Maple Walnut Cupcakes

Mmmm, maple. I think this is one of my favourite flavours in the world. However, I need to qualify this comment - by saluting maple I am not saluting those awful maple cookies, or Aunt Jemima - because there isn't a drop of tree sap in those products anywhere.

Living in Ontario, I am blessed with an abundance of maple trees, and maple syrup. While I sometimes curse the twelve Manitoba Maples in the backyard which make growing an inch of grass next to impossible, there is is nothing better than opening a can of this Spring's maple syrup and making something decadent.

Real maple syrup is labelled in grades - the first run is like extra virgin olive oil - it comes from the very beginning of the Spring and has a very light colour. The colour will deepen as the season itself deepens, giving medium and amber grades which are just as delicious. In this batch I used a medium grade syrup from Paisley, Ontario, and I found it was a lovely deep flavour.

Nevertheless, the honest truth is that my own cupcakes were flavoured with maple extract, for the syrup was just too dense for a light, fluffy cupcake. However, I used maple syrup in the buttercream, which was amazing. At first it was sickly sweet - but the addition of the ground walnuts helped immensely.

Grinding the walnuts helps to release the woody (almost bitter) taste of the walnut oil, which infused the icing and added a nice deep taste to the lightness of the maple, and the texture of the cupcake.

What a success! They were a hit at work, barely making it to noon hour before the entire tray was devoured. My ode to spring, and my first maple recipe of the year.

Maple Walnut Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes

1 c. unsalted butter

2 c. white sugar

3 eggs

1 over ripe banana, mashed

2 3/4 c. cake flour

2 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

3 tsp. maple extract

200 g. walnuts

• sift together flour and baking powder, set aside
• mix together milk, vanilla, and maple extract, set aside
• cream butter until soft and fluffy; add sugar and mix well
• add eggs one at a time, followed by banana
• alternate wet and dry ingredients until fully incorporated
• grind walnuts in food processor until meal-like, add half of the walnuts to batter and mix until full combined
• bake in 350 degree (preheated) oven for 20-22 minutes
• allow to cool fully before icing
  

Maple Walnut Buttercream

3/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. milk
5 c. icing sugar
100 g. ground walnuts (the second half of the 200 g. you just ground for the cupcakes!)

• cream together unsalted butter and maple syrup
• add 3 cups of icing sugar one cup at a time, beating to incorporate each cup
• add milk (it's ok if it looks a little "chunky" here, it will smooth out)
• add last 2 cups of icing sugar, followed by walnuts on a very low speed
• beat until smooth
  

*note! I tried to do swirls with the 1M tip on these cupcakes, but I found walnut kept clogging up the tip. So, next time I would just frost them with a knife! It's not worth ruining a tip!

Bon appetit!