Québéc Maple Pudding (Pouding Chômeur)

This old-fashioned sponge pudding from French Canada uses local maple syrup to make a fabulous, saucy winter dessert.

The name ‘pouding chômeur’ translates to ‘unemployed pudding’, which refers to this dish’s peak popularity during the Great Depression. When French Canadians fell on hard times, local maple syrup was a readily available source of sweetness and pleasure, particularly in the harsh winter months. This is a very decadent pudding, in which a sponge pudding batter is drenched in a maple cream sauce before undergoing a magical role-reversal in oven. The golden sponge pudding rises to the surface while the maple cream sauce is condemned to the depths. It’s utterly delicious served straight from the oven with ice-cold cream, but it can be served as a delicious, autumnal maple sponge cake with coffee the day after. You’ll want to loosen your belt for this. Let’s go!