Poor man’s pudding

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.

Step 3: Mix the dough

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and slightly fluffy. Add one egg and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining egg and do the same.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in the milk. The batter will be thick and spreadable, similar to soft biscuit dough.

Editor’s Tip: If you add the egg too quickly, the batter may start to look slightly curdled. This is no problem. Just mix in the dry ingredients as usual and it should all come together nicely.

Step 4: Make the cake

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared dish. Slowly pour the warm maple sauce over the batter. Do not stir.

Editor’s Tip: The batter will rise through the sauce during baking, like magic! If you’re worried about overflow from the baking dish, you can place the pan on a cookie sheet to catch any overflow.

Step 5: Bake the cake

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown, the edges are caramelized and the center is just set. Let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to thicken.

Poor Man’s Pudding Variations

• Make it less pricey: Maple and heavy cream are a delicious, but sometimes costly, duo. To make a less expensive sauce, use 2/3 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup whole milk and 3 tablespoons butter.
• Add some smoke: Using smoked salt—and even smoked maple syrup—can give this cake an extra dimension.
• Try it with apples: When making the sauce, use 1/4 cup apple cider in place of 1/4 cup cream, and place a layer of sliced apples on top of the batter before adding the sauce. This iteration begs for the addition of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to the cake too.

How to Store Poor Man’s Pudding

Thoroughly wrap your cake pan or pop the extra pieces into a snap-top container for storage. If you’re going to finish the dessert within a day, you can keep it on the counter. Any longer and it should stay in the fridge.

How long does poor man’s pudding last?

You can store poor man’s pudding in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Poor Man’s Pudding Tips

How should you serve poor man’s pudding?

This cake is excellent warm just a few minutes out of the oven, but it’s quite nice cold, as the caramel gets even more gooey. Since it’s very sweet, you don’t really need to make this a dessert a la mode, but some unsweetened whipped cream would be lovely. If you’re offering more than one dessert, choose a second that is a bit tart and not too sweet, like apple pie.

What should you serve for dinner, knowing poor man’s pudding is for dessert?

I love to pair a meal and a dessert from the same cuisine, so I like to serve poor man’s pudding after a dinner of old-fashioned baked beans, slow-cooker split pea soup, an easy baked omelette or tourtière (aka French Canadian meat pie). If you want to go full “poor man” at your meal, try offering poor man’s steak or poor man’s casserole for the main dish.