Sweet tradition Sugar pie is central to the Duguays’ honouring of family, Festival du Voyageur, Métis heritage… and sugar cravings Homemade
By: Eva Wasney Posted: 7:00 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 Last Modified: 9:40 AM CST Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023 Updates

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This article was published 16/02/2023 (933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Paulette Duguay’s home is warm, welcoming and brimming with personality — the spatial embodiment of the host herself.

The white, two-storey house in St. Boniface was built in the 1870s and has been home to the Duguay clan for nearly 50 years. It’s where Paulette and husband Denis raised their five kids and it’s where the family (all 22 of them, now) gathers regularly for big, busy meals. An armchair covered with colourful balloons is evidence of a recent birthday party.

“Every time they come over I say, ‘Oh, I wish I had two fridges and two ovens,’” she says with a laugh. “We need a bigger house.”

There’s no dining room to speak of, but they make it work. In the summertime, the family eats al fresco in the large corner lot dotted with trees. In the winter, folding tables pop up in the living room and seating spills into the kitchen.

Even when it’s not full of people, the house is full of life. Denis is a multimedia artist and Paulette is an avid thrifter; their respective collections of prints, sculptures and pink Depression-era glassware is on display throughout the residence.

Today, the house is also filled with the smell of caramelized sugar. February is for making tarte sucre à la crème.

“Sugar pie is a very French Canadian thing,” Paulette says. “When it’s Festival (du Voyageur) time, that’s when the sugar pie comes out, that’s when the Caribou comes out.”

The francophone arts and culture festival, which kicks off Thursday, is a family tradition. Every year, the three generations — clad in ceinture fléchées — converge on nearby Fort Gibraltar to celebrate Louis Riel Day. This Monday, Festival is hosting a Métis parade, beading workshop and concerts to mark the holiday.

As president of the Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba — a political and cultural organization formed by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont and founded in 1887 — fostering Métis pride is Paulette’s professional mission. It’s also a personal one.

“Unlike other French Métis families who tried to hide their (heritage)… my grandfather was very, very proud, so he instilled that in us,” she says. “A lot of people of that older generation still carry that identity insecurity and my very personal goal is to try and reach that generation before they leave this world.”

Her grandfather, Auguste Vermette, was a prolific storyteller. Several relatives were involved in the Red River Resistance and he would regale his children and grandchildren with retellings of their front-line accounts from Fort Garry, St. Norbert and Batoche.

Despite experiencing discrimination, Paulette’s mother continued to carry the torch. On the November anniversary of Riel’s death, she would take the kids to his gravesite in the St. Boniface Cemetery to pay respects.

Now, as a grandmother herself, Paulette feels a similar urgency to share the family story. She involves her kids and grandkids in Union nationale métisse activities and talks about the ancestors who played a role in the founding of Manitoba. Mostly, she just tries to keep them close.

Sugar pie is a surefire way to get loved ones in the door.

“Oh they love it,” she says. “Some of my kids even want whipping cream or ice cream on top of it and you don’t need it because it’s so sweet.”

When Paulette was growing up, her aunt, who also served as Union nationale métisse president at one time, was the designated pie-maker. The recipe Paulette uses now came from a Company’s Coming cookbook by way of a friend two decades ago — although, she’s made some adjustments over the years.

The dessert, as the name suggests, is very sweet and has a similar texture to crème brûlée, with a smooth, custardy centre and crisp top. Whipping cream, preferably of the 35-per cent fat variety, makes for a richer slice and Paulette has been known to add a cup of pecans to the batter for “the best pecan pie ever.”

If it’s not pieces of tarte sucre à la crème being passed around the house, it’s guaranteed to be something else.

“Gosh, we never get together without food,” she says. “It’s such a central thing.”

Paulette and Denis celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in June. She’s already planning a big party in the yard and looking forward to making use of her growing collection of crystal cake stands.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @evawasney

 

Tarte sucre à la crème (Sugar Cream Pie)

Submitted by Paulette Duguay

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups 35 per cent whipping cream
1 deep dish pie shell

Mix sugar and flour together in a bowl, removing lumps with a whisk or pastry cutter.

Stir in cream and pour batter into a deep dish pie shell. There’s a risk of bubbling over with shallow shells.

Preheat the oven to 350 C and bake pie for one hour. Let cool completely before cutting.

 

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