It’s cold outside, so what’s the best way to warm up? With a plate of Maple syrup churros, of course! For this recipe, it’s recommended you use ‘amber’ syrup. Before we go any further, did you know there are four grades of Canadian maple syrup? Well, neither did we until the good people at Maple from Canada enlightened us.
Here’s a quick brief on the four grades.
Golden: This syrup comes from maple sap harvested at the very beginning of the season. It’s distinguished by its light golden hue and sweet, delicate flavour. It’s a delicious topping for yoghurt and ice cream.
Amber: This syrup has a pure, rich taste and a magnificent amber colouring. It’s ideal as an ingredient in vinaigrettes and all sorts of dishes and desserts.
Dark: This syrup, with its more pronounced caramelised flavour, is well-suited to cooking, baking and sauces. It’s celebrated for the way it enhances the taste of fruity dishes.
Very dark: This syrup is the product of map sal harvested at the end of the season. Its flavour, more pronounced than any of the other maple syrups, is rich and distinctive. It colours and perfumes sauces and glazes to perfection.
So now that you know there are four grades of maple syrup, it’s time to get cooking!
Find out where to buy pure maple syrup here (and don’t be fooled by impersonators! Make sure your syrup is 100 per cent Canadian maple syrup and not ‘maple syrup flavoured’ corn syrup, for example).
Maple Churros with Maple-Salted Caramel
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup (preferably amber syrup for its rich taste)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups oil, for frying
For the maple-salted caramel
- 1/2 cup maple spread
- 1/4 cup double cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
For the cinnamon sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp maple sugar
Method
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add water, butter and pure maple syrup.
- Bring to a boil, then add vanilla.
- Turn off the heat and add flour and salt.
- Stir with a wooden spoon until thickened.
- Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
- Beat the eggs one at a time into the cooled mixture until combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle.
- In a large pan over medium heat, add the oil until it comes halfway up the side of the pan and heat to 180°C.
- Holding the piping bag a few inches above the oil, carefully pipe the mixture to 6″ in length, using scissors to cut the dough from the piping bag.
- Fry until golden, about 5 minutes.
- Fry 3 to 4 churros at a time and let oil come back to 180°C before each batch.
- Remove the churros with a slotted spoon or tongs and immediately roll the churros in the cinnamon maple sugar, then place on a cooling rack.
To make the caramel
- In a large pan, add the maple spread and double cream.
- Boil both ingredients on medium heat for 1 minute, stirring continuously.
- Add the unsalted butter and sea salt at the end, stir and pour into a jar.