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Homemade Maple Cream

Slather this thick, gooey goodness on toast, scones, biscuits, waffles, cookies, and basically everything else in your house.

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    23 Comments

    • Clare

      When you get to the whipping stage, why couldn’t you use an electric hand mixer to mix the maple cream? Is beating it by hand part of the Puritan experience?

    • charscreations

      I wondered the same thing Clare. I could easily give that part of the experience up!

    • ZombieCheeze

      When I make this recipe I just throw it into the good ol’ Kitchenaid using the Whisk attachment, and it turns out just as good, in my opinion. Go ahead – cheat a little… :3

    • You could definitely give it a whirl. As I explained on the other page, I was afraid that the volume would not be enough to sufficiently engage the paddle (which – considering the sturdy consistency of the finished product – would be my choice over the whisk attachment, but YMMV). Another possibility would be an electric hand mixer, which would solve the volume issue.

      That said, I consider the stirring by hand to be a point of honor. Could I tell the difference in a blind taste test? not a chance :o )

    • jibbitt

      I have loved maple cream for years. I was so happy to see these instructions. Thank you. My favorite place to visit in the world is Scotland and the Highlands. Where in the highlands did you cook? Do you know Plockton? It’s my heaven on earth! Did you know haggis hunt season began today and lasts til Robbie Burns night? Google it!

    • @jibbitt – Yes, I know Plockton! Such a pretty “wee” town; I always remember it as the place with the unlikely palm trees.

      I worked for 5 years in Pitlochry, for a year and a half in Cromarty on the Black Isle, and for 2 seasons on the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye.

      As for the haggis hunt, I’m sure you know that haggis are quite easy to catch if you get them on level ground, since two of there legs are shorter than the others to facilitate their running around the Scottish hills :-)

    • @jibbitt – sorry, “”their” legs. Also, I wonder if you’ve seen the TV series, “Hamish Macbeth?” It was shot in Plockton, so it would be a good way to get your fix without paying the airfare!

    • jami

      I don’t think mine turned out right. It is thick – like the thickness (and color) of natural peanut butter that has NOT had the oil stirred into it. It is also not glossy. From the picture, I thought it would look like meringue (before you pipe it to bake it). Did I do something wrong and/or can it be fixed?

    • Andrea Geary
      Andrea Geary

      Hi, Jami – Well, it’s not meant to be much like meringue in consistency; it’s quite dense and thick (but spreadable at room temp) and has a matte appearance when set.

      The color should be like putty (I’m making it sound super-attractive here!), so your reference to the color of peanut butter makes me think perhaps there was a bit of caramelization going on, and – since sugars won’t caramelize until all the water has cooked off – this would account for the firm set.

      You could try warming it VERY gently in a saucepan and incorporating some water – no more than a teaspoon at a time. I haven’t tried this, though, so I’m not entirely sure that it won’t revert to a syrup, which would mean you were back to square 1.

      If it is moldable but holds its shape at room temp, why not just roll it into balls and coat them in finely chopped toasted walnuts? Tucked into a small box, they would make a lovely gift for the holidays.

    • jami

      Thank you, Andrea! I will play around with it. It’s definitely not bad (as in, spoiled or inedible), but I couldn’t give it as a gift… so I still have it and can experiment! Thanks and happy holidays!

    • Louise

      LOVE maple syrup! This sounds great. I admit to my maple problem. I carry it with me. My fiancee teases me that someday I will be the “Crazy Maple Syrup Lady”. I may be there already! Mmmm, think I’ll have some maple candy now…

    • Andrea Geary
      Andrea Geary

      @Louise – they say the first step is admitting you have a problem ;-)

    • Cathy \'n\' Pete

      Wow. This stuff is amazing (we’re now spreading it on crackers and sharing them with our puppy). We followed the directions and all went perfectly. We used a candy thermometer so we wouldn’t have to keep checking on it, and mixed it in a two-quart saucepan. We were a bit concerned when we realized it had fallen to 111 degrees in some spots and was almost impossible to stir at first. But we persevered and now have a pint of perfection.

    • CarylAnne

      it sounds good. I will try this to-night. I admit that I can consume a 1 pound container of maple cream in one sitting, easily. burp. :-) oh but what a way to go.

    • beejay45

      Is this how they maked creamed honey? Is it just a matter of getting the sugar to the right temp, then beatiing the heck out of it?
      It looks delish, but I don’t like maple flavor — no hating! — so, I’m wondering if I could do it with honey. ;)

    • PJ

      While I haven’t tried this recipe yet, we recently made some that came out good, but after being in the fridge for a while syrup seems to have separated and is settled on the top. Is this salvageable?

    • Andrea Geary
      Andrea Geary

      @beejay45 – I have not made creamed honey, but a video I’ve seen suggests simply adding some purchased creamed honey to liquid honey to initiate a chain reaction of crystal formation. There’s less stirring, but you have to wait a couple of weeks for the magic to happen.

    • Andrea Geary
      Andrea Geary

      @PJ – Sometimes it separates a bit, but you can just give it a quick stir and everything’s hunky-dory again.

    • Helen

      This didn’t work for me at all. Since the oil and salt were listed as optional – i opted to not include them. When I started stirring is was uber thick and really hard to stir – but I kept at it, it started to change color and then suddenly it turned rock hard. Literally in an instant. What did I do wrong?

    • Andrea Geary
      Andrea Geary

      @Helen – I’ve made this without salt and oil, and I have not had this experience. My guess is that one of two things happened: either the syrup was brought up to too hot a temperature, or somehow the wrong shape crystals started to form. Crystals are notoriously finicky things!

      If you feel like persevering, you can salvage what you have. Just melt it down with a little bit of water over medium heat. You have to do this until every last crystal is dissolved, though, or you may have the same problem again. Wash the sides of your saucepan down with a wet pastry brush to make sure there are no rogue crystals before bringing the temp up again. Make sure you hit the proper temps. If you’re not absolutely sure that your thermometer is accurate, test it in boiling water. It should read 212 degrees.

    • indiasnowden

      Will this work with caramel?

    • Sarah

      Made this for my husband, who loves maple syrup. He LOVES it :)

    • Kat

      HOT TIP: Don’t use a mixer! I tried being lazy and using a hand mixer, and the mixture crystallized big time! I read on other websites that all that air getting whipped in to it messes with the crystallization process and makes it really thick – more like maple sugar candy. I’m going to try to fix it, but I don’t know if it will work… it’s still delicious, though :)

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