Butterscotch Pie

Indulge in this homemade Butterscotch Pie recipe. This delectable dessert features a buttery, flaky crust filled with velvety smooth butterscotch custard, creating a heavenly balance of sweetness and warmth.

With its enticing aroma and melt-in-your-mouth texture, this Butterscotch Pie is sure to become a family favorite. Whether you're a butterscotch lover or simply looking for a crowd-pleasing dessert, this recipe is perfect for you.

Why you'll love this

Rich and Creamy

This Butterscotch Pie is the epitome of indulgence. With its silky-smooth, velvety texture, every bite will melt in your mouth, leaving you craving for more.

Irresistible Butterscotch Flavor

The combination of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla extract gives this pie its delightful butterscotch flavor. It strikes the perfect balance between sweetness and warmth, making it a true treat for your taste buds.

Versatile Dessert

This Butterscotch Pie is perfect for any occasion. Whether you're hosting a dinner party, celebrating a special event, or simply treating yourself, this pie will impress your guests and satisfy your dessert cravings.

Ingredients and substitutions for Butterscotch Pie

• Plain flour: This is the best option for that flaky pastry, cake flour is not recommended here and if you live in the UK, see the FAQ's section as to a the type of flour to use here.
• Butter: Cold and cubed helps you press it into your flour without heating it up too much as you work it. Make sure that butter is fully coated with flour so no puddles form during baking. Unsalted was used here as this is fresher than salted, however, you could absolutely substitute salted butter here.
• Ice water: Ice water helps the water not soak into the flour too much which helps the gluten form in the dough whilst giving you that flaky texture!
• Brown sugar: It just wouldn’t be butterscotch pie without the brown sugar. Light brown sugar gives our pie the traditional flavor, however, you could try and substitute with a mixture of half light and half dark brown sugar or half brown and half raw sugar. It is not recommended to completely substitute with a different sugar as this would affect the overall flavor, also, using less than the recommended amount is also not suggested as this will lead to a much subtler flavor.
• Milk: Whole milk was used as it works perfectly with the heavy cream, however, you could definitely substitute in any creamy dairy free milk. The weight in grams was 245 grams.
• Egg yolks: They help give a deep custard flavor to our pudding and contribute to the velvety texture with no recommendations for substitutions here.
• Corn starch: Sometimes termed cornflour in certain parts of the globe. Corn starch gives our pudding that thick texture without being runny. It does need to be heated to 95C/203F before it is activated to thicken.
• Heavy cream: Cream is traditionally used for a butterscotch sauce so this helps not only give us an authentic flavor to our filling, as well as a richness. The weight of the heavy cream is 341 grams.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract acts as a flavor enhancer, without it we wouldn't have depth of flavor needed to make this pudding a stellar one.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Butterscotch Pie:

For the dough, place the flour and salt into a bowl and stir to combine.

Add the cubed butter and toss through the flour to coat completely in flour.

Press each cube between your fingers to thin out and continue tossing through the flour, trying to ensure the butter becomes no smaller than the size of peas.

Add in a little of the ice water and stir to combine, continuing 1 tablespoon at a time until a dough forms, but ensuring it’s not too sticky, but that there are no dry portions in the base of the bowl.
Press firmly into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.

Lightly flour your surface and both sides of your dough and roll out to ¼ inch thickness.

Flipping the dough and adding a small sprinkle of flour, where necessary.

Roll the dough around your rolling pin and place into your pie dish.

Pressing therein and trimming the edges, folding ½ inch of the dough under the edges and pinching firmly.

Return the dough to the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.

Remove, pierce with a fork all over.

Lay greaseproof paper therein and fill with baking beans or rice right up to the edges of your crust.

Bake for 20 minutes until the edges are golden, remove the baking beans and continue to bake until golden all over, approximately 10 further minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely.

For the butterscotch filling, place the milk, cream and half of the brown sugar into a saucepan on medium heat until simmering and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, place the remaining brown sugar, egg yolks and cornstarch into a bowl and whisk until fluffy and pale, approximately 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks and whisk to combine.

Return the custard to your saucepan on medium heat, whisking until thickened, approximately 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, salt and vanilla extract until the pudding is smooth.

Cover and place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Decorate the top of your pie with a little whipped cream.

Slice it up and serve

Dig in!

Equipment needed to make this

Mixing bowl: You'll need a medium mixing bowl for both the pastry and the pudding before cooking it.

Rolling pin: A rolling pin will help you achieve a nice consistent pastry. Though, you could substitute a wine bottle for similar results.

Fork: To pierce holes in your pastry before baking.

Greaseproof paper: To line your pastry before filling with baking beans.

Baking beans: Baking beans help keep your help to keep the pastry in shape as it bakes. Uncooked rice is a great substitute; but make sure you have sufficient to come right up to the edges of your crust.

Sieve: Sifting the cornstarch helps ensure your pudding is smooth without any lumps.

Saucepan: A small or medium saucepan will help you cook the pudding to thicken for that filling.

Whisk: You'll need a whisk to combine the pudding in the saucepan. As well as that cream topping. Though could use an electric beater to whip the cream until it reaches soft peaks.

FAQ's for the best Butterscotch Pie

What makes Butterscotch Pie so special?

Butterscotch Pie is a truly special dessert that combines the rich and indulgent flavors of butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. This creamy and luscious pie is a delightful treat for those with a sweet tooth, offering a perfect balance of sweetness and decadence.

Can I serve Butterscotch Pie on any occasion?

Absolutely! Butterscotch Pie is a versatile dessert that can be served on any occasion. Whether you're hosting a dinner party, celebrating a special event, or simply treating yourself, this pie is sure to impress your guests and satisfy your dessert cravings.

What makes Butterscotch Pie easy to make?

Despite its decadent taste, Butterscotch Pie is surprisingly easy to make. With just a few simple steps, including preparing the pie crust, combining the ingredients, cooking the filling, and baking, you can whip up this heavenly dessert in no time. Even if you're a beginner in the kitchen, don't be intimidated by the name – you can still create a delicious Butterscotch Pie with ease.

What type of flour is best for pie in the UK?

Plain flour in the UK has a lower protein amount which contributes to the dough strength, type of crumb and texture of your pastry, in this case. Plain flour in the Unites States, for example, has the same level of protein as Bread flour in the UK. The best flour to use here will be 175 grams / 1 ¼ cups bread flour. This will help you ensure a flaky pastry and making it easier to shape without being flimsy which is often the feeling of unbaked dough.

Can I substitute storebought pastry for homemade pie pastry?

You can if you are short on time with shortcrust pastry to replace for homemade flaky pastry.

Can I make Butterscotch Pie without using store-bought butterscotch sauce?

Absolutely! While using store-bought butterscotch sauce is convenient, you can also make your own homemade butterscotch sauce for the pie. This allows you to have more control over the ingredients and tailor the flavor to your liking.

What type of crust works best for Butterscotch Pie?

For the perfect Butterscotch Pie, a buttery and flaky pie crust is ideal. You can use a store-bought crust or make your own from scratch. A traditional pie crust made with flour, butter, and a touch of sugar complements the sweet butterscotch filling beautifully. However, for a twist, you can experiment with graham cracker or cookie crusts as well for a unique flavor combination.

What makes the traditional butterscotch flavor?

Light brown sugar has those subtle caramel flavors that are creates the undertone to the rich and creamy flavor in butterscotch which needs cream to create that signature taste you know and love!

How can I ensure a smooth and creamy texture for Butterscotch Pie filling?

To achieve a smooth and creamy texture for the Butterscotch Pie filling, it's important to cook the butterscotch mixture on low heat and stir continuously. This helps to prevent any lumps and ensures a velvety consistency. Additionally, straining the mixture before pouring it into the pie crust can help remove any small clumps that may have formed during cooking.

Can I make butterscotch pie ahead?

Definitely! This is a great make ahead without the cream topping and can remain perfect for up to 2 days before serving. Once the cream topping has been added, you will want to serve it up within 6 hours.

More dessert pie recipes you'll love

Print