[Sugar pie] Staple dessert pie from Quebec

Pre-post Confession: I have an uber sweet tooth.

One of my favorite dessert is pie with buttery crust!

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The most joyful part of visiting a sugar bush is the specialty meal AND a slice of sugar pie for dessert.

La tarte au sucre, or sugar pie, is a typical dessert from Québec, but also from Western Europe including France, and also from Amish country in Pennsylvania. Amish sugar pie is called Shoofly pie.

Well of course, I bake sugar pie at home too, because of the simple reason.

I love pie. I love buttery pie crust and sweet pie filling. I also love savory pie too.

There are 101 reasons for me to bake pie.

Nonetheless, no matter what,

 I always expect to have a big slice of sugar pie when I go to a sugar bush breakfast.

Until this year, there had not been one sugar bush that disappointed me in that aspect.

And this year, Chez Ti-mousse lost lots of points to me and the major reason was that they didn't serve sugar pie for dessert. I was disheartened. :(

I was more disappointed more because I had been dreaming of it.

To boost my dessert spirit, I am decided to post Sugar pie recipe.

I baked three sugar pies for last 3 months. Maybe it is time to refrain myself from baking another sugar pie for a couple of months.

The above one was to bring it to work. That was why the pie was cut into so many slices ;)

This is a fool proof recipe.

Martha (Stewart)'s pie crust recipe is the best pie crust recipe I always use and sugar pie filling recipe is adapted from Quebec recipes site: http://www.recettes.qc.ca/

Sugar pie is a luscious dessert that will boost your mood.

It works really well even or especially when you are made about something!

Here goes the recipe:

First, recipe for pie crust~

Ingredients

(for two single crusts)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

First,

How to make an easy pie crust:

1. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine.

2. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

3. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time).

Don't overprocess.

4. Transfer half of dough crumble onto a piece of plastic wrap.

Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick;

Wrap tightly in plastic.

Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours in the fridge or up to 3 days.

You can freeze it up to 4-6 weeks.

I usually make a night before.

Repeat with remaining dough. Makes 2 disks.

Once pie crust is ready,

Sugar pie filling is very easy to make.

Here goes the Sugar pie recipe:

(adapted from http://www.recettes.qc.ca/recettes/recette.php?id=1168 )

Ingredients

2 Cups brown sugar

5 teaspoons all-purpose flour

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, room temperature

1 Cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 single pie crust (see below for the recipe)

How to make

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 180 degrees Celcius).

2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one piece of pie crsut dough into large round,

about 1/8 inch thick.

Roll dough around rolling pin, and place over a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate.

3. Line plate with dough, pressing it into the corners.

Fold the overhang under so the crust is flush with the edge of the pie plate and flute the edges.

Trim dough to within 1 inch of the pie plate.

Use your knuckle and finger tips to make frills. :)

Now pie crust is ready :)

You need evaporated milk (unsweetened) to make filling.

5. In a medium size bowl, combine flour and sugar.

 6. Stir in evaporated milk, melted butter, egg, salt and vanilla.

As I mentioned above, please use an egg at room temperature. If you use a cold egg, melted butter will be agglomerated~Now filling is ready.

Pour into an unbaked pie shell.

Cover pie crust with silicone pie liner or aluminium foil, to prevent the crust from overbaking.

7. Bake at 350 degrees F ( 180 degrees C) for 60-65 minutes.

It's ready to come out of oven when crust is golden brown, filling is dark, wiggly, and inflated.

This is just a few seconds after it came out of the oven.

Once the pie is out of oven, it gets sunken within a minute.

Cool on a rack.

I try to limit myself to one slice.

Well, it doesn't always work.

Alright,

To be honest, it never works :(

It looks humble, but a delicious cake.

   

 Sugar pie is best when eaten the day it is baked. But it tastes as good as the first day for the following couple of days, only if there is any left. :)

Enjoy!

Tarte au Sucre