Like the recipe for Pouding Chomeur that I shared a few years ago, Sucre à la Crème is a traditional Québecois dessert. Unlike the Pouding Chomeur which is more of an everyday dessert, Sucre à la Crème is traditionally served around the holidays.

I have heard some non-Quebec Anglophones call it “maple fudge” but I don’t like that term.. traditionally it doesn’t have any maple syrup and the texture is not fudge. It is dense and sweet and creamy but slightly granular without at all being grainy. It is simply Sucre à la Crème…  but if you had to translate it I would call it an addictive pan of creamed sugar…

For years I have been looking for the perfect recipe and have failed at many attempts. The biggest problem in that most recipes are no longer traditional. They are made in the microwave and have evaporated milk instead of cream. Other recipes don’t have the steps written out well and the results are either too hard or too soft.

There is nothing complicated about the ingredients but not being a seasoned candy maker, using a glass of water to determine is it is at a “soft ball” stage doesn’t help me in the end… maybe one day I will be there, but I am not there yet…

What you need:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup of cream (I use 10%)

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• 2 tbsp butter (30 grams)
• 1 tsp vanilla

(I double everything and make a double batch because a single batch just wouldn’t be enough for this family…)

First in a heavy bottomed pot (large pot because it will boil up) mix together the cream and two sugars and place over medium-high heat. Stir a few times and then when you start to see it boil around the edges, place your candy thermometer on the edge careful to not touch the bottom and then don’t touch the spoon again.

Boil until the temperature hits exactly 236F (113 C) and then take off the heat…

Still not touching the mixture… add the butter and vanilla… reject the impulse to stir!!

Now.. let the mixture cool until the temp hits 110F (43C)… if you let it sit it on the stove it will take about 45 min, but you can speed up by placing the pot in a sink with cold water.

While you are letting it cool, prepare a pan by buttering it and set aside. (I use a 8X8 square pan for a double batch but you can use a loaf pan for a single)

Once it hits 110F it is the crucial part… take your wooden spoon and stir, stir, stir until the mixture starts loosing its lustre (basically around the time that you feel like you will lose your arm if you keep on stirring) and then quickly pour into the prepared pan.

Timing is really crucial here. Don’t stir long enough it will be too soft and won’t hold together. Stir a few seconds too long it will start hardening right in the pan and will be impossible to spread out.

Smooth out the top of the Sucre à la Crème and then let cool and cut into small pieces.

Enjoy this rich, sugary, creamy perfection…

I hope you make it and taste a bit of the holidays here in Québec!

Spritz cookies, or “Swedish sugar cookies” are a holiday staple. Like the sugar cookie, they are light and buttery but they are so much easier to make. I don’t mean that the sugar cookie is a really complicated cookie, but the dough can be finicky, you have to chill and roll out and cut and place etc. With the use of a cookie press, these spritz cookies take a few minutes to put together to make about 4 dozen cookies. You could also use a piping bag or even a ziplock to make your shapes.

First, pre-heat the oven to 375.

For the dough:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I use my own)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

First cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add egg and the extracts and mix until creamy. Slowly incorporate the four and salt and mix until you have a nice soft dough but don’t over mix.

Place dough in cookie press or in piping bag and form your cookies and place 1″ apart on an ungreased pan. Before baking you can add chocolate chips, jelly, sugar etc if you wish…

Bake for 6-9 min or until edges are slightly turning golden, and then transfer to a rack to cool…

After my cookies were cooled I went ahead and dipped a few in melted chocolate laced with a bit of coconut oil to give in a slight coconutty taste… yumm….

This one of those comfort foods that is just so easy to make and uses up the bread that is getting too dry to eat but you don’t want to waste it…

• 6 cups day old bread (cubed and slightly toasted)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk (I use coconut, almond or soy)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and slightly butter a casserole dish and place the bread and drizzle with the melted butter. Mix in the raisins if using.

In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed and then pour over the bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.