Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a simple milk based soaking syrup: milk and caster sugar warmed together until the sugar is completely dissolved, then flavoured with vanilla once it has cooled. Unlike a plain water and sugar syrup it carries a little richness of its own, so the sponge it goes into tastes softer and creamier rather than just wet and sweet.
Brush it over sponge layers before filling, especially drier sponges and any cake that has to sit for a day before it is served. It works beautifully under vanilla, white chocolate and caramel fillings, where a coffee or rum syrup would fight the flavour. Because it is made with milk it is perishable, so keep it cold and make only what you need.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 815
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: jar of about 800 g of syrup, enough to soak two 20 cm sponges
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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500 |
2.1 cups
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Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Milk is processed into a variety of dairy products such as cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, ice cream, and cheese. Modern industrial processes use milk to produce casein, whey protein, lactose, condensed milk, powdered milk, and many other food-additives and industrial products.
full cream
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B
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300 |
10.6 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
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C
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15 |
1 tablespoon
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Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
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815
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Have a clean heatproof jug or container ready, along with a fine strainer and a saucepan large enough that the milk will not boil over. |
Everything clean, as this syrup is milk based and spoils quickly |
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2 |
Combine |
Put A and B (milk and caster sugar) into the saucepan and stir together. |
Sugar evenly wetted through the milk |
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3 |
Heat |
Warm over low to medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula so the sugar does not catch on the base of the pan. |
Sugar completely dissolved and the syrup just comes to a gentle simmer; do not let it boil hard |
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4 |
Strain |
Take the pan off the heat and pass the syrup through a fine strainer into the clean jug. |
Smooth, with any skin or undissolved grains left behind |
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5 |
Cool |
Leave the syrup to cool, stirring now and then so a skin does not form on top. |
Cool to room temperature or below |
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6 |
Flavour |
Stir C (vanilla essence) through the cooled syrup. |
Evenly mixed; adding it cold keeps the aroma from cooking away |
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7 |
Store |
Pour into a clean airtight container or squeeze bottle and refrigerate until needed. Brush generously over sponge layers before filling. |
Cold and covered; stir or shake before each use |
Important Notes
This batch makes roughly 800 g of syrup, enough to soak two 20 cm sponges cut into layers. The chef's sheet allows for about 5% loss in cooking, so expect a little less than the weight of the ingredients you started with. Because it contains milk it will not keep like a sugar syrup: store it in a clean airtight container in the fridge and use it within three days. Always brush it on cold sponge, and do not soak so heavily that the layers collapse — a light, even coat on each cut surface is enough. If you prefer a thicker, sweeter syrup, simmer it a minute or two longer to reduce it slightly.
Tools & Arrangements
Digital scales, a medium saucepan, a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, a fine strainer, a heatproof jug or bowl, an airtight container or squeeze bottle, and a pastry brush for soaking.
