Skip to main content
Dessert

Butterscotch Pie Filling

A sweet filling made from butter, milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, vanilla, and boiling water, baked into a pie crust.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Butterscotch Pie Filling

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. Boil the water and brown sugar together in a saucepan.

  2. Beat the egg yolks with the milk and cornstarch in a separate bowl.

  3. Add the salt and vanilla to the egg mixture.

  4. Combine the egg mixture with the boiling sugar water in a double boiler.

  5. Cook until thickened, stirring frequently.

Fill and brown

  1. Pour the filling into a baked pie crust.

  2. Spread beaten egg whites on top and return to the oven to brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Thicken the custard as they set with gentle heat, giving a rich, smooth body.
Cornstarch
Thickens the filling by swelling in hot liquid, so it sets firm enough to slice.
Brown sugar
Provides sweetness and the characteristic butterscotch flavour from its molasses.
Milk
Supplies the liquid base that gives the filling its creamy texture.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Cornstarch only thickens fully once it reaches a high enough temperature, and egg yolks can curdle if overheated. Constant stirring in the double boiler spreads heat evenly, prevents lumps and scorching, and keeps the custard smooth.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Vanilla Ice CreamVanilla Ice Cream108 recipesWhite CakeWhite Cake431 recipesPound CakePound Cake373 recipesOrange Bundt CakeOrange Bundt Cake349 recipes