Maple Pan Popovers

The first time I made these my oldest daughter said, "Mommy, I love these more pancakes." I wondered really, really she liked these more than pancakes, so I asked, "how 'bout more than crepes?" "More than crepes," she responded, "and more than ice cream, maple syrup, and chocolate." Coming from her that's saying something.

She's right, these do make a pretty exceptional breakfast - especially when topped with maple mixed berries and maple whipped cream. They're simple-  flour, eggs, a little sugar and milk and less than 5 minutes prep time. Then in to the oven for another 20 or so. Viola, the perfect breakfast.

Pan Popovers
1 Cup Flour
4 Eggs
1 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Granulated Maple Sugar
2 Tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place four small (4" cast iron pans) on medium heat with a 1/2 tbsp of butter in each pan. Alternatively you could cook the popovers in two batches or use two larger 8" to 10" pans. 

Mix flour, eggs, milk and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. When pans are hot, pour 1/4 of the batter into each pan and swirl. Then place pans in preheated oven. 

Cook for ~20 minutes or until the popovers are golden and puffy.

Maple Berries

1/2 Cup Granulated Maple Sugar

12 oz Frozen Mixed Berries (use fresh if in season)

Place mixed berries in a sauce pan with granulated maple sugar. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat when berries are thawed and juices has reached a slightly syrupy state. 

Maple Whipped Cream 
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream 

1/8 to 1/4 Cup Granulated Maple Sugar

Beat maple sugar and whipping cream together until it forms stiff peaks. 

Top pan popovers with berries, and then with whipped cream and serve.

Maple Sugar Cake

Robust maple flavor, a crackly maple sugar candy like crust and super moist...It's a great cake. Typically gone in a matter of minutes after coming out of the oven. I'll admit is that it's not the prettiest of cakes, but really does it matter if the cake doesn't last until it's even cool. If you could keep around longer than I've been able to, you might just get a chance to add some maple butter cream frosting and create the truly ultimate maple cake.

Maple Sugar Cake

1/2 Cup Butter

3/4 - 1 Cup Granulated Maple Sugar

1/2 Cup White Sugar

3 Large Eggs, separated

1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 Cups Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Cup Buttermilk

Line the bottom of a round cake pan with parchment paper, then sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated maple sugar on to the parchment paper. Set cake pan aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat 1/2 cup butter until fluffy. Gradually add 1/2 cup granulated maple sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar. Beat well. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until blended. Add vanilla and mix. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture. 

In a separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into cake batter, making sure not to over mix. 

Pour cake batter on top of the granulated maple sugar in cake pan and bake or 25 minutes or until done at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto serving dish. 

Serve with maple whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

Maple Pork Medallions

Simple, quick and easy - those are our kind of meals and this is our kind of recipe. Simple enough to cook on a week night, but special enough to serve friends and family. With only six ingredients and a cooking time of less than 15 minute and a prep time under 10 this recipe is tough to beat. 

Maple Pork Medallions

 adapted from Cooks Illustrated

2lbs pork tenderloin cut into 1 ½” rounds

12-14 slices of bacon cooked for approximately 5 minutes (fat removed but neither brown nor crisp)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 cup apple cider (or chicken broth or water)

1/3 cup maple syrup

3 tbsp cider vinegar

3 tbsp maple mustard

Wrap a slice of bacon around the pork and fasten with a  toothpick. Place the oil in pan on medium high heat. Add pork cut side down. Cook for 3-5 minutes, making sure top not move the pork while it is cooking. Flip pork and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Finally, place pork on edge turning as necessary to cook the bacon. Total cooking time should be between 8 and 15 minutes for the meat. Place pork pieces on plate and cover with tin foil. 

While the pork is resting, remove most of the any excess oil/grease from  the pan.Decrease pan temperature to medium and add onions. Cook onions for 3-5 minutes until softened and browned.

Add the liquid to the pan and deglaze. Making sure to loosen cooked on pieces. Cook the liquid until it  is reduced by half  to two-thirds, or about 5 minutes. Then, add maple syrup, vinegar, mustard and any juices from resting meat. Cook until the sauce is thick, an additional 3 -5 minutes (there will be about a cup of sauce). If the sauce gets thicker than desired add slightly more liquid.

Place meat on plate, drizzle sauce over each medallion, and serve

Crepes: the Perfect Vehicle for Maple Syrup

Growing up my brother and I would race to see how many crepes we could eat - five, six, seven (each) - mom and the electric frying pan struggling to keep up, my brother and I jockeying for the next one with plates puddled with maple syrup. I don't race the way I used to, but I still probably eat more crepes at one sitting than most. To me they're they perfect vehicle for maple syrup. They don't absorb the syrup,  but instead simply allow you to wrap it up leaving the flavor of the syrup pure and unmasked. Plus, with a crepe you don't waste all that stomach space on the vehicle like you would with a pancake or waffle, which well leaves more room for more crepes, and maple syrup.

Crepes rather than pancakes were the standard in house growing up. My mother always cooked them by feel just kind of throwing them together. I've never been able to get an exact recipe from her, and well now, I've fallen to the same fate as she - just kind of throwing them together. I've actually adapted her recipe a bit adding a little whiskey, which nicely complements the flavor of maple and seems to create the perfect crepe batter every time (even if you don't measure like me). 

Crepes with Maple Syrup

1 3/4 Cups Flour 

1 Tsp Baking Powder

2 Tbsp Maple Sugar

Pinch of Salt

3 Cups Milk

1 Large Eggs

 2Tbsp Whiskey

2 Tbsp Butter

Combine flour, baking powder and granulated maple sugar. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add milk, water and whiskey. Mix well.  My mother actually mixes the ingredients in her food processor. I usually do it the old fashioned way (it helps me feel a little less guilty about all the crepes I eat). Add eggs. Blend until batter is smooth, or nearly smooth.    Liberally grease a frying pan, crepe pan or griddle with  handle on medium high heat. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Swirl the batter by lifting the pan and tilting it in a circular motion. The batter should form only a thin layer across the bottom of the pan. Bubbles will form on the top of the crepe, when the bubbles have all popped the crepe is ready to flip (the crepe will also be golden brown). Flip. Cook the second side for an additional minute or two. Serve with plenty of maple syrup.  They're also good with fresh fruit, yogurt, whipped cream, ice cream, or, well, nearly any other topping you desire. Enjoy!

A Maple Take on a Great Carrot Cake

It's about this time of year that I start to think about carrot cake. "Why now?" you ask? Well, this is harvest time. The garden is beginning to look empty and the pantry, cold storage and fridge are becoming very, very full. In a vain attempt to stay ahead of things I begin to search out recipes that use large quantities of fresh veggies. Generally, the more interesting and unusual the ingredient list the better. And, well, vegetables in cakes - how can you go wrong? Inevitably, I remember this wonderful recipe. 

This recipe is one of my favorites. I discovered it a number of years ago in Fine Cooking. Over the years I've tweaked it a little, but the parts that I most love remain the same - lots of carrots and olive oil. It's a hearty cake that always seems to turn out, and is, well, a wonderful way to welcome in Fall.

P.S. - I recently came across a new carrot cake recipe, and, though I love this one dearly, I'm curious to see how this one compares. I'll let you know how it turns out.


Maple Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Fine Cooking, February 2001


1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp allspice
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8-10 medium carrots shredded (~3.5 cups)
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp dark rum


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (with olive oil) and flour two 9" round cake pans and set aside.

Combine oil and sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine all remaining dry ingredients. In a third bowl beat eggs, then add vanilla. Measure out  3 1/2 cups of carrots and set aside.


Mix sugar mixture until it resembles a coarse wet sand. Generally, I like to mix ingredients by hand. It lets me indulge in the goodies I make without feeling too much guilt. I worked for it right?

Add half the dry ingredients to the sugar olive oil mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined. Continue to add dry ingredients alternating with the egg mixture.


Add carrots and rum. Stir until combined. If you like nuts or raisins in your carrot cake this would be the time to add them. Distribute the batter evenly between greased and floured cake pans. Let the batter rest for at least 15 minutes.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick or knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.


Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
1 1/2 packages cream cheese
1 package of chevre
1/2 cup of grade B pure maple syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix by hand or using an electric mixer until frosting holds shape. Frost cake once cake is completely cooled.

Enjoy!