As you may know, this week I'm focusing on maple syrup. I've made an appetizer, a main dish, and a dessert. I also made two more things using maple syrup: muffins and a cheese dip.
Last week, I asked the foodies on Twitter for some of their favorite recipes that use maple syrup. I received several links to recipes and have made some of them.
• The recipe for Maple Carrot Muffins is from @brucefraser who sent me a link to the Maple Producers' Association of Nova Scotia and a recipe for Maple Carrot Muffins. The muffins are best with maple butter, also known as maple cream or maple spread.
• The recipe for the Goat Cheese Maple Dip is from @Chavrie. I looked for Chavrie, a fresh goat cheese, but could only find Chèvretine at my local grocery store.
Sugar Bush: Temple's Sugar Camp Restaurant
Yesterday, I took a foodie field trip to the country and stopped at Temple's Sugar Camp Restaurant just 40 minutes outside of Ottawa. It's a stunning restaurant that is only two years old, but Charles Temple started sugaring more than 25 years ago and now has more than 10,000 taps.
"In the spring of 1973, at the age of twenty three, I started my maple business with 100 borrowed buckets, a borrowed flat pan evaporator and no clue of how to make maple syrup." — Charles Temple
I was in this sugar bush, which is really a forest not a bush, on a quiet, cold weekday when the sap wasn't running because the daytime temperature was well below freezing (-20 degrees C or -4 degrees F). But I plan on returning on the weekend to enjoy another typical sugar camp meal of pancakes and maple syrup and hope to see the steam curling out of the chimney and get some taffy on snow.
Recipe: Maple Carrot Muffins
Makes: 12 medium-sized muffins
Ingredients:
1¼ cups (300 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (15 mL) baking powder
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2 mL) allspice
¼ cup (50 mL) unsalted butter
¾ cup (175 mL) maple syrup
1 large egg
1 cup (250 mL) milk
1 cup (250 mL) grated carrots
1 cup (250 mL) rolled oats
Maple butterInstructions:
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and allspice. Set aside.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Add the maple syrup and the egg. Beat until light and smooth. Add the carrots and oats and blend until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are just combined. Don't overmix.
Fill muffin cups ¾ full with batter. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the pan. Then, carefully remove each one from the pan and finish cooling on a rack.
Frost with maple butter. {You really need to frost these muffins with maple butter to sweeten them up. On their own, they're a little bland, but with the maple butter, they're delicious! Just frost before serving.}
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and allspice. Set aside.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Add the maple syrup and the egg. Beat until light and smooth. Add the carrots and oats and blend until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are just combined. Don't overmix.
Fill muffin cups ¾ full with batter. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the pan. Then, carefully remove each one from the pan and finish cooling on a rack.
Frost with maple butter. {You really need to frost these muffins with maple butter to sweeten them up. On their own, they're a little bland, but with the maple butter, they're delicious! Just frost before serving.}
Recipe: Goat Cheese Maple Dip
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
1 113-gram (about 4 ounces) package fresh goat cheese
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together. Serve with cheddar shortbread, crackers or the savory shortbreads made by Sprucewood Brands.More to Explore:
