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Home Cosy Desserts

Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding

By:Nagi
Published:6 Sep '19Updated:13 Nov '20
252 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding magic – one batter transforms into a warm butterscotch pudding cake AND butterscotch sauce! The cake is fudgy and moist, and the sauce is rich and indulgent, just like a homemade caramel sauce.

This recipe is the butterscotch version of everybody’s favourite Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding. Just as quick, just as easy, just as loved!

Close up of Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding in a baking dish, being served

Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding

There’s something childishly satisfying about self saucing puddings. I love the magic of it – one batter making a warm pudding plus a sauce.

And I love the cosiness of puddings. Put a delicately crafted chocolate masterpiece next to a “rustic” bowl of apple crumble topped with a melted mess of ice cream, and I’d choose the crumble any day and twice on Sunday.

So – 6 tier cakes you may never find on here (2 tier is my limit, it seems).

Rustic puddings and cosy crumbles? You will find lots of them here. Aforementioned Apple Crumble has much company, including Strawberry Crumble, Caramel Baked Apples, Sticky Date Pudding, Bread and Butter Pudding and of course, everybody’s favourite Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding.

And this Butterscotch Pudding is the latest to join the gang!

Butterscotch Pudding (Self Saucing) in a bowl with ice cream, ready to be eaten

How to make Butterscotch Pudding

I promised you quick and easy, and I did not exaggerate.

Essentially, what you do is make one simple batter, then sprinkle the top with a sugar-cornflour mixture and cover with hot water. Then as it bakes, the sugar-cornflour mixture sinks to the bottom (I like to imagine all sorts of wonderful things happen as it passes through the pudding sponge) and it bubbles away and thickens under the pudding as it rises into a fluffy, moist cake.

It’s like…. magic!!

How to make Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding

I love how it looks so innocent with it comes out of the oven… no hint of all that gorgeous butterscotch sauce underneath!!

Overhead photo of Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding, fresh out of the oven

Showing butterscotch sauce under Butterscotch Self Saucing Pudding

What goes in Butterscotch Pudding

And here’s what you need to make it. Very few ingredients!

Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding ingredients

Just a note on a few of the items:

  • DARK brown sugar – using dark rather than normal brown sugar intensifies the butterscotch flavour of the pudding and the sauce. So use it if you can – but it’s still well worth making even if you only have normal brown sugar!

  • Golden syrup – an Aussie/UK syrup used in baking, such as Anzac Biscuits. It has a caramel type flavour which makes it ideal to use in the pudding to give it a butterscotch flavour without making a caramel the traditional way with butter and sugar. It’s not widely available outside of Australia/NZ/UK though here it is on Amazon.com ($3.63 for a can).

Best substitute golden syrup

Dark corn syrup (this is ideal), honey or maple syrup. Any of these will be fine because most of the butterscotch flavour in this overall dish comes from the sauce!

Close up of Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding in baking dish, being served

PLENTY of Butterscotch Sauce!

This recipe makes a generous amount of Butterscotch Sauce because I can’t imagine anything more disappointing than cutting through hot pudding only to find little or no sauce underneath. 😩

So this recipe makes almost 50% more sauce than usual Butterscotch Pudding recipes which provides some margin for error, and differences in oven temperature, depth of baking dishes…. and all the other little things that can affect the outcome of a recipe.

The other nice thing about this pudding is that it’s not too sweet. Butterscotch sauce is typically made with just butter and sugar (like this caramel sauce) but in this Pudding, the sauce is also thickened with cornflour/cornstarch which means less sugar is needed to achieve the syrupy consistency.

Which means you can totally justify topping with ICE CREAM!!! In fact, scratch that. Ice cream is mandatory!! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it


More warm, cosy desserts

  • Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

  • Apple Crumble

  • Strawberry Crumble

  • Caramel Baked Apples

  • Sticky Date Pudding

  • Bread and Butter Pudding

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Close up of Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding in a baking dish, being served

Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Dessert
Western
4.88 from 54 votes
Servings6
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. One batter magically transforms into a warm butterscotch pudding with PLENTY of butterscotch sauce bubbling underneath! This pudding has terrific butterscotch flavour from the dark brown sugar as well as the golden syrup (see recipe for subs).

Ingredients

Butterscotch Pudding:

  • 1/4 cup (50g) dark brown sugar , packed (Note 1)
  • 1 1/4 cup (185g) plain flour (all purpose flour)
  • 2.5 tsp baking powder
  • 100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) milk (full or low fat)
  • 4 tbsp golden syrup (Note 2)

Butterscotch Sauce:

  • 3/4 cup (150g) dark brown sugar , packed (Note 2)
  • 2 tbsp cornflour / corn starch
  • 2 cups (500ml) boiling water

Serving

  • Vanilla ice cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
  • Grease a 6 cup baking dish (1.6L/1.6Q) with butter.
  • Butterscotch Sauce: Whisk sugar and cornflour in bowl. Set aside.
  • Pudding batter: Place sugar, flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Whisk to combine.
  • Add butter, egg, milk and golden syrup. Whisk until mostly lump free.
  • Scrape into baking dish and smooth surface.
  • Sprinkle Butterscotch Sauce sugar mixture all over surface.
  • Pour boiling water over the surface over the back of a dessert spoon held as close to the batter as you can (to soften the pour so it doesn't break the surface of the batter).
  • Transfer to oven, bake 40 minutes or until skewer inserted into the cake part comes out clean.
  • Cut through pudding to reveal butterscotch sauce underneath.
  • To serve, scoop pudding into a bowl then douse with butterscotch sauce. Top with ice cream!

Recipe Notes:

1. Dark brown sugar, rather than normal brown sugar, gives the pudding and the sauce a better butterscotch flavour!
2. Golden syrup is a syrup used in Australia (and other countries like UK, NZ) in baking. It has the colour of maple syrup and tastes like toffee. Sub with dark corn syrup or honey. Most of the caramel flavour in this dish comes from the dark brown sugar and the butterscotch sauce so substituting the golden syrup will be fine!
3. Storage - best eaten fresh because the sauce gets absorbed by the sponge. If you know you're going to have leftovers, remove the sponge off the sauce asap, then store separately from the sauce. If you separate, they can be frozen.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 449cal (22%)Carbohydrates: 73g (24%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 16g (25%)Saturated Fat: 10g (63%)Cholesterol: 67mg (22%)Sodium: 29mg (1%)Potassium: 285mg (8%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 46g (51%)Vitamin A: 526IU (11%)Calcium: 132mg (13%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keywords: butterscotch pudding, self saucing pudding
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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252 Comments

  1. Lauren says

    January 28, 2023 at 8:24 pm

    2 stars
    I made this one tonight and unfortunately wasn’t a fan. Strong baking powder flavour and was lacking something… Massive fan of all other recipes. Nagi’s Sticky date is one of our favourites!

    Reply
  2. Prudence says

    January 10, 2023 at 7:16 pm

    5 stars
    Delish!
    I halved the recipe as I was only making for me and my husband. I made it in a smaller 3 cup dish and cooked at 180 for 30mins and it came out perfect
    Thanks for another banger, Nagi!

    Reply
  3. Emma says

    January 10, 2023 at 4:16 pm

    I found this lacked flavour. Could it be because I used treacle in place of golden syrup? The textures were fantastic.

    Reply
  4. Beth says

    December 13, 2022 at 11:59 am

    Can this recipe be doubled? Made this for Thanksgiving (and it was a knock-out!) and I’ve been requested to make this again for Christmas with double the attendees.

    Reply
    • Emma says

      January 10, 2023 at 4:18 pm

      I’d say the recipe can be doubled, but I’d bake in two separate vessels.

      Reply
  5. Elaine says

    November 16, 2022 at 8:59 am

    This looks delicious. Can you mix the cornstarch with the sugar and the water to make a paste and then spread it on top of the batter, rather than using the spoon technique? Also, if I wanted to make a whisky caramel sauce (what’s that you say? why yes, I am Irish 😳), would the cake be very dry if I prepared the caramel separately? Thanks for all your amazing recipes Nagi, we adore you ❤️

    Reply
    • Emma says

      January 10, 2023 at 4:19 pm

      It would be a soup rather than a paste. Then the sugar and corn flour would not sit on top and may not be evenly distributed. It creates a crunchy top, and assists with the sauce.

      Reply
  6. Amy Morgan says

    October 19, 2022 at 10:59 am

    5 stars
    Sinfully delicious 😋

    Reply
  7. Caroline says

    October 8, 2022 at 5:19 am

    Hi Nagi! Can you add chopped pecans under the batter?

    Reply
  8. Anne says

    September 28, 2022 at 9:58 am

    If there is a chance there are leftovers, how would you suggest I reheat this or can I eat it cold?

    Reply
  9. Robyn says

    July 7, 2022 at 2:47 pm

    Love this recipe! It is a favourite in my household.
    I have made variations by…. adding 200gm of mashed banana(I know banana is not your favourite ingredient) to the wet mix. I blitz it with the milk.

    Another variation I added 1tsp of ginger powder to the dry mix. And about 1Tbsp of fresh grated ginger to the wet mix, and swapped out golden syrup for molasses ( as I didn’t have golden syrup).

    Reply
  10. Jess Wenham says

    June 5, 2022 at 1:40 pm

    I’m really hoping I get a quick reply,
    Can I cook this in a slowcooker?

    My oven is out tonight but have a serious hankering!

    How long would you do it for?

    Reply
  11. Brinda says

    May 25, 2022 at 9:25 am

    Hi Nagi,
    Can I keep the batter ready beforehand and add the water just before I bake?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 25, 2022 at 9:40 am

      No sorry Brinda – the baking powder will activate as soon as it is in the wet ingredients so you don’t want that sitting out. You could measure out the dry and wet earlier then combine just before baking! N x

      Reply
  12. Nicki says

    May 18, 2022 at 5:40 pm

    5 stars
    This was so yummy, and a fun change from our usual chocolate self-saucing pudding. I love the generous sauce, and the cake was really soft and fluffy. Like the chocolate version, this is a great dessert that comes together very quickly from pantry staples. Thank you!

    Reply
  13. Vi says

    May 18, 2022 at 11:05 am

    Add a pinch of salt to both the batter and the pudding mixtures desserts/pudding needs salt for balance

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 18, 2022 at 12:51 pm

      Thanks for that suggestion Vi! N x

      Reply
  14. Anne says

    May 17, 2022 at 6:22 am

    How can I make extra sauce for this pudding? Hubby would probably scoop up all the sauce in one sitting.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 17, 2022 at 2:29 pm

      You could make a side of the sauce for my Sticky Date Pudding! N x https://www.recipetineats.com/sticky-toffee-pudding/

      Reply
  15. Jayne says

    May 6, 2022 at 8:18 am

    If I pour my batter into individual pudding cups, should I decrease the cooking time and if so by how much?
    And can I freeze the batter before topping with the sugar?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 6, 2022 at 2:52 pm

      I haven’t tested the smaller size so I can’t help with timing. You cannot freeze the batter but you can bake it and freeze the sponge separate to the sauce then put it back together later to serve! N x

      Reply
      • Michelle Fioretti says

        May 7, 2022 at 4:17 pm

        Can I use arrowroot powder instead of cornflour , that’s all I have in the pantry

        Reply
        • Nagi says

          May 8, 2022 at 12:35 am

          Yes Michelle I think that would thicken the sauce! N x

          Reply
  16. Debra says

    May 4, 2022 at 3:16 pm

    5 stars
    We have to double the recipe because it’s so good! Soooo easy to make too! Making one to drop off at a friends tonight 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 4, 2022 at 3:18 pm

      You’re a pretty good friend Debra!! N x

      Reply
  17. Jase the Ace says

    April 23, 2022 at 7:58 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, this is amazing!!! The bride made this exactly as per your recipe after I made your Creamy Garlic Prawns (that is a fortnightly feature in our house now, thank you) tonight.
    Reminds me of the Big Sister Puddings from before 2014 when they went broke (how did that happen btw) but way better.
    Big thanks again Nagi for all your amazing work with fabulous recipes and your work with feeding the homeless!

    Reply
  18. Di says

    April 12, 2022 at 6:55 pm

    How could I turn this into a lemon one, not sure about the topping?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 13, 2022 at 5:08 pm

      I’m sorry Di, I haven’t done a recipe for a lemon one yet! N x

      Reply
  19. Kay says

    April 10, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    5 stars
    I made this last night. New household favourite, even better than my best sticky date pudding masterchef recipe I’ve been making for the last 10 years.
    I don’t know how you continue to beat out all my old favourite recipes but I’m pretty excited about it!
    Thanks for another cracker, Nagi.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 11, 2022 at 6:57 pm

      Woo hoo!! I love to beat a family favourite!! N x

      Reply
  20. Rainom MacMaster says

    March 28, 2022 at 9:11 am

    QUESTION! Your recipe for Self-saucing Butterscotch Pudding reads “cornflour/cornstarch” – does this mean I should use either one or the other or does it mean to use a combination of both? Sorry, but I do have my DUH!?!?! days 🙂 I think I’m going to risk trying it with just cornstarch and see how it goes! Also, does anyone have any alterations that might re-create the Shirrif/Dr. Oetker Sauce n Cake apple & cinnamon flavoured product that has been discontinued – this looks like the perfect substitute recipe for the caramel/rum & butter varieties… I’m thinking I might try to chop tiny pieces of apple rolled in cinnamon sugar into the batter and add some cinnamon to the cornstarch/corn flour ingredient(s)… I’ll post and let y’all know if it’s a Yay! or a Nay! Now to just figure out cornstarch AND cornflour or just cornstarch or cornflour? Hmmm…. here I go….

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 28, 2022 at 3:27 pm

      Hi Rainom – I am guessing you are in South Africa where cornflour is actually ground up corn! In Australia, cornflour is the name for what you call cornstarch which is why the recipe reads like that! So you are correct to only use cornstarch! N x

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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