10 December 2015 Pouding Chômeur – Poor Man’s Pudding

Pouding Chômeur – Poor Man’s Pudding

December 10, 2015 By

Day 10 of my “12 Days of Baked Goods” series!

Pouding ChomeurGrowing up in Quebec, my sister and I always loved Pouding Chômeur, literally translated as “poor man’s pudding. It was dubbed as such because the recipe became popular during the depression when the cake in this recipe was replaced by day-old bread.

A little goes a long way with the portions as this dessert is quite sweet. Don’t omit the requisite vanilla ice cream.

Cake Batter Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup whole milk

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • ¼ cup butter, softened

Cake Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and the baking powder. Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for another 2 minutes, until fully incorporated.
  3. Add ½ of the milk then ½ of the flour mixture to the butter, mix then repeat with the rest of the milk and flour.
  4. Butter or coat in cooking spray a 13×9 baking pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, set aside.

Sauce Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add all the sauce ingredients and whisk to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute whisking continuously.
  3. Pour the sauce over the batter in the pan – do NOT mix. Bake for 45 minutes.
  4. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Yields 10-12 servings.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: Canadian, Desserts Tagged With: , , , , ,
20 April 2013 Divine Squares

Divine Squares

April 20, 2013 By

divine-squaresWhen I was a young kid growing up in Quebec, my mom and my friends’ moms tried to outdo each other by making scrumptious treats for our birthday parties. Not only were the birthday cakes over-the-top, but moms typically sent kids home with baked treats that they wanted to be sure other moms checked out an envied.

One of my friend’s mom out-shined all the other moms’ baked treats, and I’ve perhaps never had a better baked treat, than her Divine Squares.

The buttery base is chewy, the caramel layer is gooey and decadent and the chocolate topping provides just a bit of chocolaty crunch that’s hard to resist.

These could become the best treats you’ll ever make.

Crust

Crust

Crust Ingredients:

  • 5 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp. baking soda
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • ¾ cup Rice Krispies
Caramel

Caramel

Caramel Layer Ingredients:

  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 14-ounce can of condensed milk
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
Chocolate Topping

Chocolate Topping

Chocolate Topping Ingredients:

  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1¼ cups Rice Krispies

Crust Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all the crust ingredients in a medium bowl. Once the butter has been absorbed, press the mixture onto the bottom of an 8×8 pan.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes.

Divine SquaresCaramel Layer Directions:

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the caramel layer ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
  2. Pour the caramel over the baked crust.

Chocolate Topping Directions:

  1. Melt the chocolate chips by microwaving them for 30 seconds. After stirring the chips, if they’re not quite melted, return to the microwave for 15 seconds. Add the Rice Krispies to the chocolate and stir gently to coat.
  2. Sprinkle the chocolate Rice Krispies over the caramel mixture to mostly cover the caramel.
  3. Allow to cool for an hour then refrigerate at least 12 hours.

Makes 12 squares.

Filed Under: Canadian, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , , , ,
15 May 2011 Strawberries and Cream Sandwiches Anyone?

Strawberries and Cream Sandwiches Anyone?

May 15, 2011 By

I sometimes post whimsical recipes that remind me of my early childhood, and this is definitely one of those recipes.

Growing up in Quebec, Canada, my grand-parents owned a lake house the family spent much of its summers.  The place was straight out of the late 50s, totally kitschy and I loved it.  One of the things I loved most about it was spending time with my grandma in the kitchen, and watching her turn the most basic and affordable of ingredients into something prize-worthy.  One of these treats was her strawberries and cream sandwiches, and I’m sharing the concept with you so you can enjoy it with your families.

Ingredients:

  • 4 ripe strawberries
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 4 slices of fresh, white bread

Directions:

  1. In a small, shallow bowl, mash the strawberries with a fork (in this day and age, we might call this muddling).
  2. Add the cream and sugar to the strawberries and continue mashing with the fork until fully blended into a thick mixture.
  3. Spoon the strawberry mixture onto a slice of bread then top with the second slice.  Repeat this process with the two remaining slices of bread.
  4. Cut each sandwich into two triangles (wouldn’t taste the same if you cut across) and enjoy!

Makes two sandwiches.

Notes: Only use the freshest bread and the ripest strawberries for this recipe.  Would be amazing with raspberries, but would need to double the sugar amount.

Filed Under: Canadian, Desserts, Fruits, Sandwiches, Sides Tagged With: , , , ,