Around the World in 80 Dishes: Maple Sugar Pie
In Epicurious's ongoing video series Chef Pierre LeBlanc, from The Culinary Institute of America, demonstrates how to make maple sugar pie-a signature dessert of Quebec , Canada .
When we first published our complete list of 80 iconic recipes to appear in our Around the World in 80 Dishes video series, no pick was debated more than maple sugar pie, the dish we chose for Canada . Some, like kwokmun, were upset we didn't include other Canadian dishes: "Like America , Canada is a very diverse country. Sugar Maple Pie alone is not adequate to represent the country. Where's poutine, from Quebec or even Nanaimo bars from British Columbia , for example?" But others, such as ame66 wrote, "Yes Maple Sugar pie is a Quebec dish and it will make your teeth hurt it can be so sweet, but is sooooo good!"
Who better to turn to then for a demonstration of this ooey-gooey dessert than Canadian chef and the CIA's Associate Professor in Culinary Arts, Pierre LeBlanc. Chef felt this recipe a signature one as maple sugar pie is a staple of Quebecois and French-Canadian cuisine. Small wonder as Quebec alone supplies almost 75 percent of the world's maple sugar. The dish is a simple one-a basic pie crust baked with a filling of eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, maple syrup, and walnuts. The flakiness of the crust encasing the sticky sweetness makes us agree with ELZ, who perfectly described it as, "a slice of maple heaven."
No wonder the sugar maple leaf is on Canada 's flag.
Recipe
Maple Sugar Pie
Epicurious | January 2009
by Pierre Leblanc, The Culinary Institute of America
Yield: Makes 8 portions
This traditional dessert can be served warm from the oven or at room temperature. It's delicious topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, crème fraîche, or whipped cream.
Ingredients
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Arrange oven rack in middle position and top with heavy baking sheet. Preheat oven to 425°F.
On lightly floured surface using lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 13-inch round. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving 1/2-inch overhang, then fold over and crimp decoratively. Chill shell 30 minutes.
Scatter walnuts in shell. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, butter, vanilla, brown sugar, and salt. Pour mixture into pie shell over nuts.
Transfer pie to baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F and bake until crust is golden and center is just set, 25 to 30 minutes more.
Transfer pie to rack and cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Text by Tanya Steel, illustrations by Matthew Brennan, photo by CIA/Keith Ferris
Try more variations of Maple Sugar Pie in our database
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