Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is the heavy version of the basic sugar syrup, made with twice as much sugar as water so it sets thick and glossy once cooled. A short boil is all it needs: just long enough for the sugar to dissolve completely and the syrup to clear.
Brushed onto sponge layers it soaks in slowly and keeps a cake moist for days without turning it soggy, and because it is so concentrated you can thin it down with water, coffee, fruit juice or a spoon of liqueur to suit whatever cake you are building. It is also handy for glazing fruit and for sweetening creams and mousses.
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: 753
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: jar of syrup, about 750 ml
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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 |
17.6 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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B
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250 |
8.8 ounces
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Water
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C
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2.5 |
0.1 ounce
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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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752
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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 saucepan and a heatproof jar or bottle with a lid ready. |
Jar clean and dry |
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2 |
Combine |
Put A and B (caster sugar and water) into the saucepan and stir once or twice. |
Sugar evenly wetted |
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3 |
Cook |
Bring to the boil over medium heat and cook shortly, just until the syrup is completely clear. Do not stir once it is boiling; brush any sugar crystals down from the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush. |
Clear, with no sugar grains left on the bottom of the pan |
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4 |
Cool |
Take the pan off the heat and let the syrup cool until it is only just warm. |
No longer steaming |
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5 |
Flavour |
Stir in C (vanilla essence). |
Added off the heat so the flavour is not boiled away |
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6 |
Store |
Pour into a clean jar or bottle, seal and keep in the fridge. |
Cooled completely before sealing |
Important Notes
This quarter batch makes about 750 g (roughly 750 ml) of syrup. The syrup is deliberately thick at two parts sugar to one part water, so thin it with a little water, coffee, fruit juice or liqueur before brushing it onto sponge if you want a lighter soak. Stored in a clean sealed jar in the fridge it keeps for several weeks; discard it if it turns cloudy or smells fermented. Use it just warm or at room temperature for soaking, and brush it on rather than pouring so the sponge takes it up evenly.
Tools & Arrangements
Small heavy saucepan, digital scales, wooden spoon, pastry brush, heatproof jar or bottle with a lid, pastry brush for soaking cakes
