serves six 
Chocolate is great, and vanilla is a crowd-pleaser, but given the choice, I’ll always pick butterscotch. I’ve never understood the fascination with boxed pudding mixes—it doesn’t take all that much effort to make your own pudding from real ingredients. The only thing missing from this silky, from-scratch dessert is the fake butterscotch flavoring you get from the instant varieties, which really isn’t anything to miss, of course.
3 cups whole milk
¼ cup organic cornstarch
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar, preferably organic whole cane sugar
5 large egg yolks, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a large bowl, combine the milk, cornstarch, and salt and set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then stir in the sugar. At first the mixture will be granular, then it will go through a stage of separating before it finally comes together into a smooth, shiny, cohesive mixture. Stir it continuously throughout this whole process.
Once the mixture comes together and starts to barely bubble, slowly stir in the milk mixture. You’ll see some chunks of sugar in the milk at first, which is fine. Continue to whisk and stir until all the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens.
Pour a small amount (about ¼ cup) of the thickened mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously, to heat the eggs gradually without scrambling them. Repeat until you’ve incorporated several cups of the hot mixture into the eggs, then pour the heated egg mixture back into the saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring continuously.
Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and strain through a sieve into a large, clean bowl to catch any rogue bits of egg. Spoon into small bowls or ramekins and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream (here), if desired.
kitchen notes • There are two points in this recipe where I start to doubt myself every time. The first is when I start whisking the butter and sugar—it tends to separate in a weird way that makes you think it’ll never blend together. But then, suddenly, it does. The second is when the milk is initially added and the sugar creates small chunks. The answer in both situations? Keep whisking and don’t give up! Eventually and somewhat magically, it all comes together.