Pudding in a Cage

Delicate, golden caramel “cages” cover a crisp meringue shell filled with rich-tasting butterscotch pudding. Sounds impressive, but would you believe it only has 358 calories and less than 4 grams of fat?

The addition of nonfat dry milk powder to liquid nonfat milk gives an added richness to the flavor of the butterscotch pudding. Egg substitute is used instead of a beaten egg to give the custard-like consistency.

A sprinkling of chopped toasted hazelnuts lends added flavor and crunch. They may be omitted if you want to lower the fat content.

The individual caramel “cages” are impressive to look at and relatively easy to make. Melt sugar in a skillet until it turns caramel-colored. Drizzle the syrup in a crisscross or lattice pattern over an inverted, buttered Pyrex cup. Let stand until syrup hardens, then remove and place atop meringues.

BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE 3 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted, skins removed, chopped Butterscotch Filling Caramel

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in sugar, little at time, until stiff peaks form. Stir in vanilla. Divide meringue into 6 parts on parchment-lined baking sheet. Using back of spoon shape into (4-inch) circles building up sides and hollowing centers. Bake at 250 degrees 1 hour. Turn oven off and let stand overnight in oven.

Divide Butterscotch Filling into meringue shells. Sprinkle nuts over top. Place Caramel “cages” atop meringues. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about: 358 calories; 166 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 76 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.11 gram fiber.

Butterscotch Filling 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups liquid nonfat milk 2 tablespoons thawed nonfat frozen egg substitute 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine brown sugar, cornstarch, nonfat dry milk powder and salt in saucepan. Stir in liquid nonfat milk until blended. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir until thickened and clear, about 1 minute. Add little hot liquid to egg substitute, stirring until blended. Return to saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Stir in butter. Let cool to room temperature and stir in vanilla.

Caramel ‘Cages’ 1 cup sugar

Melt sugar in skillet until caramel color. Quickly drizzle over 6 inverted buttered custard cups in lattice pattern. Let cool until hardened.