Showing posts with label Canadian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian. Show all posts
Québécois Maple Pudding, or Pouding chômeur à l’érable, as it is also known is a traditional Canadian dessert with its origins in the Province of Quebec. It is also known as Poor Man's Pudding, or the pudding of the unemployed.
The recipe is said to have been developed during the great depression, using ordinary every day simple ingredients that most people would have in their homes.
It has long been a favorite in my family and for no small reason. It is, simply put, incredibly delicious. I have been making it in one form or another for my family for years and years.
I adapted the original recipe from a library book, entitled The Cooking of Provincial Quebec by Mirielle Beaulieu. It made a huge panful, and so, in this empty nest era of my life, I have small batched it so that it makes only 5 servings instead of 10.
I confess to having a great love of Maple syrup and maple desserts. I remember when I first moved over to the UK, I brought with me a large 4-liter metal container of maple syrup. There were some things I knew that I could live without, but maple syrup was not one of them!
At that time, it was very difficult to find pure maple syrup in the UK. It is much easier now. You would never be able to get on an airplane now lugging a large can of maple syrup like that! This was a year before 9/11.
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
I used to make this dessert frequently when my children were growing up. They loved it! I did not always use maple syrup, but more often than not made the brown sugar syrup option as it was more affordable for me in those days.
It made a quick, easy and economical dessert that I could make that would satisfy my large family and not bust my food budget. I always had the ingredients for it in my cupboard.
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
These days when I make this pudding, I always make the maple syrup version of the sauce. The cream makes it extra rich and indulgent. And when you serve it warm with lashings of cream drizzled over top, it is even more so.
Of course, you can enjoy it with scoops of vanilla ice cream as well, which is how my children used to like eating it. I got into the habit of enjoying cream drizzled on my desserts when I lived in the UK as it was a very common thing to do over there.
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
They always like to enjoy their dessert/puddings with lashings of cream or warm custard sauce. Ice cream is almost never an option. Some people will enjoy some of both the cream and the custard!
I can promise you that whether you enjoy it with cream, or custard, or both, or even ice cream, one thing is certain and that is that you WILL enjoy it! How could a person not enjoy a dessert which has been pleasing families for years and years!
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE QUEBECOIS MAPLE PUDDING
Very simple everyday ingredients. There are two sauce options. You decide which one you want to use.
For the Maple sauce choice:
- 3/4 cup (180ml) pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream
- pinch of sea salt
For the brown sugar sauce:
- 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 up (180ml) water
- 1/2 tsp maple extract
- 1 TBS all-purpose plain flour
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup (105g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large free-range eggs
- 3 fluid ounces (85ml) milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
I don't think much explanation is needed when it comes to the ingredients. They are all simple everyday ingredients. Do NOT be tempted to use artificial syrup when it comes to the maple syrup. It simply doesn't work.
Use only pure maple syrup or make the brown sugar option as detailed in the recipe.
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
HOW TO MAKE QUEBECOIS MAPLE PUDDING
Seriously nothing could be easier.
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 7 by 11-inch baking dish really well.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Whisk together the milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.
To make the maple syrup sauce, combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Pour into the baking dish.
To make the brown sugar sauce, whisk the sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Whisk in the maple flavoring and the water. Bring to the boil, whisking constantly. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
Cream together the sugar and butter for the cake batter until light and well combined. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk/vanilla mixture, making three dry and two wet additions. Mix just to combine.
Spoon the cake batter over top of the hot syrup mixture evenly.
Place onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until bubbling and golden brown. The cake should test done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Leave to cool for about 10 minutes and then spoon into bowls. Serve warm topped with either lashings of cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
This is the perfect comforting midwinter dessert for the family. If you want to double it to make the full size, simply double all of the ingredients. The timing for baking will be approximately 45 minutes.
This simple dessert will keep for up to five days, covered, in the refrigerator. Sometimes I add raisins to the cake.
.JPG "Québécois Maple Pudding")
MOM'S BEST APPLE CRISP - With its crisp and buttery oat topping and sweet apple filling, this is a dessert everyone loves. Nothing says home sweet home better than a warm apple crisp!
SKILLET CHERRY COBBLER - A small sized cherry dessert for two that always pleases. Cherry pie filling on the bottom and a sweet cakey cobbler topping on top. What's not to love!
Yield: 5
Québécois Maple Pudding
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 55 Min
This is also known as "Poor Man's Pudding." It is anything but poor. Simple ingredients put together in a most delicious way. Serve warm, spooned into bowls with pouring cream drizzled overtop, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This is the small batch. The original version made 10 servings. You have two choices of sauce. Maple or brown sugar. You decide.
Ingredients
For the Maple sauce choice:
- 3/4 cup (180ml) pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream
- pinch of sea salt
For the brown sugar sauce:
- 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 up (180ml) water
- 1/2 tsp maple extract
- 1 TBS all-purpose plain flour
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup (105g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large free-range eggs
- 3 fluid ounces (85ml) milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 7 by 11-inch baking dish really well.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk together the milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- To make the maple syrup sauce, combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Pour into the baking dish.
- To make the brown sugar sauce, whisk the sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Whisk in the maple flavoring and the water. Bring to the boil, whisking constantly. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Cream together the sugar and butter for the cake batter until light and well combined. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk/vanilla mixture, making three dry and two wet additions. Mix just to combine.
- Spoon the cake batter over top of the hot syrup mixture evenly.
- Place onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until bubbling and golden brown. The cake should test done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Leave to cool for about 10 minutes and then spoon into bowls. Serve warm topped with either lashings of cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
In honor of my impending departure from these lush and green lands, I thought I would make a Nova Scotia recipe for us all to enjoy. Nova Scotia is the province in Canada that I am from and where I am returning.
Known for it's great beauty and humble people the early settlers christened it after their home land. New Scotland. I expect it reminded them very much of Scotland. Having been to Scotland now myself, I can see many similarities.
I have baked Scottish Oatcakes on here before. You can find that recipe here. They are very good. I adapted the recipe from one which I saw on the Netflix series Martha Bakes.
They are crisp and buttery and quite sweet. I think they are more like a cookie than anything else, but they do go incredibly great with a good cheese.
I confess right now, although I spent most of my life in Nova Scotia prior to coming here to the UK, I had never had an Oat Cake. I expect they are mostly a Cape Breton thing, because that is where a lot of the Scots ended up.
My sister, however, has always spoken with great fondness of the Oat Cakes you can get at the Costco in Halifax. I wanted to try them. Now I suppose I will have my chance! Somehow I doubt they will be as good as homemade ones however.
The dough for these is a very simple make, and involves the use of very simple ingredients. Flour, old fashioned rolled oats, salt, butter, brown sugar and some baking powder.
You can add a touch of vanilla. I used a smidgen of vanilla paste as I am trying to use it up before I need to pack everything away. I don't think I can bring much in the way of food with me when I go, if anything at all. (I am so hoping I don't have to give everything up.)
You roll the dough out into a rectangle with a rolling pin. I love my beechwood rolling pin. I have never had such a beauty before in my life, and it is probably one of the best rolling pins I have ever had.
It is nice and heavy and does a great job of rolling things out. You will need a rectangle about 5 inches by 11 inches in size and about 1/4 inch in thickness.
Once that is done you need to cut them. They should be cut into rectangles. I did a long cut down the centre of the length, cutting it in half that way.
Then I made six evenly spaced cuts the other way. This creates 12 nicely sized oat cakes.
Place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I used a spatula to do this so I didn't risk them breaking apart.
You don't really need to leave a lot of space between. Just enough for the air to circulate so that the edges can get nice and crisp.
You want the edges to be nice and golden brown. This is a good indicator of their doneness. Don't let them burn.
You let them cool completely on the baking sheet. This will ensure that they are lovely and crisp. I love crisp oat cakes. I do, I do, I do . . .
They do puff up a bit in the oven. But they are lovely and crisp and will crisp up even more when they cool down.
Perfect for dunking. In a hot cuppa. In a glass of milk. In a hot cocoa. In a horlicks. In an Ovaltine. In anything. I bet if you were a hot toddy kind of a person they would even be great dunked in that!
You don't have to cut them apart prior to baking. You can just score the dough with a sharp knife into 12 rectangles right on the tray.
Don't cut all the way through. This will result in softer oat cakes. Its all dependant on the result you wish for.
Soft and a bit chew, or short and crisp. In all truth delicious both ways. I am a crisp cookie/biscuit lover. So I am.
I am actually really looking forward to my move. To seeing family again and being near my babies and grandbabies. To be able to spend some time with my pa before he goes to be with my ma. He is 86 now and will be 87 in January.
I pray every day that he lives long enough for me to be there and to have some time to spend with him. We do speak often on facetime, which is nice, but the real thing will be so much better.
I am looking forward to baking with my grandchildren given the chance. We might even bake these. I have 8 grandchildren. 7 boys and one girl.
The oldest five boys are well acquainted with me. My two older sons are very good at facetiming and such. Oh but it will be good to give them all a hug when the time comes.
It has been 8 years since I have been home and since I have seen my children and grandchildren. Two have been born since then. Both boys. One just recently.
I have never gotten to spend any time when them when they were wee babies. I am hoping and praying that I will be able to spend some time with this last one before he gets out of the baby stage.
There is something lovely about wee babies. Those little noises they make, the way they snuggle into your neck. The smell of their little heads.
I just can't wait. I have high hopes and I hope they are not dashed. Wish me luck!
I am hoping to be gone from here by the end of November. I will have to isolate for two weeks before I can be with anyone. I am a bit slow at getting things started, but expect that things will go pretty quickly once everything is set in motion.
In the meantime I hope that I can continue to bake a few things like these fabulously oaty Nova Scotia Oat Cakes. And I hope that you will enjoy them.
And then when I get to the flip side, it may be a few days, but hopefully not long. I expect to be up and running in one way or another rather quickly.
In the meantime do enjoy these Nova Scotia Oat Cakes. Baked with love.
Nova Scotia Oat Cakes
Yield: Makes 12 cakes
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 15 Mintotal time: 25 Min
Buttery, crisply moreish oaten biscuits. Incredibly delicious with a hot cuppa.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (90g) old fashioned oats (rolled/large flake)
- 3/4 cup (115g) plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed (100g) soft light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
- Whisk the oats, flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Using an electric whisk, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and vanilla. Beat for a further 2 minutes until well creamed and smooth. Add the dry ingredients a bit at a time, until all have been amalgamated and the dough is beginning to clump together. Knead for a few turns to bring it completely together.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured board. Pat into a rectangle shape and then roll out with a rolling pin to a 5 by 11 inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife cut into 12 evenly sized rectangles. (One cut down horizontally and six across.)
- Carefully transfer to the baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes until perfectly set, and the edges are golden brown. Place the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- They will crisp up more as they cool. Store in an airtight container.
notes:
These are great with a hot cup of tea. You can also lightly butter them. Fabulous with slices of good cheddar cheese, fruit, lemon curd, jam, etc.
The oats cakes from the mainland tend to be a bit thicker and softer. These ones are more like the ones from Cake Breton Island which tend to be crisper. Both a delicious, however I hold a certain fondness for anything that is crisp and buttery.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
When I was growing up it was a Christmas Tradition each year for my mother to make Tourtiere. My father is French Canadian and the Tourtiere was a tradition in his family. Tourtiere is a type of a meat pie which is served in French Canada during the Christmas Holidays, normally on Christmas Eve during their Reveillon celebrations, which last pretty much all night. My father is from the Saugenay Lac St Jean region of Quebec.
My mother was English however and staying up all night was not an option in our home. Neither was meat pie on Christmas Day, and so we always had it on Boxing Day. Truth be known it was a very important part of our Christmas holiday celebrations no matter when we ate it and it was something all of us looked forward to each year.
I do believe that there are as many recipes for Tourtiere as there are families that eat it. Some opt to use finely chopped meat . . . pork, or veal . . . and others use ground meat, sometimes just pork, and often a combination of pork and beef. My mother always used just beef. I like to use pork and beef. My ex sister in law always used chopped pork shoulder. (She was Acadian French.)
Some use dried bread crumbs to absorbe some of the moisture from their filling. Some use grated raw potato cooked in with the meat. Some grate cooked potato into the filling . . . I like to use dried potato flakes because you don't get any lumps of potato, but it thickens the filling nicely.
All will have finely chopped onions and ground cloves. Garlic, savory, thyme, etc. . . . these are optional. I do use them, but my mother only used the savory along with the onion and cloves. I also add a few chopped celery leaves and some parsley. It changes each year. I keep fiddling with it a bit here and a bit there in my quest for the perfect Tourtiere. I think my sister always makes the best ones, but alas . . . she is 2,000 miles away, so mine will just have to do. The Toddster isn't complaining!
I do believe that there are as many recipes for Tourtiere as there are families that eat it. Some opt to use finely chopped meat . . . pork, or veal . . . and others use ground meat, sometimes just pork, and often a combination of pork and beef. My mother always used just beef. I like to use pork and beef. My ex sister in law always used chopped pork shoulder. (She was Acadian French.)
Some use dried bread crumbs to absorbe some of the moisture from their filling. Some use grated raw potato cooked in with the meat. Some grate cooked potato into the filling . . . I like to use dried potato flakes because you don't get any lumps of potato, but it thickens the filling nicely.
All will have finely chopped onions and ground cloves. Garlic, savory, thyme, etc. . . . these are optional. I do use them, but my mother only used the savory along with the onion and cloves. I also add a few chopped celery leaves and some parsley. It changes each year. I keep fiddling with it a bit here and a bit there in my quest for the perfect Tourtiere. I think my sister always makes the best ones, but alas . . . she is 2,000 miles away, so mine will just have to do. The Toddster isn't complaining!
*Tourtiere 2013*
makes two nine inch piesPrintable Recipe
one egg yolk beaten with a bit of water to glaze
For the filling:
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Place the two pies on a large baking try and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4 and bake for a further 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden brown and crisp on the bottom.
I did a little one for Todd so you could see how flakey that pastry is and what the filling looks like. He really enjoys this each year, and of course he doesn't have to watch his waistline!
(My sister's pies this year! Yes we both like to take photos of what we cook and eat! It must run in the family!)
Note: If you only want to make one pie, just cut all the ingredients for the filling in half. Or make the full batch and freeze half of it for another time. You can also bake this in individual pies. My sister does and uses canning jar lids for the pans. Works perfectly!
If you were to ask any Canadian what one of their favorite indulgent dishes is . . . and hands down . . . you are sure to come up with more than one answer of Poutine! Poutine, that Canadian dish of hot chips (french fries) topped with squeaky cheese curds, and hot gravy . . . the chips and the gravy melting the cheese so that every forkful is a mix of oozy gravy, hot chip goodness!
Another favourite diner meal would be the Hot Turkey Sandwich. I know I ate a fair few of these in my lifetime! Canadians love to embrace turkey any way they can get it and a hot sandwich with two slices of bread layered with hot turkey and slathered in gravy, and served along french fries, peas and carrots and a pot of homemade coleslaw are up there on the list of favourites as well!
This tasty dish today combines two of those favourite indulgences into something you are going to find yourself asking . . . now, why didn't "I" think of that! DOH! Don't worry about it, I've done all the thinking for you.
What you have here is hot chips (french fries) . . . you can make your own from scratch, or you can use a good oven chip . . . topped with two scoops of poultry stuffing, and some chunks of roasted turkey . . . slathered in hot turkey gravy . . . and then doused with a combination of both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
What you have here is a bit of a wicked indulgence perhaps . . . but oh well . . . you don't really have to eat the whole thing do you???
Ok, I'll admit it . . . it's pretty hard not to. ☺ By the way, you have to make my stuffing with this . . . it's really the best, if I don't say so myself, and I know . . . I just did.
*Hot Turkey Poutine*
Serves 4 they're gorgeous!)
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup
leftover stuffing
*Poultry Stuffing*
Makes 12 servings
This
is delicious. Don't balk at the ingredients. They absolutely work.
Just open your mind and go with it. This is the most delicious
stuffing. It freezes well. I pack it into a loaf tin and chill. I
then dump it out, slice and then wrap each slice individually and
freeze. When we are ready to eat it, I just take out what I want and
cook it (frozen) in some hot butter, browning it on both sides.
Delicious! Alternately you can spoon it into a baking dish, cover and
bake at 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3 for about 25 minutes.
6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 TBS butter
2 slices white bread, crumbled
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 TBS white sugar
1 TBS soft light brown sugar
1 TBS mild molasses
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp dried powdered sage
1 TBS dried summer savory
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Cook
your potatoes until soft in a pot of lightly salted water. Drain well
and mash along with the butter until smooth. Add the crumbled bread to
the mashed potatoes along with the onion, sugars, herbs, molasses,
vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix together well. Pack into a buttered 9
by 5 inch loaf pan. Cover and chill for several hours. This can be
frozen at this point. When ready to serve, melt some butter in a pan.
Slice the dressing and lightly brown for about 5 minutes per side.
This blows stove top stuffing out of the water!
Go on . . . make it, you know you really want to!
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