Sugar Pie (Québec Tarte au Sucre Brun)

A beloved French-Canadian classic, sugar pie, brown sugar pie, also known as tarte au sucre is a decadent comfort-food. It was originally made with maple sugar, but since that is harder to come by and more expensive, brown sugar became it's replacement. It is a simple pie made with inexpensive staple ingredients likely designed to fatten up outdoorsmen come winter. It probably has French and Belgian roots, but the French-Canadian version is its own animal, with a sticky, grainy texture (similar to pecan pie’s filling, minus the pecans) and a level of sweetness on par with the Southern U.S.’s chess pie. It’s irresistible. This is a very old-fashioned version from l'Estrie (Eastern Townships).

1 recipe Single Pie Crust
2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ tsp. sea salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Make the Pastry:
Make the pie dough, wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour, or even overnight would be great.

Roll out the dough and place it in a 9" pie plate; chill in the refrigerator until the filling is ready.

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Make the Filling:
In a bowl, blend sugar, flour, and salt.

In separate bowl using electric mixer, beat eggs and yolk till frothy; beat in milk and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into sugar mixture till smooth. Pour into prepared pie shell.

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4) and bake for about 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is set.

Allow the pie to cool at room temperature for an hour and then place into the fridge for at least 4 hours to cool and set.

Great served with a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a sprinkling of flaky sea salt.

Makes 6-8 servings.