Favorite Vehicles for Maple Syrup

So often, maple syrup gets added to recipes in the fall. I won’t deny that it goes extremely well with fall foods and flavors, but since maple syrup really is a spring product, I like to celebrate it at this time of year. Recently, I got a big boost in that desire to celebrate by a rather large gift of homemade syrup.

My uncle and cousin tap on the order of 90 sugar maple trees in Upper Michigan, collect the watery sap, and boil it down into delicious liquid gold. My cousin may have been unloading the end of last year’s batches when he gave me 4 pints of syrup in March, but if one were to add up the retail value of this pure Grade A goodness, I have no choice than to feel like an important and well-loved part of an extremely generous family.

2018’s spring syrup crop has been boiled and sealed away, ready for baking and drizzling all year long. Here, I have complied a list of my favorite uses for maple syrup from The Messy Apron Archives. I have all the good stuff here, from maple flavored baked goods to pancakes, waffles, and the homemade breads that make the best French Toast.

Maple syrup is a subtle flavor in baked goods, but I find it a lovely way to bring on the sweetness, and a little goes a long way.  It’s really great with dates, like in Maple Cake with Walnuts and Dates

 

Or Maple Date Oatmeal Bars.

I love it for sweetening homemade Granola, too.

                                           

And for more savory applications there’s Maple Walnut Vinaigrette, which is great on the spinach salad in the same post and the grain salad in this one.

And Maple Glazed Winter Squash and Potatoes, which is, admittedly, a more autumnal recipe. I think other vegetables, or even tempeh and tofu could benefit from this application. 

 

The majority of my maple syrup does end up playing a more traditional role, however: that of properly gilding pancakes, waffles, and French toast. The most popular pancake recipe on The Messy Apron is this one for Barley Pancakes with Orange Juice and Vanilla.

 

But all of the others, including, Butter Pecan Pancakes, Coconut Pineapple Pancakes, and Double Banana Walnut Pancakes are appropriate vehicles for maple syrup as well.

Waffles are great, too, and I can’t think of a reason not to drench them in maple syrup. For thin and crispy waffles, there’s Crispy Light Wheat and Cinnamon Waffles

 

And Orange Millet Waffles.

 

There’s also Overnight Yeasted Belgian Waffles.

Finally, let’s not forget French toast, which I think needs to be made with thick slices of bread, especially homemade bread like White Sandwich Bread.

For something with additional flavor, there’s Banana Walnut Yeast Bread, Finnish Cardamom Bread, Oatmeal Sandwich Bread, or Walnut Buttermilk Bread.

Whether it’s baked-in or poured-upon, maple syrup is a fabulous addition to all kinds of sweet breakfasts, desserts, snacks, even salads. For me, imitation just won’t do. I have a source, however, and I recommend studying up to find one for yourself. Even if you have to pay the premium on a well-made commercially available maple syrup, I recommend doing so. Like any other specialty product, if you appreciate it and use it well, your life can be a wonderful culinary adventure! But even if you’re just dousing your made-from-mix pancakes or frozen waffles in it, you’re indulging in one of North America’s greatest treats.

Recipe Revisit: Maple Date Cake

I’ve been planning to re-visit this cake recipe for some time. I’ve even had the dates ready in the refrigerator. It was an extremely generous gift of homemade maple syrup given to me by my cousin last weekend that finally made me realize that I absolutely had to fix the recipe for this cake. Like, now.

First of all, full disclosure: I used up some other maple syrup that I had in my refrigerator to make the cake in these photos. It was very difficult not to just dive into the liquid gold with which I had been entrusted. It just made me feel like such a special person, endowed with a powerful gift. I desperately need to clean out my refrigerator, though, so I tidied up a bit for this recipe. (With great power comes great responsibility, you know.)

I really have no idea what the heck I was doing in the original post about this cake. I think I was desperate to get something out there for a blogaversary. I admittedly used the wrong size pan, although what made me choose the size that I did is totally unclear. If the past is another country, my past mind is an alien planet.

 

So, I think I have it now: a 13 x 9-inch snack cake is the way to go with this recipe. The sticky-sweet maple-y glaze still works on top of it’s surface, and the cake, made a bit delicate in texture by the addition of whole wheat pastry flour, holds together quite well when individual servings are cut from the pan. Even though there is some of that whole grain flour, however, the cake is still very fluffy and tender.

And the flavor is fabulous! Using maple syrup in the batter sweetens with just a bit of a maple note, not quite caramel-y, but not like molasses, either. You know, that ethereal uniqueness of real, pure maple. If you want a big kapow! of maple flavor, you could add some maple extract. I like things as they are here, though, with the additional maple in the glaze enhancing flavors in the cake, nutty punches from walnuts and a bit of whole wheat, and pockets of sweet, chewy dates.

I didn’t need to change any of the ingredients or the method of combining them in this recipe, just the way they are baked. And I’m so glad I did. This wonderful cake needs to be in my kitchen as much as possible. The 13 x 9-inch cake delivery system is quickly becoming my favorite way to save the day!

Maple Cake with Walnuts and Dates
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

For the Cake
1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 Tbs) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream
¾ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
¾ cup finely chopped pitted dates

For the Icing
¼ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
pinch of cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Liberally oil, butter, or spray with cooking spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

2. Combine 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together to distribute ingredients evenly. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl for use with a hand mixer) beat the butter, maple syrup and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. This will take 3-5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and sour cream in 2 parts (begin and end with flour mixture). Mix well to combine after each addition.

5. In a medium bowl, combine the walnuts and dates. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour to coat them. Gently stir the walnuts and dates into the batter.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly and smooth out the top.

7. Bake at 350 F 40-45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, without any wet batter clinging to it.

8. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

9. To prepare the icing, combine ¼ cup maple syrup and melted butter. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until completely combined and smooth.

10. Pour the icing over the still-warm cake, spreading to edges (it’s okay if it drips down sides between the cake and the pan). Cool completely (or almost completely) before cutting and serving.

Makes 15-20 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Maple Date Oatmeal Bars, Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting, Carrot Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, White Cake with Berries and Lemon Glaze, Zucchini Multigrain Coffee Cake

One year ago: Marmalade Cream Cheese Baked French Toast

Happy Birthday!

It’s time to get out the fancy celebration apron and bake a cake! That’s right, The Messy Apron is one year old! Happy birthday to us!

I am so grateful to you all for reading these pages over the last year. It’s hard to remember what I thought this space would be when I started it. I had vague notions of testing recipes through the seasons, snapping a few photos, and sharing them in a relevant and organized fashion. It has come to feel more like a letter that I’m writing to you all, whether I know you or not. I think I may have learned that from my grandmother, who still handwrites brilliant and amusing correspondences, in which she nearly always describes something she just had to eat, or something she just made. She would be a great food blogger if only she’d consider acquiring a computer!

What I’ve been doing on The Messy Apron works pretty well for me right now, so I don’t see any big changes in the future. I do hope to post even more often, but we’ll see how that goes when things get busy. I also think, although I changed the colors of the template with the seasons last year, I’m going to stick with the pink and green scheme I’ve got going right now. It suits me somehow, and I hope it works for you too. Since I now have posts that are a whole year old, I’m going to add a link with the title of the recipe I posted a year ago at the bottom of each post. I also will post links to similar recipes or recipes with similar ingredients in the same place. Don’t forget, if you want to find something in posts and recipes past you can also search the Recipe Index by clicking on the link in the Messy Apron Extras list at the upper right, search the Archives by going to the list at the right, or use the Google search box at the right.

To celebrate my first year of food blogging, I baked a Maple Cake with Walnuts and Dates. First of all, it’s delicious, which is foremost what a cake should be, despite what any Food Network competition or reality show may suggest. I’m saying this because my cake didn’t end up coming out of the pan in one piece, which may have kept it from being as photogenic as I would have liked. It also makes it difficult, in good conscience, to tell you to make this cake exactly how I did. Sadly, I couldn’t find the original recipe online so I could refer you there.

I used a different size pan than the original maple cake recipe suggested, and, since I also added walnuts and dates, I really was pushing the maximum capacity. The cake didn’t spill out of the pan while baking, which was a relief, but did take considerably more baking time. I also used some whole wheat pastry flour in the batter to help bump up the WFQ*. I’ve found that adding whole wheat pastry flour to cakes can make them slightly more crumbly, which may make them more delicate when removing from the pan. Another big contribution to such messes in my kitchen is my lack of proper talent and coordination when doing things like flipping hot cake pans over onto cooling racks.

When I told my brother on the phone that I was making a cake, he asked if it was someone’s birthday. When I sheepishly told him I was celebrating one year of blogging, he just laughed at me (he’s not a regular reader). Oh well, some people celebrate their pet’s birthdays, and the average one-year-old child doesn’t really know what’s going on at his own party any more than this blog does. It’s all really just an excuse to eat cake. Happy 1st birthday to the Messy Apron! And special thanks to all of you for all your kind words and support, especially Harry, who really does eat all of these experiments!

Maple Cake with Walnuts and Dates
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

The icing for this cake is super simple and super good.

For the Cake
1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour, divided
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 Tbs) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream
¾ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
¾ cup finely chopped pitted dates

For the Icing
¼ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
pinch of cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with the parchment and liberally oil, butter, or spray with cooking spray the sides of the pan.

2. Combine 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together to distribute ingredients evenly. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl for use with a hand mixer beat the butter, maple syrup and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and sour cream in 2 parts (begin and end with flour mixture). Mix well to combine after each addition.

5. In a medium bowl, combine the walnuts and dates. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon all purpose flour to coat them. Gently stir the walnuts and dates into the batter.


6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly and smooth out the top.

7. Bake at 350 F 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, without any wet batter clinging to it.

8. Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out of pan onto a wire cooling rack. Turn the cake so that the rounded side is facing up. (All this turning out and turning over can be tricky, and is usually where I run into problems.)

9. To prepare the icing, combine ¼ cup maple syrup and melted butter. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until completely combined and smooth.

10. Pour the icing over the cake, spreading to edges (it’s okay if it drips down sides of cake). Cool completely (or almost completely) before cutting and serving.

Makes 8-10 servings.

*WFQ: Whole Food Quotient

Other recipes like this: Rhubarb Yogurt Cake

One year ago: Italian Chickpeas