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Whiskey pies with butterscotch sauce

A cracker recipe from Melbourne's Le Bon Ton.
Whiskey pies

Whiskey pies

Ben Dearnley
4
1H 30M
45M
2H 15M

This recipe is not for the faint-hearted. There’s an orange-date pudding brushed with a whisky glaze, a rich butterscotch sauce, sweet cream and the crunch of glazed pecans. A rich dessert best suited for cold nights.

Ingredients

Butterscotch sauce
Glazed pecans
Whiskey glaze
Sweet cream

Method

Main

1.Bring juice and dates to the boil in a large saucepan. Slowly stir in bicarbonate soda, being careful as mixture will bubble up. Cook until slightly softened (2 minutes), then remove from heat and set aside to cool completely (40-50 minutes). Coarsely mash date mixture with a fork and set aside.
2.For butterscotch sauce, bring sugar and corn syrup to the boil in a saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, then simmer until amber in colour and syrup reaches 180C (5-7 minutes). Remove from heat, slowly add cream and butter (be careful, hot mixture may spit) and stir until combined, then set aside to cool completely (40-50 minutes).
3.For glazed pecans, preheat oven to 150C and line an oven tray with baking paper. Stir corn syrup, sugar and 1 tsp water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves (1-2 minutes). Add pecans, stir to coat, then transfer nuts to lined oven tray, separating each nut and bake, rotating tray once, until nuts are golden brown (7-9 minutes). Set aside to cool (10-15 minutes).
4.For whiskey glaze, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and a small pinch salt and 1 tsp water, stir, remove from heat and add whiskey.
5.Preheat oven at 150C and grease four 12cm-diameter metal pie tins. Beat brown sugar and butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Add flour, baking powder and vanilla, and mix to combine, then stir in date mixture. Spoon mixture into pie tins to three-quarters full, smooth tops and bake until a skewer inserted withdraws clean (20-25 minutes). Brush glaze over pies while warm and set aside to cool (30-40 minutes).
6.For sweet cream, whisk ingredients in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (2-3 minutes).
7.To serve, turn pies out, spoon cream on top, drizzle with butterscotch sauce and top with glazed pecans.

Note Light corn syrup is available from select supermarkets and delicatessens.

Notes

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