Make Québec cream candy with brown sugar, 35% cream and butter, cooked to the soft-ball stage and beaten until creamy.
Sucre à la crème is a Québec cream-and-sugar confection with a tender, fine-grained texture. This home version uses brown sugar, 35% cream and butter; the cooked syrup cools before it is beaten until matte and set into small squares.
Step 1Line a 20 cm square pan with parchment, leaving an overhang. Set it beside the stove.
Step 2Combine the brown sugar, cream and butter in a heavy 3 L saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts.
Step 3Bring to a steady boil while stirring. Once boiling, stop stirring, attach a candy thermometer and cook to 116°C. Do not scrape sugar crystals from the pan walls into the syrup.
Step 4Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, if using, then leave undisturbed until the mixture cools to 43–45°C. Until then it remains dangerously hot.
Step 5Beat vigorously with a long wooden spoon until the mixture thickens, turns opaque and loses its gloss. Stop as soon as it looks matte and spreadable.
Step 6Quickly spread into the lined pan without scraping the saucepan walls. Cool at room temperature until set, then refrigerate about 30 minutes until firm.
Step 7Lift out by the parchment and cut into 25 small squares with a warm, dry knife. Store covered in the refrigerator.
Stop beating as soon as the mixture is matte and thickened.
Why did it turn grainy? Sugar crystals on the pan sides or stirring while cooling can seed large crystals. Avoid scraping the walls and wait until 43–45°C before beating.
Do I need a thermometer? Yes. It gives a more reliable endpoint than timing alone.
Rounded generic estimate per one of 25 small squares. Cream brand and piece size vary; values are approximate, not a laboratory analysis or product-label declaration.
Use a checked candy thermometer; temperature controls texture. Cream and sugar foam as they boil, so use a heavy saucepan with ample headroom. Keep children away and never taste or touch hot syrup; it can cause severe burns. Contains milk. Cool and store covered in the refrigerator.
