Seeking Sugar Pie recipe

[AndreaU]

I have been searching for a recipe for Sugar Pie for several years. My husband and I enjoyed this dessert on our honeymoon in Quebec City, Canada at a restaurant called "Le Cochon Dingue." I believe the waitress said it was made from maple syrup and brown sugar. It was the consistency of pumpkin pie. I would be so grateful to obtain this recipe! Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Natasha]

I have a couple of recipes for this and will post them later for you. Cheers!

[Gail]

I found these in Epicurious. Don't know if either are exactly your pie, though.

QUEBEC MAPLE SUGAR PIE
Pastry Dough
Pie weights or raw rice for weighting shell
1 cup granulated maple sugar*
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Accompaniment: whipped cream
*available at some specialty food shops and by mail order from Highland Sugarworks, tel. (800) 452-4012
On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into a 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Fit dough into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim and trim flush with rim. Chill shell until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Lightly ***** bottom of shell all over with a fork and line shell with foil. Fill foil with pie weights or rice and bake shell in middle of oven 15 minutes. Carefully remove weights or rice and foil and bake shell until golden, about 8 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack. Shell may be made 1 day ahead and kept in pan, covered, at room temperature.
Reduce temperature to 350°F.
In a bowl whisk together maple sugar and flour. Add cream and whisk until smooth. Pour filling into shell and bake in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until fling is set. Cool pie to warm in pan on rack and remove rim.
Serve pie warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.
Makes one 11 inch tart.


Gourmet
December 1997

Sugar & Spice; Patti Keenan, Victoria, BC
MAPLE SYRUP PIE

100% would make it again


Tarte au Sirop d' Érable
"My husband and I had an absolutely fantastic dessert at Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens while on vacation in Quebec, Canada," Says Deb Kalikow of Natick, Massachusetts. "Maple syrup pie served with crème fraîche is its specialty. The pie capped off a perfect dinner of delicious French-Canadian dishes. We ate at another restaurant the next night and tried the maple syrup pie there. We were so disappointed by our first bites that we then went back to Aux Anciens Canadiens and waited an hour just to have another piece of their pie."

Don't be tempted to forgo the cream with this pie; it perfectly complements the dessert's rich silkiness and balances the sweetness.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

Pastry dough
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup pure maple syrup (preferably dark amber)
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

Accompaniment: crème fraîche or unsweetened whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Roll out dough into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin and fit into an 8-inch (3-cup) glass pie plate. Trim excess dough and crimp edges decoratively.

Whisk together brown sugar and eggs until creamy. Add cream, syrup, and butter, then whisk until smooth. Pour filling into pie shell.

Bake pie in lower third of oven until pastry is golden and filling is puffed and looks dry but still trembles, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature (filling will set as pie cools).

Cooks' note:
• If you don’t have an 8-inch pie plate, substitute a 9-inch tart pan and prebake crust before baking with filling.

Serves 8 to 10 (8-inch pie).


Gourmet
November 1999

You Asked For It
Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens, Quebec, Canada


PASTRY DOUGH
Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr.
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes.
To blend by hand:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender until most of mixture resembles coarse meal, with rest in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water evenly over and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.
To blend in a food processor:
Pulse together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a food processor until most of mixture resembles coarse meal, with rest in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times, or just until incorporated.
Test mixture:
Gently squeeze a small handful: It should hold together without crumbling apart. If it doesn't, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing 2 or 3 times after each addition until incorporated (keep testing). (If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)
Form dough:
Turn out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together and form it, rotating it on work surface, into a disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Cooks' note:
• Dough can be chilled up to 1 day.
Makes enough dough for a single-crust 9-inch pie or a 10- to 11-inch tart.


Gourmet
November 1999


Gail's note: If by chance the second recipe sounds like it might be close, there are numerous comments from people who tried the recipe. Check www.epicurious.com, (http://www.epicurious.com,) go to recipe search and type in "maple sugar pie."

Good luck!

** Oh, for gosh sakes! This is the second time today I've gotten bleeped. Where you see *****, please insert the action of stabbing the pie crust with the tines of a fork. Silly censor...









[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 09-06-2000).]

[Natasha]

Thanks Gail!

Andrea,

Based on the description of the pie you had, my vote would go to the one from the Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens. You probably saw this famous restaurant (maybe you even ate there?), which has been a landmark for a VERY long time, when you were in Quebec. This pie uses maple syrup, unlike the other one, which uses maple sugar, so it may be closer to the pie you had. (However, I personally am very fond of the ones made with maple sugar and could well make that recipe, or some variation thereof, given a choice between the two!)

The two recipes I was going to post are a bit different. One was from an inn outside Quebec (I believe it was created by a New Brunswick chef). I will still dig them up and post one or both for you if you are interested, though you may no longer need them. I grew up enjoying sugar pie, and while I have tried making it, I must admit that most often I end up just picking it up from the store or restaurants, especially when I go to Quebec!! (I used to live there.)

I believe there may also be other BB members who have tried and true Quebec and New Brunswick recipes...hope you enjoyed Quebec, BTW!

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 09-07-2000).]

[AndreaU]

Wow, thanks for the speedy reply! Gail, I believe the 2nd recipe is what I'm looking for- thank you so much for the time you put into getting me the recipes! Natasha, seeing as you've lived in Quebec, I'd still love to hear your versions too. Again, thank you for your help. I can't wait to get baking!

[Natasha]

Hi Andrea,

Here is one of the recipes, originally from Mme Olympe Boulanger, the late owner of the Hotel Bleu Blanc Rouge, an inn in Perce, Quebec, and obtained by the Hyman family in the Gaspe area. This recipe is a bit different from the others (and perhaps more convenient, depending on your location), as it uses no maple sugar or maple syrup. The addition of rolled oats is a bit untraditional (according to the cookbook author, it's due to the blend of Anglo-Saxon and French cultures). While this is delicious, I think that the second recipe posted by Gail may still be closer to what you had.

You had to get me thinking about sugar pie, didn't you? I may have to buy or make some tonight... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Gaspe Style Sugar Pie
(from A Taste of Quebec, by Julian Armstrong)

2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup (150 ml) evaporated milk
pastry for double-crust 8-inch pie

Mix sugar and oats and spread evenly in shell.
Roll out pastry for top crust and cut in 1/2 in. (1 cm) strips.
Arrange strips on filling in lattice design, pinching edges to seal.
Just before baking, pour evaporated milk carefully through gaps in topping.
Bake in 350F (180C) degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until bubbling hot and slightly browned.
Makes 8 servings.


[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 09-07-2000).]

[Natasha]

Andrea,

Here is the other recipe:

Deerhurst Maple Syrup Pie

pastry for 9-in. pie (single crust)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
Garnish: whipped cream, chopped walnuts

Roll out pastry & fit into 9-in. plate. Combine sugar, cream, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into shell.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45-55 mins. [Note: it may take less time!] or until filling is set except for very centre. Cool until firm enough to slice.
Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Sprinkle with walnuts at time of serving if desired.

BTW, after all this talk about sugar pie I had to have some, so yesterday I made the other recipe I posted. I added a bit of condensed milk and a tiny bit of whipping cream along with the sugar, then poured the evaporated milk over top ... yum!!! Thanks for the reminder ... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Again, looks like the Restaurant aux Anciens Canadiens recipe is the most like what you had, but if you do try any of the others, I hope you enjoy them as well.

[Susann]

A while back, Canada was our country of the month and I tried to make a maple syrup pie similar to those posted here. Unfortunately, it did not turn out. We ended up with maple syrup soup in a pie crust. I have no clue what I did wrong, but maybe I should try again.