, and I don’t feel this is too much of an exaggeration, it has butter in it. I also think it has something to do with the incorporation of the air. It’s almost as if it tastes lighter. Anyway, I only mention this because if you’re expecting a caramel from a recipe and you end up with a butterscotch, it might throw a spanner in your recipe works. A delicious spanner, but a spanner nonetheless.

So there I was, with some delicious whipped butterscotch, and nothing to use it on, so I popped it in the fridge, reasoning that, if nothing else, I could determine how long it would last.

Well, as luck would have it, my daughter came home from school the very next day with news that the school’s Macmillan Coffee Morning was scheduled for the end of the week and she needed ALL the bakes. Also lucky was the fact that I’d just finished my mammoth shortbread testing session, so it was just a matter of thinking what to top it off with, found I had some white chocolate in the cupboard, and the Coffee Morning was saved!

I was pleased with the way that the white chocolate finished it all off, and the overall result is very similar to Millionaire’s Shortbread (Sidebar: the difference between Millionaire’s and Billionaire’s Shortbread is, apparently, Billionaire’s Shortbread has a little salt in the caramel – who knew!?) to look at. The butterscotch and white chocolate gives it a flavour combination which is both decidedly different, and rather moreish. Teamed with your favourite 1:2:4 shortbread, and you have a customised treat fit for bake sales, gifting or even just hiding away for your own special treat.

The only changes I’ve made to the Whipped Caramel are a couple of suggestions for the method, which, due to the somewhat Faffy™ approach, will markedly reduce your chances of failure.

I am suggesting making a large batch here, mainly due to the Faff™ Factor, because you don’t want to end up having to go through it all again because it has been inhaled by your nearest and dearest. That said, you could make a batch of the caramel and just a regular batch of shortbread, and keep the extra in the fridge for later (it will keep a week at least).

Butterscotch Shortbread

There are three elements to this recipe: the shortbread, the whipped butterscotch and the white chocolate topping. I recommend that they are made in that order, or if you want to spread out the tasks, make the whipped butterscotch the day before.

The Shortbread

Make a batch of 1:2:4 shortbread.
- For a small batch, that uses only half the quantity of whipped caramel, use a tin of size 18cm x 25cm.
- For the large amount of butterscotch shortbread, I used a double batch of shortbread and a tin of dimensions 30cm x 22cm and bake for a total of 40 minutes, turning the tin around halfway through.
Take the cooked shortbread out of the oven and cut it to the size pieces you wish to serve your butterscotch shortbread. I cut fingers of dimensions approximately 3cm by 10cm. NB The finished shortbread is very rich, so smaller is better – with hindsight, a more reasonable size would have been 5cm x 3cm. Remember, you can always go back for another piece, but a too-large piece… well, let’s just say it IS possible to have too much of a good thing.
Set the shortbread aside to cool, either in the cooling oven or on the worktop.

The Whipped Butterscotch

375g caster sugar
100ml water
100g unsalted butter cut into cubes
300ml double cream[1]

Add the sugar and water to a pan. A broad (frying) pan will help with moisture evaporation more than a saucepan. A non-stick pan for preference.
Stir the sugar and water together over low heat until dissolved. It is possible to skip using the water and just melt the sugar, but you then run the risk of burning the sugar, and once burnt, there’s no disguising the bitterness. And I know this because I did it myself. I was melting the sugar without water, and I thought I’d smelled a touch of burn, but ploughed on regardless. After going through all the whipping and cooling and more whipping, it was very disappointing to be able to taste the burn in the finished butterscotch. So making a syrup and evaporating the water is worth it for peace of mind and guaranteed success, and doesn’t lengthen the process by much.
Simmer the syrup to evaporate the water, and allow it to bubble until it has reached a golden caramel colour. Once all the water has evaporated, it will caramelise quickly, so keep a beady eye on it.
When the caramel has darkened to your liking, add in the butter and whisk it as it melts.
Add the cream and continue whisking over heat until combined – about 2 minutes.
Pour the butterscotch into a bowl and cool in the fridge for 20 minutes. It won’t be cold, but it will be much cooler than it was, and quicker than waiting for it to cool on the side.
Using a hand whisk, or a stand mixer, whisk the butterscotch for 1-2 minutes. The aim is to incorporate as much air into the butterscotch as it cools. It will thicken as it cools and the colour will become lighter.
Put the butterscotch bowl into the freezer and chill for 10 minutes, then whisk again. Each time you whisk, the butterscotch will thicken and get lighter again.
You can now use your whipped butterscotch, or keep it in the fridge until required.

To Assemble

400g white chocolate

If you’ve stored your whipped butterscotch in the fridge, you might want to give it an extra whisk, to make it easier to spread.
Spread the butterscotch over your shortbread in as thick a layer as you wish. I recommend erring on the side of caution, as it is very rich. Smooth over the surface and chill in the fridge while the chocolate is prepared. If you don’t use all your whipped butterscotch, you can store it in the fridge in a covered container. When needed, just whisk it briefly to get it to a suitable softness.
Break the chocolate into squares and melt – either over hot water or in 30 second intervals in the microwave. Stir the chocolate until fully melted, and then for 1-2 more minutes in order to cool it down: too hot, and it will start to melt the butterscotch and you won’t get a clean finish. Then again, a few swirls of butterscotch in the chocolate isn’t the end of the world by any means.
Take the shortbread and butterscotch slab out of the fridge and pour over the melted chocolate. Smooth it to an even layer using an offset spatula.
Return the tin to the fridge to set completely.

To Divide

Regular listeners will be aware of how much I love a clean, sharp slice. Even the humblest of recipes can become eye-catching with the cunning wielding of a sharp blade.

That said, I’ve found one of the best blades is one of these dough scrapers. The blade itself isn’t sharp, but it is super thin and can make an excellent and clean cut.

Here is how to ensure your slab of butterscotch shortbread emerges in sharp and clean slices.

Remove your slab of butterscotch shortbread from the fridge and set it on the countertop.
Take a clean cloth or a double layer of kitchen roll and lay it on top of the set chocolate.
Lay a cutting board on top of that, and carefully turn the whole slab over, so that once the baking parchment is removed, the shortbread is uppermost.
The lines from cutting the shortbread earlier after it was baked should be visible.
Slide your dough blade into the cuts in the shortbread, then press down sharply to cut through both the butterscotch and the chocolate in one clean movement.
Make sure you have cut – or rather re-cut – through all of the pieces before transferring your butterscotch shortbread to an airtight container. Use a piece of parchment between layers to keep crumbs off your pristine chocolate finish.
NB I recommend storing your butterscotch shortbread in an airtight container in the fridge, or failing that, somewhere cool, in order to preserve the clean, sharp edges of the butterscotch. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

[1] You can also use whipping cream, which will give a softer textured butterscotch, that might be more suitable for frosting/filling cakes/cupcakes.

Some time ago *waves hand vaguely* I introduced you to an all-butter pastry which I had adapted from an old Victorian commercial baker’s book. The crust for my Cheese and Potato Pies has about 25% cornflour, which makes it fantastically silky-smooth to handle and which also bakes beautifully crisp and dry.

The recipe this week is for a sweet version, also from the same baking handbook: slightly different flour/butter proportions and enriched with the yolk of an egg, it is both more crisp and more delicate than the savoury version and a perfect foil for the three sweet fillings I’ve lined up for you, because I thought it rather a cheek to give you just a pastry recipe this week and let you get on with it. Plus I couldn’t get a lump of pastry to look tempting all by itself, so here we are.

The fillings are very much variations on a theme of dark muscovado sugar and I’m really pleased with the three differing flavours that resulted. The Butterscotch is really dark and very much a ‘grown-up’ flavour – you could even add a slosh of real scotch to ramp it up to dinner-party level. The Toffee is very child-friendly in flavour – almost mild – and a real comfort food. The Gypsy Tart is a 2-ingredient classic that harks back to memories of school dinners. There are many recipes for the filling ‘out there’, most of which generally have too high a proportion of sugar and too much milk, resulting in gigantic pies of tooth-aching sweetness. This version makes for a light and frothy filling with just the right balance of flavour and sweetness. It is the only one of the three that needs any further cooking once poured into the pre-baked pastry shell, but at just 20 minutes in a cool oven, these too are ready in a flash.

I’ve left all three unadorned, but you could add embellishment if you like – unsweetened whipped cream or creme fraiche rather than more sweetness in a chantilly or buttercream, is my recommendation. A smattering of chocolate sprinkles for the toffee tart, perhaps? Your call.

Cut Retro Tarts Dark Butterscotch (left), Toffee (middle), Gypsy Tart (right)

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

This quantity makes enough for one large tart or 4-8 individual tarts.

170g plain flour
56g cornflour
125g unsalted butter
15g caster sugar
1 large yolk

ice water to mix

Put the flours, butter, sugar and yolk into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
With the machine running, gradually add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together in a ball.
Tip the mixture onto a floured surface, knead smooth then wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out thinly and line your greased tart tin. If making smaller tarts, cut the pastry into 4 and roll out individually.
Leave the excess pastry hanging over the side of the tin/s and chill in the fridge for another 30 minutes. The pastry will shrink as it chills and then you can trim the excess. If you trim it first, the pastry will shrink down inside your tart cases, probably unevenly, and your pastry cases won’t have a nice finish.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, 180ºC Fan.
Prick the bottom of the tart/s with a fork to prevent blistering, line with baking parchment and fill with beans/rice/beads.
Bake for 10 minutes for small tarts, 12-14 minutes for a large tart.
Remove the parchment and beans and bake for a further 3 minutes for small tarts, 5-8 minutes for a large tart, until fully baked.
Allow to cool.

Butterscotch filling

170g unsalted butter
170g dark muscovado sugar
35g plain flour
100ml milk

Melt the butter and sugar in a pan, stirring.
Make a paste of the flour with a little of the milk, then stir in the rest of the milk.
Pour this milk mixture into the butter mixture and whisk vigorously.
Continue whisking until the mixture comes to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring, to ‘cook out’ the taste of the flour. The mixture will thicken.
Remove from the heat. Add a little extra milk – or scotch! – if it seems too thick, then pour into the bake pastry case/s and allow to cool.

Toffee filling

Warm the golden syrup before measuring it out, it will be much easier to pour accurately.

100g butter
40g plain flour
250ml milk
60g dark muscovado sugar
100g golden syrup

chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour. Whisk until frothed and starting to darken.
Warm the milk and sugar together and pour into the butter mixture, whisking briskly.
Keep stirring over the heat until the mixture thickens, then remove from the heat and stir in the golden syrup.
If the mixture seems too thick, add a little extra milk to loosen it.
When you’re happy with the consistency, pour into the pastry shells and set aside to cool.
Scatter over the chocolate sprinkles, if using, before serving.

Gypsy Tart filling

1 x 170ml tin evaporated milk – chilled
120g dark muscovado sugar

Chill the tin of evaporated milk in the fridge overnight. Do not skip this step. It will not whip up to its frothy perfection unless the milk is thoroughly chilled.
Get rid of all the lumps in the sugar by pounding it in a pestle and mortar. Work a little at a time rather than trying to get the whole batch lump-free in one go. It’ll give you something to do while the milk chills.
Put the sugar and the chilled milk into a bowl and whisk for AT LEAST ten minutes. You want the sugar to dissolve and the milk to increase in volume and become light and frothy, like half-whipped double cream. You can test whether the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing a little of the mixture between finger and thumb – it should not feel grainy at all. If you have a stand mixer and a balloon whisk attachment, this might take a little less time, but not much.
Preheat the oven to 120°C – NO FAN
Pour your mousse-like mixture into your pre-baked pastry case/s. It will not rise much in baking, so you can fill them pretty full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the filling has set: no wobble when gently shaken.
Set aside to cool.