Poor man’s pudding is actually a sort of cake made by pouring a maple-and-cream syrup over a biscuit-like dough. Most of the creamy maple syrup is absorbed into the cake, but the rest forms a decadent caramel sauce as it bakes.
I live close to the border of Quebec, and the lovely Québécois dessert known as poor man’s pudding has always been a favorite in my house. It’s made with a buttery biscuit-like dough and topped with a combo of maple syrup and heavy cream before baking. Similar to a magic cake, the batter starts at the bottom of the pan but rises to the top as it cooks.
The treat was invented in Montreal during the Great Depression to make use of pantry staples such as milk, flour, butter and eggs. The original name is pouding chômeur, which actually means “unemployed man’s pudding.” It’s very popular at Quebec sugar shacks, which are dining halls that serve rich, filling meals during the spring maple sugaring season.
If you have your own cow and make homemade maple syrup, this recipe might seem frugal, like other poor man’s recipes. But for those who don’t live on a homestead, cream and maple syrup may be more luxurious. Our base recipe is similar to what is commonly eaten in Quebec today, although there are ways to save money on ingredients.
Poor Man’s Pudding Ingredients
Maple syrup: Since pure maple syrup is the main flavoring in this dessert, this is not the time to use pancake syrup in its place. However, if maple syrup isn’t available where you live, replace it 1:1 with brown sugar. If you don’t have enough maple syrup, you can make up for the rest of what is needed with brown sugar. Combining maple syrup and brown sugar gives the dessert a lovely maple-caramel vibe.
Heavy cream: While rich heavy cream or whipping cream makes a lush sauce, you’ll still get excellent results using whole milk.
Butter: Because both the cake and sauce contain salt, you may want to look for unsalted butter. If your butter happens to be salted, simply reduce the amount of salt in the batter by a pinch.
Salt: This is a very sweet dessert, so the salt is necessary to balance it out.
Granulated sugar: Many types of sugar can make their way into this recipe. Some people use maple sugar in the batter, but you can save a few bucks by using granulated sugar. If you prefer the molasses-y warmth of brown sugar, try that instead—the cake will be slightly more tender.
Eggs: Grade A large eggs at room temperature are what you’re looking for here. The best eggs to buy are cage-free if you can get them.
All-purpose flour: Just use good ol’ all-purpose flour in this cake. It allows the dairy and the maple to stand out.
Baking powder: This maple pudding cake has a dense batter, but it gets a bit of a rise from baking powder. Seek out baking powder without aluminum if it’s available at your grocery store.
Whole milk: You’ll use a bit of whole milk to loosen up the cake mixture. If you’d like, you can use milk in the sauce instead of the heavy cream.
Directions
Step 1: Get things ready
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish.
Editor’s Tip: You can also divide the dessert into buttered ramekins if you’d prefer to make individual servings. You’ll have to keep a closer eye on the poor man’s pudding if you go this route, as it won’t take as long to bake in smaller portions.
Step 2: Heat up the maple sauce
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the maple syrup, cream, butter and salt. Warm just until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth. Do not boil or reduce. Remove from the heat and set aside in a warm place, or leave the pan on the warm burner while you make the dough.
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