Butterscotch Pie, Version 2.0

Image of pie available at: http://tinyurl.com/m2rmx29

You may recall not long ago I blogged about the Butterscotch Pie with Curry Crust from Bon Appetit. You also may recall, that I did not exactly love the recipe. However, I kept thinking about that pie. I thought there was a good idea there, and I thought the recipe could be improved upon. Yes, the Gourmets, Bon Appetits, and Saveurs of the world do not always have perfect recipes. Sometimes they are fabulous, and sometimes they need a little work.

So I decided to go to work on that recipe, and, let me tell you, I have changed my opinion -- this one will make it to our Thanksgiving spread. I started with modifying the texture. The first pie was too much like Jell-o for my taste. I upped the cornstarch, and decreased the gelatin, and voilà, much nicer mouthfeel. Secondly, I got rid of the molasses -- the caramelized sugar and brown sugar were plenty flavorful, and, I added whiskey, because heck, why not?

Now, about the crust. The crust is a big deal, it is what takes a kind of straight up custard pie and makes it interesting. And, while the curry in the crust was a great idea, I didn't want to hit diners over the head with it. I was hoping for more of a subtle, mysterious flavor that would make you go "Hmmm, what is that deliciousness?" I decreased the curry and the butter in the crust (there was way, way too much butter as the recipe was originally written). I also left out the sugar in the crust entirely. You use vanilla wafer cookies to make the crumbs -- given that these are already sweetened, I thought it unlikely the crust needed more sugar.

Disclaimer: this is not an easy recipe. It involves caramelizing sugar, and making a cooked egg custard on the stove -- arguably two of the more difficult techniques in cooking. But please, don't let this dissuade you from giving it a try. Whether it turns out perfectly, or gets messed up, you will learn a lot (which is fun!), and you might just end up with something of a showstopper on your Thanksgiving dessert table.