Ingredients
- 1 blind-baked 23 cm pastry shell
- 750 ml whole milk
- 90 ml maple syrup
- 45 g cornstarch
- 3 egg yolks
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 egg whites
- 90 ml maple syrup for meringue
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- Whisk milk, 90 ml maple syrup, cornstarch, and yolks in a saucepan; cook over medium heat until thick, then stir in butter and vanilla.
- Pour the custard into the pastry shell and cool for 20 minutes.
- Whip egg whites with lemon juice; slowly stream in hot maple syrup while beating until glossy and firm.
- Spread meringue over the custard, dust with cinnamon, and bake at 160 °C for 15 minutes; chill before serving.
Conversion and rationale
Original sweetener (classic version): 150 g granulated sugar in the custard and 150 g granulated sugar in the meringue
Conversion used: Replace the custard sugar with 90 ml maple syrup and the meringue sugar with 90 ml hot maple syrup; reduce milk by about 60 ml and bake the meringue at 160 °C rather than 175 °C.
Why Quebec maple syrup: Maple gives the prairie classic a toasty, caramel note that suits cinnamon and vanilla. The syrup also adds a recognizable Canadian identity without changing the custard structure.
General rule: 1 cup (250 ml) sugar ≈ 3/4 cup (180 ml) maple syrup; reduce liquids by 45–60 ml per cup of syrup and lower oven by 15 °C. Substitution calculator →