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Spring is time of life or rebirth when what appeared to be dead comes back to life, a sort of natural resurrection. As a former farm girl, I still marvel at what happens in the springtime. From the stillness and death of winter, leaves unfurl; grass greens; peonies begin to push up sprouts; crocus peeks up through the thawing ground; the chickens begin laying eggs again; the cows freshen and begin to produce milk, and maple sap begins to run.
I wonder at this – nature’s illustration of death and resurrection. (I’m writing this when it’s twenty below, optimistically looking forward to warmer weather.) This optimism sends me ahead to the topic of maple syrup, eggs, and rich milk, all of which are springtime riches from Mother Earth.
Depending on the weather, and whether or not the sap is running, our friend, Dave Rogotzke, taps thousands of maple trees, draining the sap through a complicated web of tubes into large stainless steel holding tanks. The sap only runs when the days are warm and the nights are freezing.
With the holding tanks full, he fires up the evaporator and boils the sap down to the golden sweet richness of maple syrup. It takes thirty to forty gallons of sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup. The Rogotzkes have aptly named their products “Simple Gifts.”
Maple syrup adds to our Northern Minnesota cuisine in so many ways! We drizzle this golden gift over pancakes and waffles, mix it into milk, or cook it down into a thick syrup tossed over snow (or chipped ice) to make candy. Remember the Maple-Smoked Salmon (Woman Today, June-July, 2005). A favorite simple dessert is a maple syrup sundae topped off with toasted pecans.
Here’s another dessert that utilizes all of the gifts of spring – maple syrup, eggs, and cream. This is a family-friendly dessert, awfully easy to make and not terribly sweet. For the best flavor, be sure to use real maple syrup, and not the artificial stuff.
MAPLE CUSTARDS with MAPLE GLAZED BANANAS
Makes 6 servings, about 1/2 cup each
3 large eggs
2 cups light cream or milk
3/4 cup real maple syrup
Dash salt
Maple Glazed Bananas:
1/2 cup real maple syrup
2 medium bananas
2 tablespoons rum (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set six custard cups into a shallow baking dish. In a large mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk the eggs, cream or milk, maple syrup, and salt together until perfectly blended. Strain into the custard cups. Set the baking dish and filled cups into the preheated oven and pour boiling water into the larger pan to about 1/2 the height of the custard cups. Bake for about 35 minutes or until set. (To check for doneness, insert a butter knife into the center of a custard. When they are done, the knife will come out clean.) If overbaked, the custards will curdle and separate. Remove from the water, refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. For the bananas, pour the maple syrup into a skillet and bring to a boil and continue to boil until reduced by about half. Remove from the heat and add the rum if used. Cut the bananas into 1-inch diagonal pieces and place on top of the custards. Drizzle the maple syrup over the custards in the cups and serve.
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