This is a winter drink you didn’t know you needed! A simple brown sugar and butter caramel becomes butterscotch, taken to the edge so it’s dark and a little bitter, stirred together with cream and milk. It’s rich, warming and best of all, not cloyingly sweet. The perfect way to kick off some holiday baking and merriment!

I saw this recipe on Instagram recently when Epicurious shared it and it sounded amazing. But I only had a regular light brown sugar, no muscovado and I knew I was going to make a much smaller serving. Things didn’t go according to plan though, I found my caramel split almost immediately, with the butter becoming a greasy pool around the sugar. The addition of water to stop it from cooking actually caused the caramel to seize immediately (though the water was at room temperature), and the final drink tasted nice, but more of milk than the deep caramel flavour I’d hoped for. It was also very light beige in colour and that made me sad. Back to the drawing board!

I was determined to still use only one kind of brown sugar and have a thicker, richer drink that was unmistakably bitter butterscotch caramel in flavour and colour. I hunted around a bit and it seemed like the butter to sugar proportion was a bit high and combined with the acids from brown sugar (because of the molasses), the chances of splitting were higher. Changing that proportion helped, the butter still separated a bit but with some constant stirring, came back together. Cooking it to the point where it was darkening, smoking a bit and smelt burnt in a pleasant way (I swear that’s a thing), gave it the flavour and colour I was going for! I also used half the amount of milk, and a little bit more cream, giving it a more hot chocolate texture, thick and creamy.

All of this leads to a drink that despite 1/4 cup of brown sugar, is not very sweet. You don’t have to make a bitter caramel if you prefer it sweeter, but I do recommend it! I have more tips and photos in the recipe below and I hope you’ll enjoy this as much as I did 🙂

Hot Butterscotch

Hot, bitter caramel drink, perfect for the holidays!

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 5

Makes: 1 serving

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Ingredients

1/4 cup soft brown sugar (50 gms; see notes)
1 tbsp butter, at room temperature (15 gms)
2 tbsps cream, at room temperature (30 ml)
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature (125 ml)
Whipped cream to serve, optional

Instructions

In a sturdy, medium-sized saucepan (I used a steel one), combine the butter and brown sugar. Set it on low heat and use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to stir constantly as the butter and sugar melt down together.
See photos below. The butter will initially separate from the sugar because of the acid in brown sugar. Keep stirring and it will come together, continuing to have a glossy appearance. Don't take your eyes off the pan, because caramel cooks pretty quickly!
Once the caramel starts to smoke a bit (after about 3 minutes), it's done and will have a slightly bitter flavour which prevents the drink from being too sweet. You can turn it off at this point, or let it darken for a few more seconds till it starts to smell just a little of burnt sugar, for a more bittersweet end result, which is what I prefer. Don't forget to stir continuously.
Take the pan off the heat, and carefully add the cream because it will splutter and foam (last photo below). Then put the pan back on low heat and pour in the milk in a slow stream, stirring all the while. The caramel may start to solidify a little (all the more reason the milk should be at room temp), but whisk it with a balloon whisk and it will dissolve again.
Let the mixture come to a low boil. The milk would have darkened considerably. If it looks too thick, feel free to add more milk to bring it to the consistency you prefer. Pour into one large or two small cups (it's a rich drink and I do think two people can happily share!), top with whipped cream if you like. Enjoy immediately! You can store it in the fridge for a day or two, reheating as needed.

Notes

*I used Tate&Lyle light soft brown sugar here which is moist and flavourful. You could also use a dark sugar, keeping in the mind the colour of the drink will be a little deeper and the caramel might be ready a couple of minutes earlier. Brown sugar is what makes this caramel 'butterscotch', if you use white sugar it'll be a classic caramel which is great too, but the flavour won't be quite the same.

Adapted from Epicurious.