Maple Freeze
Maple Freeze is a sweet treat that was made with just 3 ingredients, with the main ingredient being maple syrup.
Sugaring was an early spring task in the Smoky Mountains. The whole community or several families would come together for a “frolic” to cook down the sugar water, which had been collected from all the Sugar Maples that had been tapped. It is part of our Forgotten Recipes of the Smokies series.
The Sugarlands area of the Smoky Mountains was given its name by the earliest settlers in the 19th century because of the vast amount of Sugar Maples in the valley. The Sugarlands was mostly cleared, but the Sugar Maple is prevalent throughout the park
Here is the recipe as it appeared in Shenandoah Valley Cooking, Recipes and Kitchen Lore:
Maple Freeze
Beat four medium eggs lightly, pour over this one cup of warmed maple syrup, cook in a double boiler and stir until it becomes very thick. When it cools add a pint of cream beating it until it is well blended and pour the mixture into a mold and pack on ice. (Store in a freezer for several hours.) This frozen dessert is very rich.
Testing Notes:
Because this recipe uses eggs, you want to make sure you cook it at a temperature to cook, but not scramble the eggs, which is 160 degrees. You can use a candy thermometer to ensure you get it to the right temperature, but through the testing of this recipe, 4 minutes once the mixture began to cook was the perfect amount of time.
Maple Freeze
Ingredients
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 cup Pure Maple Syrup
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Lightly beat eggs in the top pan of a double boiler.
- While the water in the double boiler heats up, warm the maple syrup in the microwave for approximately 1 minute. You just want it warm so it tempers the eggs and does not cook them too soon.
- Whisk in the warmed maple syrup and 1/2 a cup of the heavy cream. Whisk constantly while cooking. When the water in the bottom pan begins to boil, cook for 4 minutes or until the mixture has become thick, being careful not to overcook the eggs. You can use a candy thermometer to gauge when the mixture reaches 160 degrees, which cooks the eggs but does not scramble them.
- When it is ready, move the top pan to a towel or hot pad and whisk in the remaining cream until it is completely smooth.
- Pour into a bowl or dish and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight.
- Serve in bowls or in ice cream cones. Garnish with walnuts if desired.
Notes:
Tips for success:
- You must use pure maple syrup, but can use any grade you prefer.
- Once steam escapes from the bottom pot of your double boiler, set a timer to 4 minutes. This should sufficiently cook the eggs without scrambling them.
- If you notice that the mixture begins to get small lumps in it, remove it from the heat immediately and quickly whisk in the remaining heavy cream. The small lumps are from the eggs scrambling.
- If the eggs scramble, you can still enjoy it. Some of our testing staff enjoyed the texture of the batch that scrambled.
- We also tested the recipe with our Bourbon Maple Syrup too and it was enjoyed by all the testers.