Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding magic – one batter transforms into a warm butterscotch pudding cake AND butterscotch sauce! The cake is fudgy and moist, and the sauce is rich and indulgent, just like a homemade caramel sauce.
This recipe is the butterscotch version of everybody’s favourite Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding. Just as quick, just as easy, just as loved!
Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding
There’s something childishly satisfying about self saucing puddings. I love the magic of it – one batter making a warm pudding plus a sauce.
And I love the cosiness of puddings. Put a delicately crafted chocolate masterpiece next to a “rustic” bowl of apple crumble topped with a melted mess of ice cream, and I’d choose the crumble any day and twice on Sunday.
So – 6 tier cakes you may never find on here (2 tier is my limit, it seems).
Rustic puddings and cosy crumbles? You will find lots of them here. Aforementioned Apple Crumble has much company, including Strawberry Crumble, Caramel Baked Apples, Sticky Date Pudding, Bread and Butter Pudding and of course, everybody’s favourite Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding.
And this Butterscotch Pudding is the latest to join the gang!
How to make Butterscotch Pudding
I promised you quick and easy, and I did not exaggerate.
Essentially, what you do is make one simple batter, then sprinkle the top with a sugar-cornflour mixture and cover with hot water. Then as it bakes, the sugar-cornflour mixture sinks to the bottom (I like to imagine all sorts of wonderful things happen as it passes through the pudding sponge) and it bubbles away and thickens under the pudding as it rises into a fluffy, moist cake.
It’s like…. magic!!
I love how it looks so innocent with it comes out of the oven… no hint of all that gorgeous butterscotch sauce underneath!!
What goes in Butterscotch Pudding
And here’s what you need to make it. Very few ingredients!
Just a note on a few of the items:
DARK brown sugar – using dark rather than normal brown sugar intensifies the butterscotch flavour of the pudding and the sauce. So use it if you can – but it’s still well worth making even if you only have normal brown sugar!
Golden syrup – an Aussie/UK syrup used in baking, such as Anzac Biscuits. It has a caramel type flavour which makes it ideal to use in the pudding to give it a butterscotch flavour without making a caramel the traditional way with butter and sugar. It’s not widely available outside of Australia/NZ/UK though here it is on Amazon.com ($3.63 for a can).
Best substitute golden syrup
Dark corn syrup (this is ideal), honey or maple syrup. Any of these will be fine because most of the butterscotch flavour in this overall dish comes from the sauce!
PLENTY of Butterscotch Sauce!
This recipe makes a generous amount of Butterscotch Sauce because I can’t imagine anything more disappointing than cutting through hot pudding only to find little or no sauce underneath. 😩
So this recipe makes almost 50% more sauce than usual Butterscotch Pudding recipes which provides some margin for error, and differences in oven temperature, depth of baking dishes…. and all the other little things that can affect the outcome of a recipe.
The other nice thing about this pudding is that it’s not too sweet. Butterscotch sauce is typically made with just butter and sugar (like this caramel sauce) but in this Pudding, the sauce is also thickened with cornflour/cornstarch which means less sugar is needed to achieve the syrupy consistency.
Which means you can totally justify topping with ICE CREAM!!! In fact, scratch that. Ice cream is mandatory!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More warm, cosy desserts
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Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding
Ingredients
Butterscotch Pudding:
- 1/4 cup (50g) dark brown sugar , packed (Note 1)
- 1 1/4 cup (185g) plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup (125ml) milk (full or low fat)
- 4 tbsp golden syrup (Note 2)
Butterscotch Sauce:
- 3/4 cup (150g) dark brown sugar , packed (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp cornflour / corn starch
- 2 cups (500ml) boiling water
Serving
- Vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
- Grease a 6 cup baking dish (1.6L/1.6Q) with butter.
- Butterscotch Sauce: Whisk sugar and cornflour in bowl. Set aside.
- Pudding batter: Place sugar, flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add butter, egg, milk and golden syrup. Whisk until mostly lump free.
- Scrape into baking dish and smooth surface.
- Sprinkle Butterscotch Sauce sugar mixture all over surface.
- Pour boiling water over the surface over the back of a dessert spoon held as close to the batter as you can (to soften the pour so it doesn’t break the surface of the batter).
- Transfer to oven, bake 40 minutes or until skewer inserted into the cake part comes out clean.
- Cut through pudding to reveal butterscotch sauce underneath.
- To serve, scoop pudding into a bowl then douse with butterscotch sauce. Top with ice cream!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Just had breakfast.
Now it’s snooze time.
We all want #LifeofDozer!!
I made this dish tonight and it absolutely delicious. Definitely another recipe from this website that I will use again and again. Thank you for sharing.
Terrific to hear you enjoyed it Lyndsay!! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x
In the recipe it calls for cornflour/cornstarch, do I use one or the other and is there a preference?
Hi Olivia! Ali is correct – they are the same thing 🙂 N x
Different terminology for what is essentially the same thing 😉
OMG so yummy 😋
It IS so SO YUMMY!!!! N x
I made your chocolate pudding a couple weeks ago and thought, “I wish Nagi had a butterscotch pudding recipe.”
But that was a couple of weeks ago! Now, I’m sitting here on my second day of my new diet, and this is what comes up in my Facebook newsfeed!
WHYYYYYYYYY?!
*Bookmarks page for near future*
Actually, no, it was through my email…. Is anywhere safe anymore?!!
😂😂😂 Not in this day and age!!!
This sounds absolutely divine! Golden Syrup is also readily available in Canada, it’s made by Rogers who also make sugar products here.
Ooh! I love hearing that Wendy! N x
Your my hero, my grandma use to make this when I was a kid, really happy you posted this … Well my taste buds do.
Aww I love hearing that! N x
hi nagi my mum loves this sort of dessert could you do it in ramekins as their is only mum and I,
thanks had your chicken stew last night just love ALL your reccipes
HI Betty! I haven’t tried but I do plan to try one day and will update the recipe! N xx
This looks so yummy, however, I’ve tried this type of dessert and it has always turned out watery. Does this sauce thicken?
Hi Susan! This sure does because the sauce is thickened with cornflour / cornstarch 🙂 N x
Wow Wow wow, this just dropped in my email today, I am making it this weekend and getting unashamedly fat!!😍
Let’s eat salad all week!! 😂 N x
Since I have teenagers plus my hubby, I’d like to make this in a 9 x 13 cake pan. Anyone know if I should double or triple the recipe? I’d bet it will last a day and a half in this house.
Update: I made this last night while we had dinner. 4 out of the 5 of us liked it. My sauce got a little thicker but that’s an easy fix next time. I am going to order the Golden syrup, it’s not sold near me. We found the use of honey to be too strong flavored. I’m the only one in the house who likes honey and it was too much for me. Nagi I saw recipes to make tithe golden syrup online when I was searching to see if it was sold here. Have you even made it? When I read the recipe I just didn’t see how it would get the flavor you described. Thank you for your great recipes, many are loved by my family.
Yup! You can totally double the recipe and use a 9 x 13 🙂 N x (PS bonus – you can check the side to ensure there’s still plenty of sauce! N x
This looks bomb! Have a girls getaway next weekend and going to make this – thanks Nagi! Will post a follow up.
Can I use Moscovado sugar?
You sure can! Have fun with the girls! N x
This looks so yummy! Definitely going to try it this weekend!
Hope you got a chance! N x
You’ve done it again! I am looking forward to making this with my daughter this winter… You make your recipes look easy which gives me the confidence to want to make them. I do and they come out fabulous!
Love you Nagi!!
😘 N xx
Omg this looks divine!! Has anyone tried it with gf flour? Would love to make this for my daughter!
I haven’t sorry Nicole 🙂 N x
Hello Nagy, the self-saucing pudding sounds almost exactly like an old Quebec recipe called Pouding chômeur. Yummy
Oooh! I love hearing that Gail! N x
Looks absolutely delicious, and as we are heading into Winter over here perfect timing! I doubt there is much better as the days start to get colder…….
Right on! 🙂 N x