Pouding chômeur
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
A simple vanilla sponge batter baked over hot maple syrup and cream, which sinks to form a rich caramel sauce under a golden cake. A beloved Québécois dessert.
Pouding chômeur is a Canadian dessert from Canada, ready in about 1 hour 5 minutes and made with maple syrup and all-purpose flour. It serves 8 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 1 h 5 min
- Serves
- 8
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 373
Ingredients
Sauce
Batter
Method
Step 1
Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C. Bring the maple syrup (opens in a new tab) and cream to a simmer in a saucepan (opens in a new tab), then take off the heat.
- 4 min
- 180°C
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels Step 2
Beat the butter and sugar (opens in a new tab) until pale, then beat in the egg (opens in a new tab) and vanilla (opens in a new tab). Mix in the flour, baking powder (opens in a new tab) and salt alternately with the milk (opens in a new tab) to make a thick batter.
Step 3
Spread the batter in a buttered 20 × 20 cm dish and slowly pour the hot syrup over the top. Don't stir — the batter will float up as it bakes.
Step 4
Set the dish on a tray to catch drips and bake until golden and springy, about 35–40 minutes. Rest 10 minutes and serve warm.
- 38 min
- 180°C
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Québec, Canada · Commonly attributedCommonly linked to the Great Depression; the name means 'unemployed person's pudding'. Early versions used brown sugar syrup rather than maple.More food from Canada
- Dish
- Dessert · Desserts · Cakes
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked
- Taste
- sweet, buttery, rich
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Child-friendly · Festive & celebration
- Cook more with
- Maple syrup · All-purpose flour · Heavy cream · Unsalted butter · Sugar · Egg
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom heavy cream, unsalted butter, milk
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
373 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 129 g · recipe makes 8
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 5%
- Carbohydrate 64%
- Fat 32%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 373 kcal | 288 kcal |
| Protein | 4.4 g | 3.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 60.1 g | 46.5 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 59.5 g | 46 g |
| Sugars | 39.1 g | 30.2 g |
| Added sugars | 37.3 g | 28.8 g |
| Fibre | 0.6 g | 0.5 g |
| Fat | 13.2 g | 10.2 g |
| Saturated fat | 8 g | 6.2 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 59 mg | 46 mg |
| Sodium | 219 mg | 169 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.4 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 167 mg
- Calcium
- 150 mg
- Iron
- 1.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 18 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 135 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.6 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 74 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Serve with
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Storage
- Refrigerate up to 3 days.
Reheating
- Warm portions in the microwave or a low oven.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 15 min
Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.
Rest · about 10 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 38 min at 180 °C
Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.
- Start to finish: about 1 h 3 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
If something goes wrong
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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