Bradley Ogden's Butterscotch Pudding, Another Way

Ingredients:
4 cups heavy cream, divided use
1 vanilla bean, split, with seeds scraped and reserved
1 cup (5 ounces) butterscotch chips
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 T water
2T scotch

Preparing the pudding:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Boil a full tea kettle of water; set aside.

Put 3 1/2 cups heavy cream and the vanilla bean and its seeds in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, take off heat and whisk in butterscotch chips until blended smoothly.

Place egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk well. Slowly add hot cream mixture while whisking vigorously. Set aside.

In a small, deep, heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar and water over high heat. When sugar dissolves and caramelizes, carefully add scotch and remaining 1/2 cup cream. Continue cooking, stirring well, until mixture is smooth and slightly thick, about 3 minutes. Whisk this caramel mixture into butterscotch mixture.

Strain mixture through a fine sieve. Divide among 12 (4-ounce) ramekins. Place ramekins in a large roasting pan. Place pan on oven rack, then carefully pour tea kettle of hot water into roasting pan, taking care not to splash into ramekins. Water should come halfway up the sides of ramekins.

Carefully slide roasting pan into oven. Bake for 50 minutes until puddings are set but still a little wiggly. Transfer ramekins to a rack or cookie sheet to cool for about 30 minutes. Refrigerate, loosely covered with foil, overnight.

Serve puddings with a dollop of unsweetened or lightly sweetened whipped cream. Or serve them brulee style by sprinkling the tops with a little granulated sugar, then caramelizing them with a blow torch.

Serves 12