From Victoria Abbott (aka Mary Jane and Victoria Maffini)
An annual benefit of these long winters in certain parts of
Canada and the USA is the maple syrup harvest.
There are lots of celebrations and what we call “sugar bushes” in these
parts. Great fun for the whole family.
I just discovered that a family in our village of Manotick has a new
sugar bush operation not far away. I purchased a bottle of their light maple syrup
(as opposed to amber) at Office Pro, the village stationery shop. How cool is that?
It was fabulous! Hats off to Bill and Eleonore Coleman for a wonderful product. We are hooked!
We used it to make a Maple Mousse for a family gathering just before Easter. This meant a deep dive into my box of recipe clippings to find the recipe to use. Out of three, this one appealed, because of the brown sugar.
We used it to make a Maple Mousse for a family gathering just before Easter. This meant a deep dive into my box of recipe clippings to find the recipe to use. Out of three, this one appealed, because of the brown sugar.
The origin of the recipe is lost in the dim mists of time
and, of course, we changed it a bit.
1 ¼ cups best quality maple syrup
4 eggs separated – eggs should be at room temperature
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatine – dissolved in 2
tablespoons warm water – do this shortly before adding the gelatine – or it
could solidify too soon
Walnut halves for toasting. Walnuts and maple are very good together!
Or you can use blackberries if you prefer a fruit garnish.
Or you can use blackberries if you prefer a fruit garnish.
All you do is:
Beat the eggs yolks together with the brown sugar in a
tempered glass (or metal) bowl. Add the
maple syrup and set over a water bath on medium heat.
Cook whisking until the mixture thickens somewhat and can coat a spoon – about 15 minutes.
Cook whisking until the mixture thickens somewhat and can coat a spoon – about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in gelatine. Set aside to cool. If it is not cool, it will deflate your egg whites.
Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and (in a separate
bowl) beat the cream to peaks as well.
Turn into a decorative serving bowl or spoon or pipe into
parfait glasses. We used martini glasses
for some because we like that look. Top each with
a walnut or a blackberry.

Chill for 3 to 4 hours. It makes a very light dessert and of course, it’s done ahead so you might be able to relax and enjoy some.
We’ll be making this again because we have lots to celebrate
this spring. Things are happening with our book collector mysteries.
We are thrilled that The Christie Curse and the Sayers
Swindle are now available in audio!
We think Walter the Pug looks great on the cover.
Order it here!
The Wolfe Widow, third in Victoria Abbott's book collector series, will be out in September, 2014.

Pre-order it here!
The Sayers Swindle is on the shelves now.

You can click here to order The Sayers Swindle!
Or here for the Kindle version!
Or order through your favorite bookstore - in person or online.

The Christie Curse, the first book collector mystery, launched in March 2013 to great reviews.
The Christie Curse is also available in Large Print! Tell your local librarian!
Come over and friend Victoria on Facebook
www.facebook.com/BookCollectorMysteries www.facebook.com/maryjane.maffini
Tell her you love the pug!
www.twitter.com/AbbottMysteries
www.pinterest.com/jbinghamkelly
and check out Mary Jane Maffini and Victoria Abbott
I love maple so this sounds like a winner! The egg yolks are cooked but the egg whites are not, is that right MJ/Victoria?
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Lucy. Egg yolks cooked with the sugar, but the white are just beaten.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by!
XO
MJ
This looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI've recently gotten over my paranoia over gelatin use. Panna cotta recipes did it for me. So I'm go to go to try this.
Reminds me of pouring maple syrup over fresh snow and eating it!
I too mistrust gelatin, Libby. And I did have to start again when it gelled too much. Of course, it's cheap if not cheerful and it was before I added it to the other ingredients.
DeleteMmm. Maybe syrup and snow! Hugs, MJ
Walter is adorable! I'm itching to try this recipe. We are big fans of chocolate mousse, so I fear we will snarf maple mousse.
ReplyDelete~Krista
I hope you enjoy the snarfing, Krista. We were very happy with it.
ReplyDeleteYou could also put it in meringue nests if you were more organized than I was.
Hugs.
MJ
Mary Jane and Victoria, I like anything maple. Anything. Love this recipe and can't wait to make it. What a perfect delight for a mother's day event (coming up).
ReplyDeleteHugs to all
Daryl / Avery
Thanks, Daryl! It would be great for mother's day.
ReplyDeleteSee you soon, I hope!
XO
MJ