With everyone headed to the sugar shacks, the thought of a beautiful, delectable, sweet and savoury brunch is lingering in your mind as snapshots of the classic Cabane à Sucre meal are saturating your newsfeed. With everyone posting about it, you want to join in, but it doesn’t mean you have a whole day to head out to the sugar shack. Well, why not make your very own brunch at home?

This week blogger and recipe developer Gabrielle Pellerin, of A Simple Thyme, invites us to Brunch at home! A modern take on a classic brunch, she spoils us with a meal that has the best of both worlds: savory eggs Benedict with fresh and creamy avocado, peppery arugula, and crispy maple bacon and a sweet ricotta pancake topped with cinnamon-brown sugar candied pecans. Finish it off with a warm and spicy maple chai latté, and you have absolutely no reason to go out and every reason to stay in!

While preparing your delicious meal, why not get whimsical with your presentation? You can have some fun setting your table with charm! Gabrielle’s brunch looks absolutely delightful on our Athens dish set and the nature napkins are practical yet elegant on her table. This weekend enjoy life cozy at home, keeping it fun and getting to experience something new!

Get your apron on and let’s get cooking a delicious homemade brunch!

Recipe

Eggs Benedict with maple bacon, avocado and arugula

• 2 english muffins, sliced
• 4 eggs
• 1 lemon
• 3 tbs water
• 1 avocado
• 8 slices bacon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 cup arugula
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 tbs olive oil

Preparation

Melt the butter in the microwave.

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil.

In a mixing bowl, combine the 2 egg yolks, the water and lemon juice.

Put the bowl over the pot of boiling water and whisk for about 2 minutes.

Slowly add in the melted butter and whisk until the sauce has thickened.

If it’s too thick, you can add a little more water.

Add salt and pepper and set aside.

You can reheat the sauce over the pot of boiling water before serving.

Fill the Arezzo egg poacher with water.

Turn the heat on medium high and crack the eggs in each little cup.

Cover and cook the eggs for about 5 minutes or until the white is completely cooked.

Cook the bacon with maple syrup in a pan until crispy.

Toast the english muffins.

Slice the avocado.

Mix the arugula with a bit of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Layer the bacon, avocado and egg on the english muffin.

Pour the Hollandaise sauce on top and garnish with the arugula or serve as a side.

Candied Pecans

(to top the ricotta pancakes)

• 1 cup pecans
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs butter
• 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon

Preparation

Add the pecans, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon in a pan on medium high heat.

Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the pecans are caramelized.

Remove the heat and set aside.

Ricotta Pancakes

• 1/2 cup ricotta
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2-3 tbs icing sugar

Preparation

Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl using the Suzie hand mixer.

Combine the ricotta, eggs, milk and vanilla in another bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta mixture and use the hand mixer to blend all the ingredients.

Heat a pan or griddle on medium high heat.

Melt a bit of butter in the pan.

Use a small laddle to pour the batter in the pan.

Cook the pancakes for about 3-4 minutes, until the other side is golden and you see a few bubbles forming on top.

Flip the pancake and cook 2-3 minutes.

Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Serve the pancakes in our Amanda platter with the candied pecans and maple syrup. Garnish with a bit of icing sugar.

Maple Chaï Latte

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 shot of espresso (adjust according to taste)
• 1/3 tsp chaï concentrate
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp maple syrup (adjust according to taste)

Preparation

Warm up the milk on the stove on medium heat for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly so the milk doesn’t overflow.

Remove from heat.

Use the Viva Perfect milk frother to make foamy milk.

Combine the espresso, maple syrup and chaï concentrate. Add in the milk and top with a bit of cinnamon powder.

*The espresso and chaï concentrate can be substituted by soaking a chaï tea bag in 1/2 a cup of water for several minutes followed by adding the foamed milk and cinnamon powder.

Here to make sure weekend brunch time is a success,

Click here for a text only version of the recipe!

Blogger Bio:  While studying restaurant management at the well known ITHQ, Gabrielle found her true passion for cooking. When a few innocent posts of her creations on Instagram quickly cherished her with now over 11 thousand followers, it drove her to explore and create more than she had before. In addition to finding photos of her delicious recipes on her Instagram, she now shares her recipes on her culinary blog, A Simple Thyme.

Gabrielle does it all, from simple recipes to creating the ultimate comfort food meal, and it is always guaranteed to make your mouth water. If you want to see more, make sure to visit her blog – and follow her Facebook and Instagram page to never miss a recipe again!

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

1. In a deep mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese and icing sugar.
2. Add in the cream and mix until completely combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pouding

1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 400 °F.
2. 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.
3. In a deep mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In the thinkkitchen Promix Stand Mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth.
5. At low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk and vanilla. Add in the ginger and the pecans and mix until combined.
6. With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, like our casa solid spoon, spread the dough on the hot syrup.
7. 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.
8. 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.

Here to provide you with inspiring new takes on delicious traditional desserts,

Click here for a text only version of the recipe!