Maple Cream
Maple cream is a smooth, spreadable sweet made from nothing but cooked maple syrup, with no dairy involved. The trick is in the cooling and stirring: slow, steady agitation encourages tiny sugar crystals to form, which turns thin syrup into a pale, opaque spread. Use it on pancakes, fold it into other confections or baked goods, or eat it from a spoon. It is also known as maple butter.
Instructions
Pour the maple syrup into a saucepan that is deep enough to keep it from boiling over and narrow enough that the syrup is at least about 2 inches (5 cm) deep. If you are using a traditional candy thermometer, set it in the pan now, with the syrup covering the part of the probe that senses temperature.
Add just a few drops of vegetable oil, which keeps large bubbles from forming as the syrup cooks.
Bring the syrup to a gentle boil without stirring. Keep cooking it, still without stirring, until it reaches 230 to 235 °F (110 to 113 °C).
Take the pan off the heat and set it in an ice bath, taking care that no water gets into the syrup. Leave it undisturbed until it cools to 80 to 100 °F (27 to 38 °C), by which point it will have thickened considerably.
Tip the cooled syrup into a bowl. Stir it slowly and continuously with a spoon, paddle, or spatula for about 15 to 30 minutes, until it thickens, turns opaque, and loses its gloss. A mixer can handle roughly the first half, but the mixture eventually gets too stiff and could burn out the motor.
As soon as the gloss is gone, stop stirring and move the cream into a jar or other container right away, because it becomes hard to work with if left. If it has already stiffened too much to transfer, knead and roll it gently with clean hands until it softens, then press it into the container.
Make it personal.
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