I published my butterscotch budino recipe almost ten years ago in The Mozza Cookbook, but I decided to include a recipe for it in this book for a couple of reasons. First, it’s everyone’s favorite. The budino (which is Italian for “pudding”) started out as a dessert at Pizzeria Mozza, but after many customer requests, we started serving it at Chi Spacca, where it is our best-selling dessert. The second and more important reason this recipe is here is because it is a new, easier-to-follow recipe that ensures you will succeed. At the restaurants we serve the budino in individual glasses, but in this recipe, it is served family style, with pretty mounds of whipped cream on top.
Serves 6 to 8
You will need:
A 12- x 7-inch oval ceramic baking dish (or another baking dish with a 12-cup capacity) to make and serve the budino.
For the Budino
3 extra-large egg yolks
2 extra-large eggs
1/4 cup cornstarch
11/2 cups lightly packed dark brown sugar
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups heavy cream
11/2 cups whole milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Scotch whiskey
For the Caramel Sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
For the Whipped Cream
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup crème fraiche (or sour cream)
For Serving
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
To make the budino:
Place a mesh strainer in an oval ceramic (or another 12-cup-capacity) baking dish and set them aside.
Combine the egg yolks, whole eggs, and cornstarch in a medium bowl and whisk until no lumps remain.
Combine the dark brown sugar, kosher salt, and 1/2 cup water in a large stainless-steel saucepan and cook over high heat until the sugar melts and begins to boil.
Continue boiling the sugar for 6 to 8 minutes, tilting and swirling the pan occasionally so it cooks evenly, until the sugar is lavalike and smoke is rising from the entire surface of the pan; you will also begin to see small black spots indicating that the sugar is just beginning to burn.
Turn off the heat and add the cream and milk. (The sugar will harden and seize after you add the liquid; don’t worry, it will dissolve.)
Warm over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts into the cream, about 5 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges.
Turn off the heat. Gradually add 1 cup or ladleful of the hot cream-sugar mixture to the bowl with the eggs, stirring constantly with the whisk to prevent the hot cream from cooking the eggs.
Add another cup or ladleful of the hot cream, stirring constantly.
Gradually add the contents of the bowl back to the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture, stirring as you add it.
Cook the budino mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it has thickened to the consistency of pudding, about 2 minutes.
Remove the budino from the heat. Add the butter and whiskey and stir to melt the butter and combine.
Pour the budino through the strainer into the baking dish and refrigerate, uncovered, for about 4 hours, to chill and set.
If you are making the budino in advance, remove it from the refrigerator, cover the dish with plastic wrap, and return it to the refrigerator.
To make the caramel sauce:
Pour the cream into a medium saucepan.
Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise with a paring knife. Scrape the seeds from the bean and add the seeds and bean to the saucepan with the cream.
Heat the cream over high heat until it begins to bubble around the edges.
Turn off the heat, add the butter, and stir until it melts.
Combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a large stainless-steel saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, until the caramel is a medium amber color, swirling the pan so the sugar cooks evenly and brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar granules.
Remove the caramel from the heat.
Add the cream and butter mixture, taking care because the hot caramel will steam and bubble when you add it, stirring with a whisk until the sauce is smooth.
Turn off the heat and set aside until you are ready to pour the sauce over the budino. If the sauce cools and thickens, warm it over medium-low heat until it is easily pourable.
To make the whipped cream:
Put a large bowl and a wire whisk in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to chill.
Remove the bowl and whisk from the freezer and pour the cream into the bowl.
Whip the cream with the whisk until it thickens to soft peaks; when you lift the whisk out of the cream and turn it upside down, the peak of the cream will flop over.
Add the crème fraîche and beat to return the cream to soft peaks.
To serve:
Remove the budino from the refrigerator and remove and discard the plastic wrap if you used it.
Pour the caramel sauce over the budino and tilt the dish so the caramel flows to cover, leaving the edges of the budino exposed.
Sprinkle the sea salt in whole flakes over the caramel sauce.
Using a large spoon, dollop the whipped cream in waves over the budino, leaving space between the dollops for the caramel sauce to peek through.
The Infatuation's AmexGold Dinner At chi SPACCA — VIDEO
Recap: @infatuation's #AmexGold Dinner At @chiSPACCA
Last week, I had the honor of attending The Infatuation’s AmexGold Dinner at chi SPACCA by Chef Ryan Denicola. The delicious dinner event kicked off The Infatuation’s first EEEEEATScon Food Festival in Santa Monica on May 20. Award-winning owner and chef Nancy Silverton hosted the dinner last night for the Hollywood elite including: Jeannie Mai (Co-Host of The Real), Martin Starr (Actor in…
When you have the time, the warm, deep flavors of a good braise can be a wonderful wintertime indulgence. Start with a hard sear on your meat, then layer the flavors to create something that’s both complex and comforting. Chef Chad Colby of Chi Spacca shows you the basic steps, using his stellar recipe, Lamb Braise with Orange, Olive and Mint. Stay tuned for the follow-up How-To Tuesday video, “How to Finish a Braise.”
Searing meat is the first step to many recipes, and getting it right makes a world of a difference in the flavor and texture of your final dish. Follow the example of Chad Colby, executive chef at Chi Spacca, and you’ll be searing like a pro in no time. Hint: don’t be afraid to go dark.
Chi SPACCA is one of my favorite restaurants to date. The main entrees are pretty expensive, but the portions are huge and meant for sharing. I came here with my family for my dad's birthday. We devoured the baby kale and rucola salad, pane bianco with lardo mantecato, tomahawk pork chop, beef and bone marrow pie, roasted cauliflower, creamed corn, and panna cotta. The tomahawk pork chop and the roasted cauliflower were my favorite dishes of the night. The creamed corn was creamier than most I've had, and the beef and bone marrow pie was a tad too heavy for me. Everything tasted fabulous though, and dining at chi SPACCA was definitely worth the price.
