We Canadians are sometimes described as having maple syrup running through our veins, and well, if you don’t count yourself as one of them, you just might after trying out this recipe! Canada is known worldwide for the deliciously sweet sappy substance and it is an essential ingredient in this dessert. The name of this maple delight literally means “pudding of the unemployed”. Pouding Chômeur finds its roots in Québec during the great depression and as the saying goes, necessity breeds ingenuity. In this case it’s absolutely true! Made of very low cost, easily accessible, and even left over ingredients, a Pouding Chômeur was a delicious French-Canadian working class creation. However, lately, as bakers and chefs look back at their family heritage for inspiration, this dessert has made a comeback – often with a few extra ingredients to elevate the time honored flavours.
What’s for sure is that our version of this Québecois custom is anything but traditional. By adding pecans and ginger we have given the Pouding a more developed taste and texture. Add the rich and smooth taste of our whipped cream cheese on top, and you may just want to call our Pouding Chomeur gourmet.
Ingredients
Pouding
- 2 cups maple syrup
- 2 cups cream (15%)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Cheese
- ½ cup light cream cheese
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons 35% cream
Preparation
Topping
- In a deep mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese and icing sugar.
- Add in the cream and mix until completely combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pouding
- With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- In the Remy Olivier Sabayon Frypan, bring the maple syrup and cream to a boil. Pour into the Remy Olivier Elite Square Baker (or a dish of about 10 cup capacity). Set aside.
- In a deep mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the thinkkitchen Promix Stand Mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth.
- At low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk and vanilla. Add in the ginger and the pecans and mix until combined.
- With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, like our casa solid spoon, spread the dough on the hot syrup.
- Place the dish on a thinkkitchen baking sheet (to collect any syrup that could overflow from the cake). Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Serve warm with a scoop of the whipped cream cheese on top and ice wine from Quebec in our Riedel glasses for an even more refined experience.
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