Are you a fan of butterscotch? I am, but in limited consumption. Butterscotch cookies are awesome. Butterscotch sauce poured over ice cream and you can count me in. Butterscotch Pudding, now that’s where I draw the line unless it’s served as a Trifle.
Way back in 1848 in an issue of Liverpool Mercury, a recipe for Doncaster Butterscotch was first published. Samuel Parkinson is given credit for first making a Butterscotch hard candy in 1817, so while popular with the royal seal of approval, it took a while for the recipe to appear in print. The original recipe called for one pound of butter, one pound of sugar and a quarter of a pound of treacle, boiled together. In case you were wondering, Treacle is any un-crystallized syrup made during the refining of sugar. Black Treacle is also known as molasses, with a distinctively strong, slight bitter flavor. Golden Treacle, or Golden Syrup, is a common sweetener and condiment in British cookery.
As for the name Butterscotch, there is some debate as to the origins. Some say it is reference to the candy’s origins in Scotland, while others claim it refers to an original ingredient of “scotched” or scorched butter. While Butterscotch hard candies still exist, Butterscotch today is more commonly seen as a sauce over ice cream or chips in a soft cookie. And then there’s the pudding, of course. Which brings us full circle.
Devil’s Food Butterscotch Trifle
4 boxes Butterscotch Pudding
8 cups Whole Milk
1 Devils Food Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Canola oil
2 cups Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Combine the butterscotch pudding mix and milk in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cook for 12 – 15 minutes. Pour pudding into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until completely cool.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a jelly-roll pan by lining the pan with parchment paper. Lightly oil the paper with butter. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cake batter, oil and eggs. Stir well. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, checking for doneness after about 8 minutes. Let cool in pan for 2 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. Remove paper and let cake cool completely.
In a stand mixer, combine the heavy cream and sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Set aside.
Assemble the trifle in layers. Start by crumbling the cake with your hands. Put a 2″ layer of broken cake pieces on the bottom of the dish. Next, added a 1/2 of the butterscotch pudding. Follow the butterscotch with a layer of whipped cream, reserving a little for dollop on top. Finish the trifle by adding a second cake layer, another pudding layer and then put some whipped cream in the center. Top with more cake crumbs.
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