Alrighty. *deep breath* I was wondering about the application of maple products in baking. My biggest question has to do with structure. To make things simple, I'll use a specific example like making canelé. I've found that using white sugar gives the best results in terms of color and crust for this desert. You get that wonderful crunch on the outside.
When I substitute with maple sugar, the cake seems less hard and more mushy on the inside. It appears to weaken the overall structure. I'm aware that maple has a higher fructose level and that it cannot tolerate heat as well and may burn more quickly than white sugar. Also, I suspect that maple is more hydrophilic than white sugar which might explain the less crunchy aspect. The other variable is that maple is much sweeter than white sugar and thus the quantity must be lowered to get a pleasing flavor. My question (and this is a mouthful,) how can I combine the taste of maple in the canelé without affecting the ideal structure it has with white sugar? Grant uses maple extract to work around this issue, but I was wondering if I can still use maple instead of white sugar without simply using maple extract? Thanks!
