If you’ve never tasted Tartine au Sucre you’ve missed out on one of the sweetest, loveliest desserts of all time. It is also one of the simplest, most heart-warming and homey desserts of all time. It’s an old-fashioned, very traditional one too. Nothing modern, nothing fancy, nothing nouveau about. It doesn’t yell out “foodie!”

Tartine au Sucre is simply this: good, bakery or homemade white bread, scattered with maple sugar and doused with real heavy cream.

Honestly, that’s it. I tried it first many years ago when Ed and I took our young daughters to Canada. We visited several places where we could see the whole process of tapping trees and cooking the sap into syrup. And we ate a lot of pancakes with maple butter. 

But the best maple food was Tartine au Sucre.

It’s now maple season. All the new crop, good maple syrup and sugar is around. Do yourself a favor and get yourself some and make this:

Tartine au Sucre

• 4 slices 1-1/2 inch thick sliced bakery or homemade white bread
• 3/4 cup maple sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Place a slice of bread on each of 4 dessert plates. Scatter each slice of bread with equal amounts of maple sugar. Whip the cream slightly, only until it begins to hold its shape but is still pourable. Pour over the sugar and bread.

Makes 4 servings