Pudding chomeur, or poor man’s pudding, is a classic Quebecois dessert that was created during the Great Depression. For a fun twist, this syrupy cake may be baked in an empty maple syrup can.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 cup granulated white sugar

¼ cup margarine (55g)

1 cup milk

For the syrup:

1 cup water

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ cup margarine (55g)

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 7×7-inch baking dish.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl. 

3. Using a mixer, beat the egg, sugar, and 1/4 cup margarine together in a large bowl. 

4. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the egg mixture, stirring to combine. 

5. Beat the mixture on low speed until there are no lumps (20 seconds). 6. Pour the batter into the prepared dish.

7. Combine the syrup ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil for two minutes. Cool for one minute, then pour the sauce over the batter.

8. Bake in the preheated oven until the centre is set, about 40 minutes. 9. Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

For a maple syrup-based version,  replace brown and white sugars with 1 cup of maple syrup. Reduce the amount of water to ½ cup.