Chill out with these naturally sweetened treats!
There are countless ways to elevate your everyday summer dishes with big flavor and a touch of sweetness. Maple syrup is divine over ice cream, a beautiful complement to fresh fruit, and our hot and smoky flavors were made for your grill.
If you’re looking for something special in addition to these everyday uses, we’ve got your covered with some of our favorite frozen dessert recipes to keep you cool this summer:
When making popsicles, one generally punches up the sugar content or the result can be somewhat watery. Though plain maple syrup does not freeze, in combination with fruit juice, it creates a perfect, creamy pop and the infused maple syrups make for a very easy recipe. I found the following three combinations to work really well, but I’m sure I have barely scratched the surface of potential combinations.
A semifreddo is a dessert that is sort of a custard, sort of a frozen mousse. Like ice cream, you can take the flavor in many different directions but I decided to make it very summery with chopped berries and pistachios in a lemon cream. Not all recipes have a crust but I like the contrast in textures so I added a graham cracker crust.
We are all about home cooking from scratch but sometimes you just need a quick recipe that is a crowd pleaser. This ice cream cake is all that and more. Buy a frozen pound cake, slice it in thirds, spread some softened iced cream, re-assemble, and chill. Done. When you are ready for dessert, slice it up and drizzle Cocoa Bean Infused, Coffee Infused, Salted Caramel Maple or any of your seasonal favorites on top. So easy. So good. And the maple topping makes it extra special.
This Pear Sorbet with Maple and Ginger is the ideal finish to a heavy meal. It is light and sweet with just a hint of ginger spice from the infused maple. And given how few ingredients it uses, it could not possibly be easier. Serve with a plate of crispy wafer cookies and you have the perfect end to a rich and hearty meal that won’t leave you in a food coma.
Maple Walnut ice cream is a classic but Maple Pecan is even better. When I was making this recipe, it occurred to me that it derived its predominant flavor from two North American trees, Acer saccharum (sugar maple) and Carya illinoinensis (pecan). Perhaps it is a tree sisterhood but maple syrup loves tree nuts. You can even substitute toasted hazelnuts or almonds. Tie those flavors together with some cream and you have a bit of nirvana in a bowl.
Throw a few ingredients in the blender, have a little patience with the freeze, and you have an elegant and elevated shaved ice – the perfect treat on a hot summer day or ending to a mid-summer dinner party. This is a very forgiving recipe. If you don‘t have the patience to freeze and repeat it is possible to freeze the mixture completely and then scrape it just once with a fork (more muscle needed!). Serve as is, or for a boozy treat pour a shot of rum over the granita.