Oy! The pressure. Good thing there’s baking. And good thing there’s maple. Here’s how to substitute maple syrup for other sweeteners. Stress-bake away!
Hummingbird cake, a southern delicacy, shown here made with maple instead of honey, frosted with maple buttercream and garnished with the season’s last nasturtium.
Substituting With Maple
It’s 2020. So we’ve been doing a fair amount of stress-baking. And who could blame us!? In fact, we’ve even been stress-baking using the maple syrup we made earlier in the year. Just in case you are also baking-for-mental-health these days, we thought a quick primer on how to substitute maple for other sweeteners was in order, followed by some of our favorite stress-free, maple-forward recipes.
Substituting maple for white sugar is a breeze! According to the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association – and they should know – you can substitute each cup of white sugar with 3/4 cup of maple syrup as long as you reduce other liquids in the recipe by 1/4 cup. Using maple sugar is even easier in that it can be substituted for white sugar one-to-one.
Substituting maple for other liquid sweeteners is also totally possible. Honey, molasses and corn syrup are each thicker than maple syrup, so for every 1 cup of these sweeteners, try using 3/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup of white sugar to start.
Now there are bakers, and there are bakers. And whichever one is easiest on themselves is the one we relate to. So if you are a pastry nerd, a chemist, a perfectionist, or otherwise trying to impress someone, best to practice a recipe before relying on it “for company,” as they say. Also, make sure King Arthur Flour – another Vermont institution – is on your blog rolodex, because they have perfected the art of baking with liquid sweeteners. You can also contact the baker’s hotline by phone, email or chat! Now how about that?!
Baking with Maple:
Here are some recipes we like that incorporate maple either originally, or after our successful substitution: Maple Shortbread Cookies with Maple Buttercream Frosting, Maple Hummingbird Muffins, Maple Granola, Maple Apple Coffee Cake, and Easy Maple Chocolate Mousse.
Now, take a deep breath or two, and bake!
Maple Shortbread Cookies with Maple Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cups maple syrup
1/2 cups white sugar
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream butter, maple syrup and white sugar together. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Mix the two together until only just blended, form into a disk and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out into a 1/8 inch thickness, cut with cookie cutters, and bake 15-17 minutes in a 350-degree oven.
To frost, mix 2 cups of confectioners sugar with 1 cup of softened butter and just enough maple syrup to achieve the desired consistency (1/4 cup or so).
Maple Hummingbird Muffins
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup mashed banana
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Whisk sugar, maple and eggs together. Add oil, applesauce, pineapple, banana and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, soda, powder, cinnamon and pecans. Combine mixtures. Oil or line cupcake tins and fill each with a heaping 1/3 cup scoop of batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Frost with maple buttercream frosting (recipe above) when cool!
Maple Granola
7 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 cup panko
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup
Mix together oats, flour, wheat germ, coconut, panko and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil and syrup. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Bake in a 250-degree oven in shallow pans for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. AFter 2 hours, shut off oven. Remove granola from oven when completely cool and store!
Maple Apple Coffee Cake
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup buttermilk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 large egg
2 small apples, skin on, cored and chopped
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon salt and nutmeg. Cut in butter. Mix in oats. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, maple syrup and buttermilk. Combine two and whisk for 30 seconds. Add in chopped apples. Pour in greased baking dish. Top with a mixture of 2 teaspoons soft butter, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar or granulated maple sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 cup oats. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Easy Maple Chocolate Mousse
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1 pound whole milk ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream
Melt chocolate in double boiler. In blender, food processor or mixer (or by hand) whip together chocolate, ricotta, vanilla and maple syrup. Pour into six or more individual serving dishes and chill for two hours. Garnish with whipped heavy cream (sweetened to taste with maple syrup, if desired), fresh fruit, grated spices, shaved chocolate, maple sugar, or any combination of the above.