312 g of maple syrup is 1 cup. Maple syrup is dense and heavy because it is mostly sugar dissolved in water, and a cup of it weighs far more than a cup of water. It pours slowly and clings to the cup, so weighing it is genuinely easier than measuring it by volume: pour it straight into the bowl on the scale and there is nothing to scrape out afterwards.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured poured. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
Putting the numbers to work
Pancakes with real maple syrup
A pancake breakfast for four uses about 78 g of maple syrup, a quarter of a cup, poured over the stack. That is the serving amount, not the amount in the batter. Warm the syrup gently before serving, because cold syrup cools the pancakes on contact, and warm syrup flows more easily and tastes sweeter.
A maple glaze for roasted carrots
A glaze for a tray of roasted carrots calls for 39 g of maple syrup, which is 2 tablespoons, whisked with olive oil and a pinch of salt. The syrup caramelises in the oven and gives the carrots a glossy, sticky coating. Two tablespoons is easy to measure with a spoon, and a spoon is more accurate than a cup for this amount.
Maple syrup in a baking recipe
A muffin recipe uses 156 g of maple syrup, half a cup, as the sweetener instead of granulated sugar. When you swap a liquid sweetener for a dry one, reduce the other liquid in the recipe by about a quarter of a cup to compensate, and lower the oven temperature by about 10 degrees, because maple syrup browns faster than sugar.
The numbers in a table
| Cups | Grams of maple syrup |
|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 78 g |
| 1/3 cup | 104 g |
| 1/2 cup | 156 g |
| 2/3 cup | 208 g |
| 3/4 cup | 234 g |
| 1 cup | 312 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 468 g |
| 2 cups | 624 g |
| 3 cups | 936 g |
| 4 cups | 1248 g |
Quick reference: 100 g of maple syrup is about 0.32 cups, and 50 g is about 0.16 cups. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Tips for best results
Granulated sugar is forgiving to measure, but brown sugar is not: it must be packed firmly into the cup, because loosely spooned brown sugar weighs about 170 g per cup instead of 213 g, a gap that will leave cookies flat and sauces thin. Powdered sugar goes the other way: sifted powdered sugar is about 100 g per cup against 113 g unsifted, so always measure it unsifted unless the recipe says otherwise. Honey and syrups should be measured in a lightly oiled cup or jug so they slide out cleanly, and weigh them if you can, because sticky sweeteners cling to every measuring surface.
Scaling is straightforward once you know the cup weight. Doubling a recipe that calls for 312 g of maple syrup means measuring 624 g, or 2 cups, and tripling it means 936 g, or 3 cups. Halving is just as easy: half a cup is 156 g. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. A cake scaled by half still needs half the flour, half the sugar, half the butter and half the maple syrup, not just half of one of them. If you are scaling a recipe by an awkward factor, like two thirds, weigh the maple syrup rather than trying to measure two thirds of a cup in a jug, because the jug markings are not precise enough for fractions of a cup.
When should you weigh maple syrup instead of measuring it? Whenever the recipe has to work the first time, and whenever the amount is large. A kitchen scale costs less than a single failed cake, and it removes the biggest source of variation in home cooking: the way ingredients pack into a cup or a spoon. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add the maple syrup until the display shows the number you need. There is nothing to wash afterwards except the bowl, and the result is the same every time. For small amounts, a level spoon is accurate enough, and for liquids, a jug is fine, but for anything where precision matters, the scale is the tool to reach for.
Storage. Refrigerate after opening; up to 1 year.
- Lightly oil the measuring cup so syrup slides out.
- Refrigerate after opening and use within a year.
- Reduce other liquid when swapping syrup for dry sugar.
Method and source
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured poured. Syrup boiled from maple tree sap; graded by colour and flavour. Pancakes, glazes, baking and dressings.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the cup, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is maple syrup heavier than honey?
No, honey is heavier: a cup of honey is 336 g and a cup of maple syrup is 312 g. Both are far heavier than water, but honey is the densest common sweetener in the kitchen.
How do I measure maple syrup without a scale?
Pour it into a measuring jug and read the level at eye level. To stop it sticking, lightly oil the jug first, or measure the syrup before any dry ingredients so the residue does not matter. A tablespoon is about 19.5 g.
Can I substitute maple syrup for honey?
Yes, cup for cup, but the weights differ: a cup of maple syrup is 312 g and a cup of honey is 336 g. Maple syrup is also less sweet, so you may want a little more, and it has a distinct flavour that suits baking, glazes and dressings.
How should I store maple syrup?
Refrigerate after opening. It keeps for up to a year in the fridge, but it can grow mould on the surface if left at room temperature, especially in summer. If mould appears, skim it off and bring the syrup to a boil, then refrigerate it.
What is the difference between maple syrup grades?
The grades describe colour and flavour, not sweetness or weight. Golden syrup is delicate, amber is the standard all-purpose grade, and dark syrup is strong and best for baking. All grades weigh 312 g per cup.
A note on cup sizes: every figure on this page uses the US cup, which holds 236.6 millilitres. A metric cup, used in Australia and some other countries, holds 250 millilitres, which is about six percent larger, so the same ingredient measured in a metric cup will weigh about six percent more. If your measuring cups are metric, multiply the gram figures here by 1.06, or better still, weigh the ingredient on a scale and skip the cup altogether. The scale does not care which country your cups came from.