Sweet Tooth: Au Pied de Cochon apple nirvana

Last weekend, I made the trip to St-Benoît de Mirabel, where I gained five pounds in one sitting: 12 courses, among which were four desserts, three of which blew my mind.


Exhibit A: Apple pie
Photos by Erika David

 
Au Pied de Cochon owner and chef Martin Picard’s sugar shack has been open seasonally for the past few years, but 2012 marks the first year he opens his North Shore cabin in the fall for an apple-centric feast.

Last weekend, I made the trip to St-Benoît de Mirabel, where I gained five pounds in one sitting: 12 courses, among which were four desserts, three of which blew my mind.

Look at this apple pie. Stunning, isn’t it? It’s like the ultimate girl/boy next door of desserts — sweet, wholesome and stands out without even trying. The crust alone is enough to win you over, with its buttery, flaky and deep-brown profile. But it’s just as good on the inside, with warm, caramelized apples, tart and sweet on your lips. A+


Exhibit B: Vanilla-honey soft serve
 
Served in a milk carton cut-out, the vanilla-honey soft serve and apple sorbet twist is so good it’ll bring you to your knees, begging for more. That fruity tartness gives the sweet, smooth and creamy stylings of the whitest flavour on earth a bright edge. Promise me you’ll scoop some over a slice of warm apple pie for a cool contrast. It’ll drip down the edges in the heat of the moment, so hurry and it eat it up.


Exhibit C: Apple-prune bread pudding
 
Don’t hate on prunes. When paired with apples, they make this incredible bread pudding impossibly moist. It’s heavy and dense, ideal for when you need a little TLC. Mega-sugary as it is, a dangerously sweet apple-caramel sauce is also poured over top, the bottle left in your hands to do as you please. Make it rain.

For those of you who didn’t a score a mandatory reservation, you have a slim chance to sample these luscious beauties — sorry, they’re fully booked for 2012. You can try your luck on the waiting list, but you’ll need nothing short of a miracle, chumps. You say tease; I say tough love. Anything involving Picard’s sugar shack requires you to stay on top of your shit — send that e-mail out the second they start taking reservations.

Reservations for the annual sugar shack open Dec. 1 for the 2013 sugaring-off season.

You’ve been warned.

Au Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack
11382 Rang de la Fresnière, St-Benoît de Mirabel
450-258-1732

Erika David blogs about her food adventures in Montreal at This is Why We’re Fat. Follow her on Twitter @erikadavidMTL.

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