Here in Ontario maple syrup season is in full swing, and for the second year we are beginning to boil down the sap from our sugar maples and a few Norway maples too. The latter don’t provide as much sap, and it will not be as sweet, but once we’ve set up the apparatus, may as well make use of what is available to us.
We managed to find some second-hand metal buckets which I like much better than the blue plastic ones we already had from last year.
We also have a new sugar shack, which is actually the now-empty wood shed.
We are following the same process as last year which you can read about here.
My blog has been dormant for a while. We were off in Spain for a couple of weeks, and my arm still keeps me from doing much in the kitchen, so as I cautiously resume my adventures in backyard foraging, I wanted to bring something pretty special to Angie’s Fiesta Friday. This recipe is special because it uses the most iconic of all Ontario’s products, but in a way which is thoroughly innovative, fun, and Delicious.
I got the idea from an esteemed fellow blogger, Poppy, at Bunny Kitchen who shared an extraordinary idea for making a fluffy chocolate mousse out of the liquid from unsalted canned chickpeas. It seemed a bit risky to me, but her gorgeous pictures convinced me I should give it a try. Since she’d already proven the technique with her own chocolate version, I had to try it with maple syrup, and lots of it.
I used dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked them in the usual way. Once cooked, I chilled them, then poured off the liquid. From about one and a half cups of peas, I had one cup of liquid which, as it turned out, was plenty.
Using a hand mixer I beat the liquid for about ten minutes. I then added 1/2 tsp guar gum, 100 ml of sugar (I used maple), and gradually added 250 ml maple syrup, beating all the while. This is what it looked like – about two litres in all.
As promised, this made a super light and delectable mousse. With all the maple, no hint of bean flavour came through, and the maple flavour was strong but the sweetness somewhat tempered. Perfect for so many things!
On its own, it was a delicious dessert, but I also wanted to see how else I could use it. Here are 3 ways I served it.
1. As a garnish for a fruit pie.
2. As icing for cupcakes.
3. As a dessert layered with banana walnut cake and topped with some violet syrup I had from last spring.
I also tried freezing it to make ice cream, adding a little more syrup to make a swirl, but it didn’t really freeze – just got colder.
Some tips to consider when making this dessert.
- A little goes a long way. Try to calculate how much you’ll actually need. The topping on the cakes has kept well beyond a day, but what was left in the bowl began to separate and lost some of its frothiness. Beating it again solves the separation problem, but it is no longer as airy.
- The mixture is too thin to make a heavy frosting capable of holding its shape, so allow for some runnyness.
- Any sweetener would work with this. Just add gradually and taste as you do so.
There are plenty more possibilities I can think of for using this technique and I expect to have some fun with it. I hope you do too.
April 3, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Maple season? Very cool!
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April 3, 2015 at 9:30 pm
Such an interesting idea of using the chickpeas liquid Hilda! I’m going to have to try this out! Thank you!
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April 3, 2015 at 9:39 pm
It just intrigues me how people figure these technics out! I would have never came up with this one. I love fresh maple syrup!
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April 4, 2015 at 2:42 am
Way to think outside the box Hilda!!!!
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April 4, 2015 at 3:19 am
Maple syrup is very pricey where I live. how nice that you have it on tap. My granddaughters are visiting. Think the baking one and I will see what we can do with your suggestions.
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April 4, 2015 at 5:16 am
What an amazing technique the chickpea liquid mousse is! Now I’m really curious as to why it works, will have to do some research, I guess it must be something to do with the protein content?? And I love maple syrup. Remember being astounded as a child when I found out it was tapped from trees! I visited a maple farm in Ontario several years ago, so cool 🙂 I wonder if I could grow a maple tree in Tas…
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April 6, 2015 at 3:05 am
I wouldn’t be surprised if you found trees to tap where you live too. There are 22 in North America alone but I remember a palm syrup from when I was a child in South America, so there are probably more.
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April 4, 2015 at 6:37 am
Wow, how cool is that, Hilda! I have never heard of using the liquid from chick peas! It sounds just divine with the addition of your own maple syrup! Hope you are enjoying Spain and that your shoulder is getting better! 😀
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April 4, 2015 at 8:10 am
Maple syrup adds so much flavor to baking (and cooking). These cupcakes are adorable.
(BTW Hilda, My blog has moved to a new self-hosting site. I published a post a few hours ago. Can you see it in your Reader? If you do, I’m glad. If not, and you are interested to sign up for e-mail notifications, please do so at fae-magazine.com.) Thanks, 🙂
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April 6, 2015 at 3:07 am
Thanks for stopping by. And yes, all is well with the Reader.
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April 5, 2015 at 2:16 am
Nice post Hilda, thank you for sharing it with us at the Fiesta this week 🙂
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April 5, 2015 at 2:45 am
That is quite the production Hilda! You always keep things interesting and educational for us! So jealous you have maple syrup AND maple sugar….a favorite of my childhood in solid brick form. Nothing like it. But why chickpea water???
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April 6, 2015 at 3:10 am
Good question! I do enjoy finding ways to use things that otherwise might get discarded, and also just using ingredients in different ways.
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April 6, 2015 at 4:48 pm
I never knew you could use that liquid! How amazing!!
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April 10, 2015 at 3:17 pm
I am so jealous of your maple syrup production! I remember reading about it all as a girl in ‘Little House on the Prairie’ – funny, how some images and stories stay with you all your life.
Thanks for co-hosting this week’s FF – it’s looking very promising, and with your amazing mousse it got off to a great start!
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April 10, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Thanks Ginger. I think every region of the world has some product that is unique and desirable. We have no mangos, durian or mangosteens – just some of my favourites – so I make use of what we do have as much as I can, The whole process is really quite easy and we do enjoy it.
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April 10, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Very interesting technique. thanks for sharing Hilda 🙂
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