Baking with Less Sugar (21 page)

I didn't think our popular donuts could get any better, but these just might have done it. We only make donuts once a week—each one is fried and filled by hand, and they go fast. These donuts are made with maple sugar in addition to maple syrup (you can buy maple sugar from reputable sources online). You roll the warm donuts in the maple sugar, which makes them nice and crunchy on the outside. The filling is simply whipped cream sweetened with a bit of maple syrup. The caramel-y flavor of the maple cream combines with the crunchy, sugary fried dough to make a delectable treat.

MAKES
10
TO
12
DONUTS

DONUTS

• 2
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp/1 pkg active dry yeast, or 18 g/
  ³
  /
  ₄
  oz fresh cake yeast
  
• 120 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup whole milk, at room temperature
  
• 375 g/2
  ²
  /
  ₃
  cups all-purpose flour
  
• 80 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup grade B maple syrup
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp kosher salt
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 75 g/6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 6 to 8 pieces
  
• 100 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup maple sugar
  
• Vegetable oil for frying
  

MAPLE CREAM FILLING

• 240 g/1 cup heavy cream
  
• 120 g/6 Tbsp grade B maple syrup
  

1. To make the donuts:
Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the yeast and milk. Stir together briefly and let sit for about 1 minute to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour, maple syrup, salt, and eggs and mix on low speed for about 1 minute, or until the dough comes together. Once the dough has developed, mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to mix for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the butter is completely mixed in and the dough becomes soft and cohesive. Remove from the bowl and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

2.
Lightly flour a baking sheet. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a well-floured surface into a 9-in [23-cm] square about
¹
/
₂
in [1 cm] thick. Using a 3-in [8-cm] round cutter, cut out donuts and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. Reroll the scraps and keep cutting until all the dough is used. Cover the donuts with plastic wrap and let sit in a draft-free, warm place (78 to 82°F [25 to 28°C] is ideal; an area near the stove or in the oven with only the pilot light on is good) for 1
¹
/
₂
to 2
¹
/
₂
hours to proof, until the donuts have about doubled in height and feel poufy and pillowy.

3.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Place the maple sugar in a small bowl.

4.
When ready to fry, fill a large saucepan with about 3 in [8 cm] of vegetable oil and heat on medium heat. To test the oil, throw in a pinch of flour; when the flour sizzles, the oil is ready. If you have a thermometer, the oil temperature should read 350°F [175°C]. Working in batches, place the donuts in the hot oil, being careful not to crowd them. Let them brown on one side for 2 to 3 minutes and then gently flip them over to brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. When both sides are completely browned, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon. Place the donuts on the prepared baking sheet to cool for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle.

5.
While the donuts are still warm, toss them one by one in the maple sugar to coat. Return them to the sheet to cool completely, 30 to 40 minutes. When donuts are completely cool, use a paring knife to poke a hole deep into the side of each donut, wiggling the knife around a bit to create a cavity for the cream.

6. To make the filling:
Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or with an electric hand mixer or by hand with a whisk), whip the cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form when the beater is lifted and then whip in the maple syrup.

7.
When ready to fill the donuts, fill a pastry bag fitted with a small round or star tip with maple cream and pipe 3 to 4 Tbsp filling into each donut. If you don't have a pastry bag, you can fill a heavy-duty plastic bag with the maple cream, cut off one corner to create an opening for the cream, and pipe the cream into the donuts. Serve immediately.

Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert that purportedly was the happy result of a mistake in the kitchen when a baker made a tart, forgot to line the pie tin with pie crust, and threw it on top instead. It ended up baking into a glorious upside-down tart. It's one of my all-time favorite desserts made with apples, pears, or quince (or all three!). In this version, the sweet Bosc pears bake in a rich syrup that infuses them with the unmistakable flavor of maple. The pears exude a lot of juice while in the oven, so we simmer the whole tart in the pan on the stove after it comes out to reduce and caramelize all of the juices.

MAKES
ONE
9-IN [23-CM] TART

• 160 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup grade B maple syrup
  
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  recipe Quick Puff Pastry
  (page 164)
  
• 5 or 6 medium Bosc pears, peeled, halved, and cored
  
• Crème fraîche
  (see page 24)
  or unsweetened whipped cream for garnish
  

1.
In a medium saucepan, bring the maple syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 25 minutes, or until thickened, dark, and reduced to about
¹
/
₄
cup [60 ml]. (It foams up in the pan, so be sure to use a large enough pan so it doesn't boil over. Once it foams, turn down the heat so it simply simmers—if it keeps foaming it will start to burn. Watch it carefully! It will look like it's boiling away, so keep decreasing the heat to keep it at a low simmer.) Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pour the maple butter into a 9-in [23-cm] round cake pan. It may harden into a firm mass—do your best to spread it evenly on the bottom of the pan, but don't stress about it.

2.
On a well-floured work surface, roll the pastry dough into a circle about 10 in [25 cm] diameter and about
¹
/
₄
in [6 mm] thick. Don't be afraid to be rough with the dough: flip it upside down, turn it side to side, and pound it with the rolling pin to flatten it as you roll it into a nice circle. Place the dough in the refrigerator to rest for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 day.

3.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C].

4.
Place the pears, rounded-side down, in the caramel in the cake pan, as close together as possible and overlapping them a bit to cover the entire bottom of the pan. You want every single possible bottom surface of the pan to be covered with pears; the fruit cooks down and reduces somewhat in the oven, so don't be shy about packing the fruit in tightly. When you have covered the bottom layer as best as you can, cut any remaining pear halves in quarters or eighths so you can better layer the pears on top of each other, arranging the fruit so that it is fairly level on top.

5.
Remove the dough circle from the refrigerator and trim it so that it is an even circle, keeping it about 10 in [25 cm] in diameter. Drape the dough directly on top of the pears and tuck the edges of the dough around the fruit into the sides of the pan. Bake for 70 to 80 minutes, or until the puff pastry is deep golden brown and the juices from the pears are bubbling up along the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven. Heat a burner on the stove to medium-high and carefully place the cake pan directly onto the burner. Bring the extra juice and syrup that has formed from baking the pears to a boil. Watch the juices carefully along the edge of the pan and let them boil for 7 to 10 minutes to thicken them up and caramelize. Place the tart on a wire rack and let cool for 20 to 30 minutes, or until it is cool enough to handle.

6.
Place a large serving platter on top of the tart and quickly and carefully invert the pan so the puff pastry circle is on the bottom and the fruit is on top. Rearrange the fruit, if necessary, as sometimes it gets jostled loose and falls off the pastry. Serve warm or at room temperature with crème fraîche or unsweetened whipped cream. The tart can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Our super-famous pumpkin pie at Flour is refashioned here without any actual sugar and instead uses maple syrup to sweeten the pumpkin. What I love about this version is that without the sugar, you really taste the pumpkin. The mellow maple flavors go especially well with the warm spices, and the pumpkin custard is silky and velvety. You'll serve this to rave reviews.

MAKES
ONE
9-IN [23-CM] PIE

• Pâte Brisée
  (see page 88)
  
• 420 g/15 oz pumpkin purée
  
• 1 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
  
• ¹
  /
  ₈
  tsp ground cloves
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp kosher salt
  
• 240 g/1 cup heavy cream, plus more, whipped to soft peaks, for garnish
  
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 160 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup grade B maple syrup
  
• 3 large eggs
  

1.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C].

2.
Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and knead it slightly to make it malleable if it feels stiff. Using a rolling pin, press the dough to flatten it into disk about
¹
/
₂
in [1 cm] thick. Generously flour your work surface and the dough disk. Carefully roll out the disk into a circle about 12 in [30 cm] in diameter. Make sure the table you are rolling on is well floured so that the dough does not stick to it; likewise make sure the disk itself is floured well enough to keep your rolling pin from sticking to it. Roll from the center of the disk outward and gently rotate the disk a quarter turn after each roll to ensure that the disk gets stretched out evenly into a nice circle. Don't worry if the dough breaks a bit, especially towards the edges. You can easily patch these tears up once you've lined your pie plate.

3.
Once the dough circle is about 12 in [30 cm] in diameter, roll it gently around the rolling pin and then unfurl it on top of a 9-in [13-cm] aluminum or glass pie plate. Press the dough gently into the bottom and sides of the plate. Either pleat the overhanging dough with your fingers evenly all around for a more dramatic edge, or use scissors to trim the overhang, leaving a
¹
/
₂
-in [1-cm] lip around the edge (to allow for shrinkage in the oven). Use any scraps or odd pieces to patch up any tears or missing bits.