Québec Sucre à la Crème

Sucre a la Creme

Sucre a la creme (butterscotch fudge) is a French-Canadian tradition. Growing up in Quebec, my grandma, who was an amazing baker, made sucre à la crème for us and froze batches of it so we’d have this sweet treat year-around.

Conceptually, sucre à la crème is similar to fudge, but with a sugary-grainy consistency and caramel flavor that’s decadent and delicious. Back in the day, mom or grandma would hand-mix the hot butterscotch mixture to its desired texture. For me, the hand-mixer works just as well and saves me 30 minutes of arm wrestling with my wooden spoon.

Although several of my family members have great recipes for sucre à la crème, my grandma’s sister, Marie-Laure, was the queen of the sweet treats and here is her interpretation.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups brown sugar
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place the sugars and cream in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly, bring the sugar mixture to a boil, and then cook for 12 minutes.  Don’t stop stirring as the mixture will quickly stick to the bottom of the pan or worse, boil over causing a HUGE mess.
2. Place 2 cups of ice cubes in a large bowl, then add 4 cups of cold water. Place a slightly smaller bowl over the ice bath then pour the hot sugar mixture in the medium bowl over the ice bath, making sure no water touches the hot mixture. Add the vanilla to the sugar mixture then beat with an electric hand-mixer for 8 minutes, or until the mixture lightens in color and has thickened.
3. Pour the thickened sugar mixture in a greased 8×8 pan, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for several hours to harden. Cut into small squares.

Yields about 30 candy pieces.

Notes: You could add a cup of chopped walnuts to the mixture before pouring into the 8×8 pan.  The candies can be frozen for up to a month, wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in an air-tight container.