Sucre à la crème

I went back to Ottawa for a few days last week and found that the brilliant canopy of scarlet and canary leaves I’d walked under near my mom’s house in late September had collapsed to the ground into deep, brown heaps. With the best of fall over in eastern Ontario, I had to content myself with afternoon walks in tepid sunlight and listening to the strangely satisfying sound of fallen leaves crunching under my feet.

I found more comfort in a big slab of sucre à la crème that my mom brought home from the office one day. Sucre à la crème, or sugar cream in English, is a traditional fudge from Quebec. The little squares of pure cream sugar, sometimes flavoured with a hint of maple, are a rich, sweet but simple treat that really seems to suit the cool fall season. Luckily for me, the wife of one of my mom’s colleagues, Louise Perron, excels at the art of making sucre à la crème. She regularly sends batches of it to the office to satisfy the many sweet-tooths on staff – including my mom who manages to bring home some to share…most of the time. Louise’s recipe is prepared in the microwave, making this the ultimate quick sugar fix.

Sucre à la crème Louise

1 cup soft brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup 35% cream
1 tsp pure maple extract (or vanilla)

In a large microwave-safe bowl, stir together the brown sugar, white sugar and cream. Microwave at full power for three minutes. Stir the ingredients and microwave at full power for another three minutes. Stir the ingredients again and microwave for another three minutes. Add the maple extract (or vanilla) and the butter. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture for around two minutes. Check the texture and beat more if needed.

Pour the mixture into a square glass baking dish and allow to set. This recipe does not call for the mixture to be refrigerated but many others do, for around 1 hour or so. When set, you can cut this into squares to serve but Louise suggests leaving the sucre à la crème in a block until just before you are ready to serve, or eat, it because it will keep fresh longer.