Enjoy these four mouth-watering maple syrup recipes from the New England Culinary Institute.

Maple Sugar Tarts

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• Tart Shells
• 1 lb butter, room temperature
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• Pinch salt
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 2½ cups flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add egg, salt, and vanilla. Blend to mix, scraping bowl.
3. Add flour and baking powder all at once and mix just until a dough forms. DO NOT OVERMIX.
4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness.
6. Line tart shells with dough. Chill until cold.
7. To prebake the tart shells: Line inside of each tart shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Fill with dried beans or uncooked rice.
8. Place in 350° oven. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, pulling back the edge of foil or parchment to check crust color. Bake until shells are evenly golden brown.
9. Remove from oven, let cool 10 minutes, then carefully remove foil or parchment and dried beans or rice. Cool thoroughly.

Filling Ingredients:

• 1½ cups maple sugar
• 7 Tbsp flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1¼ cup heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted

  Filling Directions:

1. Have prebaked tart shells ready on a small cookie sheet.
2. For filling: whisk together maple sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, heavy cream, and melted butter.
3. Pour into prebaked tart shells, dividing equally.
4. Bake at 350° until set in center and speckled with dark golden patches, about 25 minutes or longer.

 

Maple Soufflés

Yields four to six 1-cup ramekins.

For soufflé ramekins:

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ¼ cup sugar

To prepare the ramekins, butter the interiors and rims. Sprinkle with sugar and invert to remove excess.  Place on small cookie sheet and set aside.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup maple sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, separated
• ¼ cup dark rum

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour and salt.
3. Heat milk, maple sugar, and vanilla extract in a saucepan over medium heat until the milk scalds.
4. Remove from heat and whisk into flour mixture.
5. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture thickens.
6. Whisk in yolks, whisking constantly until mixture is thick.
7. Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in rum. This is the soufflé base.
8. Whip egg whites to soft peaks. Carefully fold 1/3 of the whites into the soufflé base to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites.
9. Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins. Bake until soufflés rise and are golden brown, 15 to 25 minutes.
10. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.

 

Maple Shortbread

Serves 12

 Ingredients:

• 4 oz (one stick) butter, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup (preferably grade B)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan, then place in the freezer to chill while making dough.
2. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, and salt until light in color.
3. Add maple syrup and vanilla, stirring to blend.
4. Add flour, mixing only until a dough forms.
5. Pat dough into the chilled pan, pressing with your fingertips to even it out. Return to freezer for five minutes.
6. Remove from freezer and prick with a fork all over.
7. Bake at 350° until the edges begin to brown and dough is firm, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Cool until slightly warm and cut into wedges. Let cool completely before removing shortbread from pan.

 

 

Maple Mousse

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 Tbsp granulated gelatin
• 1¼ cups maple syrup
• 1 vanilla bean, split (optional)
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy cream, cold

Directions:

1. Pour the cold water into a small bowl, then sprinkle granulated gelatin over the top and set aside (the gelatin will absorb the water and look gummy).
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the maple syrup and vanilla bean if using. Cook to 240° on a candy thermometer.
3. While the maple syrup is cooking, begin to whip the yolks in a stand mixer on medium speed using the whip attachment.
4. When the maple syrup has reached 240°, turn the heat off, remove the vanilla bean using a fork, and slowly pour the hot syrup down the sides of the bowl into the whipping yolks. Continue whipping.
5. While the yolk/syrup mixture is whipping, scrape the gelatin into the pan left from heating the maple syrup. Over low heat, stir the gelatin to melt it into a liquid.
6. Once melted, stream the gelatin mixture into the whipping yolks. Continue to whip until the mixture triples in volume and the mixing bowl is cool to the touch.
7. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the mousse. Use 1/3 of the whipped cream to lighten the yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whipped cream to aerate the mousse.
8. Serve however you’d like: spooned into a glass or bowl or individual serving dishes.