Maple Cream

One US cup of maple cream weighs 320 grams. Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.31 cups.

Also called maple butter, maple spread, pure maple cream, pure maple butter, fondant d'erable, fondant d'érable, beurre d'erable, beurre d'érable, maple fondant.

TL;DR: Pure maple cream (also called maple butter, maple spread, or fondant d'érable) converges at 320 g/cup (20g per tablespoon), density 1.35 g/mL, across Butternut Mountain Farm, President's Choice, and other pure-maple producer labels. King Arthur's chart does not list maple cream or maple butter, leaving this popular Quebec-origin product without a US baking reference.

Maple cream is 100% pure maple syrup that has been boiled to soft-ball candy stage (about 235°F, concentrating solids from 66% to approximately 85%), then cooled to 100°F and continuously stirred until the sugars crystallize into a smooth, silky, spreadable paste. Despite the name maple butter, it contains no dairy — the butter refers to the spreadable texture, not to any actual butter content. A pure maple cream should have exactly one ingredient on its label: maple syrup. Products marketed as maple butter that also contain actual dairy butter are compound spreads, a separate category with different density and behavior.

The nomenclature can confuse shoppers. Common names for the same pure product include maple cream (US market standard), maple butter (Canadian and Vermont market standard), maple spread (Quebec market standard), and fondant d'érable (French Quebec). All describe the same 100% maple syrup whipped preparation. In Quebec cuisine, where maple products are a cultural cornerstone, maple butter is a traditional accompaniment to bread, toast, crepes, and pancakes, and features in classic desserts like tarte au sucre.

Density is well-converged across pure-maple producers. Butternut Mountain Farm (Vermont, dominant US pure-maple producer) lists 2 tablespoons = 40g on its Pure Maple Butter nutrition label, giving 320 g/cup at density 1.35 g/mL. President's Choice Maple Butter Spread (Canadian market) lists 1.5 tablespoons = 30g, matching 20g/tbsp = 320 g/cup. Snapcalorie generic maple butter data lists 20g per tablespoon. Homemade recipes using pure maple syrup as the sole ingredient yield essentially the same density. Physical composition (approximately 85% sugar solids from the soft-ball boiling stage) predicts 1.44 g/mL for fully-solid concentrate; the measured 1.35 g/mL reflects the fine air incorporation from stirring, which reduces bulk density.

Maple cream versus maple syrup: same source material (100% pure maple sap), different concentration. Maple syrup is 66% solids (density 1.32 g/mL, 312 g/cup). Maple cream is approximately 85% solids stirred (density 1.35 g/mL, 320 g/cup — slightly denser despite air incorporation because the higher solids fraction outweighs the aeration). Maple sugar is fully dried (density 0.66 g/mL, 156 g/cup — granular). All three are the same base material at different concentration and processing states.

Maple cream versus other fruit-derived syrup products at same density: date syrup, pomegranate molasses, and maple cream all sit at 320 g/cup and 1.35 g/mL — because all three are concentrated plant-derived syrups at approximately 70-85% solids. Substitution by weight is straightforward density-wise, though flavors are entirely different.

Storage and crystallization: maple cream will crystallize over time as the finely-stirred sugar seeds trigger further growth into larger crystals. Store refrigerated after opening. If crystallization occurs, warming to 100°F (about 5 seconds in a microwave, or 15 minutes in warm water) and stirring re-smooths the texture. Sealed unopened maple cream keeps for about a year at room temperature; opened, refrigerated for 4-6 months at peak texture.

Not to be confused with maple compound butter: some producers sell maple butter that is actual dairy butter blended with maple syrup (typically 2:1 butter to syrup ratio). This is a distinct product used as a table spread rather than for baking. Density differs (butter dominates the bulk at approximately 227 g/cup for churned butter), and it's not interchangeable with pure maple cream in recipes.

Practical baker recommendation: for any recipe calling for maple cream, maple butter, or maple spread, weigh at 20g per tablespoon (320 g/cup) across all pure-maple brands. Read the ingredient list to confirm 100% maple syrup — if dairy butter appears, that's a compound spread with different behavior. Store refrigerated once opened; warm briefly and stir if crystallization occurs.