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Pouding chômeur
Québec 'poor man's pudding': a simple cake batter baked over hot maple syrup that turns into a sauce
Pouding chômeur ('unemployed person's pudding') was created in Québec during the Depression of the 1930s, from the cheapest ingredients: flour, sugar, a little butter and hot syrup. As it bakes, the light batter rises through the syrup, which settles underneath as a rich caramel sauce. Today it's made with maple syrup and is a fixture of Québec sugar shacks (cabanes à sucre) in March and April, and of family Sunday dinners. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Chef's tip: pour the syrup on boiling hot and spoon the batter over in blobs; never stir them together.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ¾ cup single cream
- ½ cup water
For the batter
- 2 ⅞ oz buttersoft
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 7 oz plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- ¾ cup milk
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Butter a 25 × 20 cm baking dish at least 6 cm deep.
Step 2: Beat 2 ⅞ oz butter and 3 ½ oz sugar until pale, then beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Step 3: Fold in 7 oz plain flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1 pinch salt alternately with ¾ cup milk to make a thick batter.
Step 4: Bring 1 cup maple syrup, ¾ cup single cream and ½ cup water to the boil in a pan, then pour into the dish.
3 minStep 5: Drop spoonfuls of batter over the hot syrup, leaving small gaps; they'll spread. Common mistake: smoothing the batter into a solid sheet; the syrup needs gaps to bubble up and caramelise.
Step 6: Bake for 30–35 minutes until the cake is golden and springy and the syrup bubbles thickly around the edges. Rest for 10 minutes and serve warm with the sauce from the bottom spooned over.
35 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pouding chômeur take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of maple syrup?
- Honey or golden syrup, same amount.
- What can I use instead of single cream?
- Half double cream, half milk.
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