AI-generated image
Grandfathers in maple syrup
Grands-pères au sirop d'érable: fluffy dumplings poached in maple syrup
CanadianGrands-pères are the dessert of the Quebec sugar shack in March and April, when sap is running and the cabane à sucre serves long breakfasts. Soft scone-like dumplings are dropped into simmering maple syrup and cooked under a lid until they puff up and soak in the syrup from below. In Beauce and the Eastern Townships families make them at home with the first syrup of the year. Serve warm in bowls with cold cream poured over. A common mistake is letting the syrup boil hard, which scorches it and makes it bitter. Chef's tip: keep the lid on for the full cooking time; lifting it lets the steam out and the dumplings sink and turn heavy.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 1 ½ cups pure maple syrup
- 1 cup water
For the dumplings
- 9 oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 ¾ oz cold butterdiced
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup single cream (optional)to serve
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Bring 1 ½ cups pure maple syrup and 1 cup water to a simmer in a wide, deep pan with a tight lid.
3 minStep 2: Mix 9 oz plain flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt and 1 tbsp caster sugar. Rub in 1 ¾ oz cold butter until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in ¾ cup milk with a fork just until a soft, sticky dough forms. Do not overmix.
5 minStep 3: Drop heaped tablespoons of dough into the gently bubbling syrup, leaving space between them. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 15–18 minutes without lifting the lid. They are done when doubled in size and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean.
20 minStep 4: Spoon the dumplings into bowls with plenty of the thickened syrup and pour over ¾ cup single cream.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 80 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does grandfathers in maple syrup take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of pure maple syrup?
- Honey or golden syrup, same amount.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Undu walalu
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Marquesitas
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
Mexican