Maple Walnut Pudding Chômeur - Seasons and Suppers (2024)

A French-Canadian classic, this Maple Walnut Pudding Chômeur is essentially a self-saucing cake, with a maple syrup flavoured sauce.

Maple Walnut Pudding Chômeur - Seasons and Suppers (1)

About Pudding Chômeur

Pudding Chômeur (or Pouding Chômeur) translates to “Poor Man’s Pudding”. It’s humble food. It’s rustic and comforting. And yes, it’s quite sweet, but it’s a lovely treat and a great way to enjoy and celebrate Spring maple syrup.

I like this recipe as it doesn’t call for a ton of maple syrup. I know it can be expensive in some places (so much for the “poor man” thing :). Boiling the maple syrup down, together with some brown sugar creates great maple flavour without the need to use a lot of maple syrup.

You’ll want to enjoy this one warm from the oven. A drizzle of cream or a bit of ice cream is a great addition to the bowl.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Maple Syrup – there really is no substitute for real maple syrup, so it is highly recommended for this pudding. I like to use Grade B or Amber maple syrup, for the strongest maple flavour.

Walnuts – maple and walnut is a classic combination, but you could use pecans or, if you prefer not to use nuts, you can simply omit the nuts altogether.

Recipe Tips

As noted above, this is a sweet dessert, so when it comes to serving size, a little goes a long way! This 9×9 pan will probably yield 12 servings. So if you don’t want 12 servings, you can go ahead and half the recipe and cook it up in a smaller or individual baking dishes.
You can make these Pudding Chômeur in individual servings in ramekins as well, for a great dessert. Simply spread the batter and sauce between 6-8 ramekins. Baking time will a little less.
As noted, to balance the sweet pudding, drizzle a little cream over-top. Ice cream or even better, Creme fraiche would also be great.

Maple Walnut Pudding Chômeur - Seasons and Suppers (2)

Making ahead, storage and freezing

Pudding Chômeur can be made ahead and re-heated, either in the microwave or lightly covered with foil in a 350F oven until warmed. It is best enjoyed on the day it is baked though, as the cake part will continue to absorb the liquid part.

Store left-overs in the fridge, covered, for 2-3 days.

Pudding Chômeur should freeze well for about 2 months.

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Get the Recipe: Maple Walnut Pudding Chômeur

A French-Canadian classic, this is a self-saucing cake, with walnuts and a maple syrup flavoured sauce.

4.93 stars from 13 ratings

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

Cake:

2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup real maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and set onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle chopped walnuts evenly over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer of in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add flour mixture to batter in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Mix just until combined. Spoon into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
Make sauce by combining sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Heat over high heat until mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and boil for 2 minutes. Carefully and slowly pour sauce mixture over batter in pan. Do not stir.
Bake with pan on baking sheet in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until cake is set (pulling away from sides of pan) and golden.
Serve warm with a drizzle of cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Notes

Be sure to read the notes above the Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe.

Cuisine: Canadian

Course: Dessert

Author: Jennifer Maloney

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 339kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 108mg, Potassium: 200mg, Sugar: 49g, Vitamin A: 170IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 98mg, Iron: 1.3mg

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Jennifer Maloney

Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!