This maple butter is soft whipped butter beaten with pure maple syrup, plus a pinch of sea salt if you like. The ratio is 2 to 1: 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter to ½ cup of maple syrup. It takes about 10 minutes once the butter has softened and makes about 1½ cups.
The only real trick is patience with the syrup. Rush it and the butter splits. Pour it in slowly while the mixer runs, and the butter takes in every drop and stays fluffy. Every fall I make a double batch and keep half in the fridge for weekday breakfasts.
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Try the Recipe Converter →Whipped Maple Butter or Canadian Maple Butter?
Two different spreads share this name. In Canada and New England, maple butter (also sold as maple cream or maple spread) has no butter in it at all. It is pure maple syrup boiled to about 235°F, cooled quickly without stirring, then stirred until the sugar crystallizes into a thick, pale, creamy spread. That version needs a candy thermometer. And a strong arm.
This recipe is the other kind: real dairy butter whipped with maple syrup, the soft sweet spread that comes with pancakes and rolls at a lot of restaurants. It needs only a mixer, and it is ready to spread straight from the bowl.
Butter and Syrup: What to Buy
Use unsalted butter and add the salt yourself, so you control it. If salted butter is all you have, skip the pinch of salt.
Pure maple syrup only. Pancake syrup is mostly corn syrup with maple flavoring, and it makes a flat, sugary spread. Dark syrup (labeled Grade A Dark, Robust Taste) has the strongest maple flavor and still comes through all that butter. Golden or amber syrup tastes milder. In my notes, dark syrup goes better with biscuits and the lighter grades suit pancakes.
Half a cup of syrup to a cup of butter is about as much liquid as whipped butter holds comfortably. Want it less sweet? Use ¼ cup. Going much past ½ cup is asking for syrup to weep out in the fridge.
Softening the Butter Without Melting It
Leave the butter on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes. It is ready when a finger leaves an easy dent but the stick still holds its shape and does not look shiny or greasy. In a cool kitchen, cut it into tablespoon pieces first and it softens faster.
Skip the microwave. It melts spots in the middle of the stick, melted butter will not trap air, and the finished maple butter turns greasy instead of fluffy. Set the syrup out at the same time, because cold syrup causes most of the trouble below.
Whipping in the Maple Syrup
Beat the butter in a medium bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. It should turn paler, look fluffy, and hold soft peaks.
Keep the mixer running and drizzle in the syrup about a tablespoon at a time. Wait until each addition disappears before pouring the next. Add the pinch of sea salt, if using, and whip for 30 seconds more. Taste it now. Every bottle of maple syrup is a little different, darker or lighter, sweeter or more caramel-like, and a few grains of salt are often what brings the maple forward.
If the Maple Butter Separates
- Lumpy, curdled, syrup pooling at the bottom: the butter or the syrup was too cold, or the syrup went in too fast. Let the bowl sit in a warm spot for a few minutes, then whip again until smooth.
- Soupy and shiny: the butter got too warm. Chill the bowl for 10 to 15 minutes and whip again.
- Syrup weeping out after a day in the fridge: too much syrup for the butter. Soften it, whip in a spoonful of extra soft butter, and use a little less syrup next time.
Serving Maple Butter Through the Fall
Spread it on warm biscuits, sour cream pancakes, pumpkin waffles, muffins, or toast. It works with savory food too: try it melting into honey cornbread fresh from the oven, over roasted sweet potatoes, or on Thanksgiving dinner rolls. A spoonful stirred into maple brown sugar oatmeal is a good weekday breakfast.
For the pancake house look, pipe it into a small ramekin with a star tip and drizzle a little more syrup over the top just before serving.
How Long Maple Butter Keeps
Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Straight from the fridge it is firm, so let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Butter also freezes well. Freeze it in a small airtight container for up to 2 months, thaw it in the fridge, and give it a quick whip to bring back the fluffy texture.
Maple Butter vs Maple Buttercream Frosting
They look alike in a bowl. They are not swappable. Maple butter has no powdered sugar, so it stays soft, slumps at room temperature, and will not pipe crisp borders on a cake. Buttercream gets its body from powdered sugar, which is why it holds a swirl and forms a light crust. For cakes and cupcakes, use my maple frosting or the tangier maple cream cheese frosting.
Fruit butters are a third thing again. A pear butter is fruit cooked down until thick and spreadable, with no dairy. For another quick whipped spread, cinnamon butter follows the same method with honey, cinnamon, and a little powdered sugar, and maple fudge is where to go for a stronger maple hit.
Tell me in the comments what you spread yours on. I always like hearing about a new pairing.
Maple Butter Recipe
This maple butter is a whipped spread made with unsalted butter, pure maple syrup, and an optional pinch of sea salt. It takes about 10 minutes once the butter is soft and makes about 1 ½ cups of light, fluffy whipped maple butter. The ratio is 1 cup butter to ½ cup syrup, and the syrup is drizzled in slowly while the mixer runs so the butter absorbs it without separating; dark maple syrup gives the strongest flavor. Spread this homemade maple butter on warm biscuits, pancakes, waffles, cornbread, muffins, or Thanksgiving dinner rolls. Unlike Canadian maple butter or maple cream, it is made with real butter. Keep it airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week and soften it 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup pure maple syrup (preferably dark for richer flavor)
- Pinch of sea salt (optional)
Instructions
SOFTEN THE BUTTER: Leave the butter out at room temperature for about 30–45 minutes until it is soft enough to whip easily but not melted.
WHIP THE BUTTER: In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed to beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
ADD THE MAPLE SYRUP: Slowly drizzle in the maple syrup while continuing to whip, allowing it to incorporate evenly into the butter without separating.
TASTE AND ADJUST: Add a pinch of sea salt if desired for a more balanced flavor, then whip again for about 30 seconds.
SERVE AND STORE: Spoon the maple butter into a ramekin and, if desired, drizzle with a little extra maple syrup on top for presentation. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup; dark syrup gives the strongest maple flavor. Have both the butter and the syrup at room temperature: cold butter or cold syrup makes the mixture curdle, and melted butter makes it greasy. Add the syrup slowly while whipping, about a tablespoon at a time. If it separates, let the bowl warm slightly and whip again; if it turns soupy, chill it for 10 to 15 minutes and whip again. If using salted butter, skip the added salt. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. For a softer texture, let the maple butter sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield
2Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 261Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 15mgSodium 121mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 0gSugar 49gProtein 0g
