Here’s a classic, comforting Québécois dessert—rich, gooey, and incredibly easy to make 👇
🍁 Pouding Chômeur (Poor Man’s Pudding)
✅ Ingredients
For the batter:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tbsp butter (melted)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the syrup:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water (or maple syrup for a richer version 🍁)
- 2 tbsp butter
👩🍳 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Make the batter
- Mix flour, baking powder, salt
- In another bowl, whisk sugar, egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla
- Combine wet + dry ingredients
- Pour into baking dish
- Grease a small dish and spread the batter evenly
- Make the syrup
- Heat brown sugar, water (or maple syrup), and butter until dissolved
- Pour syrup over batter
- Don’t mix—it will sink and create the sauce while baking
- Bake for 30–40 minutes
- Top becomes golden, bottom turns into a rich caramel-like sauce
✨ Tips
- Using maple syrup instead of water makes it more authentic and flavorful
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or cream 🤤
- The magic: the cake rises while the syrup settles into a gooey sauce underneath
🧠 Fun Fact
“Pouding chômeur” was created during the Great Depression in Quebec, when people used simple pantry ingredients to make a comforting dessert.
If you want, I can give you a microwave version or a super-rich bakery-style version too.