AD-PaidPartnership| Flavoured throughout with the intense and rich taste of Maple Canada Maple Syrup, these sticky Pecan Pie bars are seriously delicious and the perfect Autumnal bake
There’s something special about pecans pie at this time of year that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Of all the nuts I find it the least nutty, meaning that when it’s paired with sweet maple syrup, a buttery crust and a crisp pastry topping you really can’t go wrong.
Maple Syrup is a welcome addition to the traditional Pecan Pie recipes as it adds such a rich depth of flavour to what is already a flavoursome dessert. But it’s not just the flavour that makes maple syrup special, it’s how it’s made and where it comes from that makes it such an interesting and great ingredient to bake with.
Learn about how Maple Canada make their Maple Syrup
WHY SHOULD YOU BAKE WITH MAPLE CANADA SYRUP?
Unique Flavour
Maple syrup has a very distinct flavour which is easily recognisable in both sweet or savoury dishes, but did you know it’s rich and intense flavour is dependant on the grade you’re tasting?
Maple Syrup has 4 grades in total, all of which are classified by their colour. The colour signifies the point in which the syrup was harvested; essentially the earlier the harvest the lighter the colour and taste.
The 4 grades are;
- Golden Delicate Taste | best used for topping pancakes
- Amber Rich Taste | the perfect choice for baking
- Dark Robust Taste | great for stronger tastes in your recipes
- Very Dark Strong Taste | ideal for savoury dishes such as roasted carrots
Versatility
Whilst many of us consider Maple Syrup for topping pancakes and waffles, the different grades of colour and taste mean that your recipe options are almost endless. Baking and sweet recipes are the obvious choice of use, and because it’s a fantastic substitute for sugar you can use it anywhere.
But it’s also widely popular in savoury dishes, and can be used to make vinaigrette, as a sweetener for soups, to add richness to your midweek casserole or to use as a glaze on that Boxing Day ham.
Some of the most popular ways to use maple syrup include muffins, cookies, roasted vegetables, roasted meats or in cake fillings.
Health & Wellbeing
Did you know that 100% pure maple syrup is whole food and has a number of surprising health benefits?
What makes maple syrup magical?
- It’s rich in riboflavin which helps reduce tiredness and fatigue
- Just one ounce of maple syrup contains 22% of our daily amount of Manganese which is an essential for the production of energy
- It’s also a fantastic source of copper, which is responsible for looking after our connective tissues, the nervous and immune systems, hair colour and skin pigmentation.
If you’re looking to swap sugar for maple syrup simply substitute 90g maple syrup for 100g of caster sugar.
It’s more than just a syrup
It’s not just the liquid that we love Maple Syrup for as there are also an array of other products that come from it such as Maple Sugar, Maple Butter and Maple Flakes.
HOW TO STORE MAPLE SYRUP
To keep Maple syrup fresher for longer it should be stored chilled in a glass container inside a fridge. If you purchase a maple syrup in a plastic bottle it is highly recommended that the liquid is poured into a sealed glass jar and chilled.
Try these Honey & Banana Cupcrepes using Maple Syrup instead
Maple Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry Maple Leaves
- 100 g unsalted butter chilled
- 200 g plain flour
- 3 tbsp cold water
Maple Crust
- 110 g unsalted butter melted
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp maple sugar by Maple Canada UK
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 175 g plain flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tbsp amber maple syrup by Maple Canada UK
Maple and Pecan Filling
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 150 ml maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 salt
- 200 g pecan halves
- 3 tbsp dark maple syrup by Maple Canada UK
Instructions
For the shortcrust pastry maple leaves
- Add the flour and cold butter into a medium bowl and mix together with your hands until you have a breadcrumb texture.
- Add the cold water and bring the mixture together to form a dough. Wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Maple Crust
- Preheat the oven to 160°C and line an 8 inch pan with baking paper.
- Whisk the melted butter, sugars and vanilla together in a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and spices then add to the wet butter mixture and fold the two together.
- Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan then bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden. Leave to cool and increase the oven to 200°C.
Maple and Pecan Filling
- Melt the butter in a pan gently until it foams and turns brown
- Add the sugar to a bowl and add the warm butter then add the maple syrup, eggs, salt and vanilla and whisk together until smooth
- Pour the mixture onto the cooled crust and then top with the pecan halves
- Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the oven to 160°C
- Whist it bakes, take the chilled pastry dough out of the fridge and dust a surface with flour
- Roll the dough out until it's around 1cm thick then cut out as many maple leaves as you can using your cookie cutter
- Remove the bake from the oven and immediately decorate the top of it with the cut out pastry leaves.
- Brush the tops of them with maple syrup and then bake for a further 30 minutes
- Remove from the oven and brush over with more maple syrup. Leave to cool slightly and serve warm with icecream.
