You need something sweet and you need it as tonight’s dessert. You want it to be Canadian and you want to keep it simple. All you need is a few ingredient you probably already have but check out the recipe below and alsoreview the notes at the end.

Classic Quebeqois Sugar Pie

Zen Chef

This pie is as Canadian as it gets. It is sweet. It is rich. It is decadent. It is delicious and it is one of the easiest crowd pleasing desserts you will ever make.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Cuisine Canadian

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

• 1 Pie Shell deep dish, frozen, 9 in / 23 cm
• 500 ml Brown Sugar
• 250 ml White Sugar
• 250 ml Evaporated Milk
• 5 ml Vanilla Extract
• 40 ml Butter melted
• 1 Egg

Instructions

 

• Thaw pie shell at room temperature for 15 minutes
• Preheat oven to 175 C (375 F)
• To a medium sized pan add all ingredients
• Mix ingredients thoroughly with a whisk
• Slowly heat up the mixture to reach a gentle boil whisking constantly
• Remove from heat and let cool slightly
• Pour into pie shell and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minute
• Remove and let cool to set at room temperature
• Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting 😉

Notes

You can substitute heavy cream (35%) for the evaporated milk

You can substitute a packet of vanilla sugar for the vanilla extract

First off, please note that this is a Swiss “Cheese Pie”, not a “Swiss Cheese” Pie even though it actually uses Emmentaler (aka Swiss Cheese). Ok, now that I’ve thoroughly confused you….

While we call this a cheese pie as cheese is the lead actor, it wouldn’t be the same without the strong supporting cast of bacon and onion. So really, it should be called a “Cheese, Bacon and Onion Pie”.

The recipe below is more or less the traditional version but lends itself to variation, substitutions and experimentation.

For example, use red onions instead of yellow ones or even leeks instead of onions. And try any other melting cheeses such as e.g. Fontina or Jarlsberg etc.

Swiss Cheese Pie

Bruno

A Swiss "Cheese Pie" but actually more appropriately a "Bacon, Cheese and Onion Pie".

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Swiss

Servings 6

Equipment

• Spring Form 24-28 cm

Ingredients

  

• 1 roll Puff Pastry
• 1 Onion large, finely chopped
• 100 g Bacon thick cut, chopped into small pieces
• 100 g Emmental grated, coarse
• 100 g Sprienz or Parmesan grated, fine
• 200 ml Cream 35%
• 2 Eggs
• Nutmeg to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Olive oil extra virgin

Instructions

 

• Defrost pastry dough overnight if frozen
• Preheat oven to 220°C
• Roll out pastry dough to fit into spring form plus extra to form the rim of the pie
• Use a fork to pierce the bottom every few centimeters
• Refrigerate until ready to fill
• In a medium frying pan, fry bacon on medium heat until fat starts to render.
• Add chopped onion to bacon and sautée until softened
• Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature
• In a medium bowl combine Emmental and Sprienz (or Parmesan)
• In another medium bowl add cream, eggs, a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of pepper
• Whisk until evenly combined
• Remove Spring form from fridge
• Evenly distribute the bacon and onion mixture over the pie bottom
• Evenly distribute the cheese mix over the bacon and onions
  
• Pour the cream and egg mixture evenly over the pie
• Bake the pie in the lower part of the oven for about 45 minutes
• Check the pie periodically and if the cheese starts to brown too quickly, cover with aluminium foil.
• Remove from oven when done and let cool to set for a few minutes
  
• Unmold
  
• Slice and serve
  

Notes

You can easily substitute the Emmental with Gruyere for a tangier taste or even Appenzeller for some real attitude.

Sprienz can only be found in some better cheese boutiques and usually only in larger urban centres so Parmesan is normally the go-to substitute.

Do not bake this pie in convection mode. It will burn the cheese before the dough is baked through.

This pie is usually served with a simple green salad and a glass of white wine (think Riesling, Gewürtztraminer or Grüner Veltliner but any other white with some decent acidity will do)

Keyword bacon, cheese, cheese pie, onion, pie, swiss