Quebec Tarte au Sucre (Brown Sugar Pie)
The French Canadian sugar pie: a thick, custardy filling of brown sugar, cream, butter, flour, egg and vanilla in a deep-dish crust, topped with braided or woven pastry strips and baked until the center barely jiggles.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
Sugar pie crossed the Atlantic with the French. Wikipedia says sugar pie is a dessert of northern French and Belgian cooking that is "considered a classic dish of Québécois cuisine" in Canada, and that the French Canadian version sometimes uses maple syrup. Quebec's official language office, the Office québécois de la langue française, defines tarte au sucre as a pie whose filling is based on brown sugar and cream or milk, and notes that it usually has no pastry over the filling. This recipe followed French Canadians south. Yankee Magazine first printed it in January 1990 from Huguette Davis, a home cook who grew up cooking for crowds in Maine lumber camps and mastered Acadian dishes like cretons, tourtière and brown sugar pie, and who "didn't use any maple products in her filling, just plain brown sugar" (Yankee, November 1, 2021:). Yankee ties her pie to the tarte au sucre still eaten in northern France and Belgium, where many settlers of New France came from; the European pies use white sugar, while this one gets a deeper caramel flavor from brown sugar. It may be the ancestor of the Canadian butter tart (our Canadian Butter Tarts recipe), and it is a close cousin of Indiana's sugar cream pie (our Indiana Sugar Cream Pie recipe).
Why it works the kitchen science
Brown sugar plus flour and egg
The molasses in brown sugar gives a caramel flavor white sugar can't, and a little flour and one egg turn the sugar and cream into a thick custard instead of a runny syrup.
A deep dish and a low rack
The deep plate holds the generous filling, and baking low in the oven gets the bottom crust browned before the top darkens.
🧰 You'll need 7 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
Appliances
Pans and pots
Tools
Supplies
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the double crust (see the crust baseline), shape one larger and one smaller disk and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 375°F.
- Step 2
Roll the larger disk between sheets of parchment to a 13-inch circle, fit it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, leave the overhang and refrigerate.
- Step 3
Whisk the brown sugar, cream, butter, flour, egg, vanilla and salt until mostly smooth; a few small lumps of butter are fine. Pour it into the chilled crust and return it to the refrigerator.
- Step 4
Roll the smaller disk into a 12-inch square about 1/4 inch thick and cut it into strips about 3/8 inch (1 cm) wide. Braid them in groups of three and lay the braids across the pie, or weave a lattice.
- Step 5
Trim the strips, brush the edge with cream and crimp the bottom crust over the strip ends to seal.
- Step 6
Bake about 40 minutes, until the crust is well browned and the center still jiggles slightly; the filling firms as it cools.
✓ What it should look like - Step 7
Cool on a rack at least 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream and tart berries.
Quebec Tarte au Sucre (Brown Sugar Pie)
Serves 8 · one 9-inch deep-dish pie · 1 hr 30 min total
Crust (King Arthur's Classic Double Pie Crust)
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp table salt
- 1/4 cup (46 g) vegetable shortening
- 10 tbsp (142 g) very cold unsalted butter
- 6 to 10 tbsp ice water
- About 1 tbsp light cream, for brushing
Filling
- 2 cups brown sugar, light or dark (or 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup maple sugar)
- 1/2 cup light cream
- 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) salted butter, softened
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
To serve
- Whipped cream and tart berries, such as raspberries or red currants
Equipment: Oven, 9-inch pie plate, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Whisk, Pastry brush, Parchment paper
Method
- Make the double crust (see the crust baseline), shape one larger and one smaller disk and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 375°F.
- Roll the larger disk between sheets of parchment to a 13-inch circle, fit it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, leave the overhang and refrigerate.
- Whisk the brown sugar, cream, butter, flour, egg, vanilla and salt until mostly smooth; a few small lumps of butter are fine. Pour it into the chilled crust and return it to the refrigerator.
- Roll the smaller disk into a 12-inch square about 1/4 inch thick and cut it into strips about 3/8 inch (1 cm) wide. Braid them in groups of three and lay the braids across the pie, or weave a lattice.
- Trim the strips, brush the edge with cream and crimp the bottom crust over the strip ends to seal.
- Bake about 40 minutes, until the crust is well browned and the center still jiggles slightly; the filling firms as it cools.
- Cool on a rack at least 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream and tart berries.
Adapted from Yankee Magazine, "Tarte au Sucre (Brown Sugar Pie)" (November 1, 2021; first printed January 1990), one 9-inch deep-dish pie, 8 servings. Filling amounts, the braided top, the 375°F oven on the lower rack and the cue of a well-browned crust with a slightly jiggling center are Yankee's; the 40-minute bake is from the author's 2018 reply in the comments. Yankee calls for pastry for a double-crust pie; we write out King Arthur's Classic Double Pie Crust (see the crust baseline). We count Yankee's salted butter as unsalted (same kcal). History from Wikipedia, the OQLF and Yankee, linked in the Story. Yankee Magazine. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Yankee suggests replacing half or all of the brown sugar with maple sugar for a sugar-shack flavor.
- Tart berries are not decoration: their acid is what makes a slice of something this sweet taste balanced.
- Want it the way many Quebec cooks make it? Skip the top pastry; the OQLF notes tarte au sucre usually has none.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Tarte au sucre is from Quebec. Disputed wording: Wikipedia calls it a northern French and Belgian dessert that is a classic of Quebec cuisine; Yankee says the European versions are still eaten in northern France and Belgium.
- Real tarte au sucre uses maple syrup. Disputed: Wikipedia says the French Canadian version "sometimes" does and Yankee says maple versions are common in sugarbush country; Huguette Davis and the OQLF's definition use brown sugar and cream.
- It has a top crust. Disputed: Yankee's recipe braids or weaves one; the OQLF says tarte au sucre usually has no pastry over the filling.
- The filles du roi brought it to Quebec. Folklore: Wikipedia's butter tart article says "possibly"; we found no early recipe.
Every other holiday pie
Classic Southern Pecan Pie
The corn syrup pecan pie: eggs, light and dark corn syrup, butter and toasted pecans in a flaky par-baked crust, baked until puffed and just set and crowned with pecan halves.
Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup
Pecan pie the way it was made before corn syrup took over: a smooth custard of brown sugar, milk, eggs, butter and a splash of vinegar, with toasted diced pecans inside and halves roasting on top.
Southern Lemon Chess Pie
The South's pantry pie: eggs, sugar, butter, lemon and a spoonful of cornmeal baked in a par-baked crust until the top turns into a thin, crackly sugar crust over a soft, tart custard.
Southern Buttermilk Pie
A tangy Southern custard pie: plenty of buttermilk, eggs and yolks, a little cream, butter and vinegar, baked low to 180°F in a fully baked crust, then flashed in a hot oven for a golden top.
Kentucky Chocolate Walnut Pie with Bourbon
Kentucky's chocolate and walnut pie: a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate in a blind-baked crust under a brown butter, bourbon and brown sugar filling packed with toasted walnuts.
Apple Cranberry Lattice Pie
A Thanksgiving fruit pie in two layers: cinnamon apples on a bed of pecans, topped with cranberries cooked down with sugar, orange juice and zest, under a golden lattice.
Indiana Sugar Cream Pie (Hoosier Pie)
Indiana's eggless pie: sugar, heavy cream, butter and vanilla cooked into a thick custard on the stove, poured into a fully baked crust, chilled until sliceable and dusted with nutmeg.
Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly Pie
The Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast pie: a wet-bottom molasses filling lightened with baking soda and boiling water, under a spiced brown sugar crumb top, in a flaky sour cream crust.
Easy Pecan Pie Bars
Pecan pie for a crowd with no rolling pin: a press-in brown sugar shortbread crust topped with chopped pecans in a quick honey, butter and brown sugar caramel, baked in one 9 by 13-inch pan.
Gooey Butter Pie with Oat Cookie Crust
A dense, gooey butter and brown sugar filling thickened with egg yolks and milk powder, in a crust of crumbled homemade oat cookie, baked briefly and frozen until it slices like soft caramel. Inspired by Milk Bar's Milk Bar Pie; not official.
British Mince Pies
Britain's Christmas pies: small sweet shortcrust tarts filled with a week-old mincemeat of beef suet, raisins, currants, peel, grated apple, citrus, spice, brandy, rum, port and sherry, with sugared star or round lids.
Canadian Butter Tarts
Canada's own tart: flaky little pastry cups in a muffin pan, filled with a runny, just-set mix of brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, eggs and a dash of vinegar, with raisins or without.
English Treacle Tart
Britain's golden syrup tart: soft white breadcrumbs soaked in golden syrup, brightened with orange, stem ginger and a spoonful of black treacle, baked in a blind-baked wholemeal pastry case.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.