Syrups and toppings allow pastry chefs to add extra flavor accents to their desserts. Complex, multi-faceted combinations of flavors, ingredients, and textures are currently very trendy. If a recipe calls for a rare component, in some cases, it is possible to replace it with an appropriate syrup. Such syrups can be purchased or made from scratch. It is also convenient to preserve perishable ingredients for future use, such as fresh mint leaves, thus extending their shelf life. In this article, we have gathered delicious recipes for you, but first, let's clarify the terminology.
Syrups and toppings
A syrup is a solution consisting of water, sugar, and a flavoring agent. Depending on the type of syrup, this agent can be fruit juice, cocoa powder, or extracts from flowers or leaves. Syrups have a liquid consistency, dissolve perfectly, and mix easily with other ingredients. In baking, such syrups are used for soaking cakes, most often sponge cakes. Notably, an alcohol-free cake soaking syrup can have the characteristic aroma of cognac or liqueur. To achieve this, simply add a little flavoring extract.
Things are a little more complex with toppings. The word comes from the English word "top", and refers to all types of decorations that garnish the top of a dessert: whipped cream, fruits, nuts, sprinkles, and sweet sauces. Syrup manufacturers in Ukraine use the word "topping" specifically to name the latter. Therefore, a topping is a thick syrup or sauce poured over a dessert. It is distinguished by a thick consistency and holds its shape well, allowing you to even draw patterns with it. Most often, these syrups are used for ice cream and decorating cheesecakes.
Where glucose syrup is used
Although glucose syrup is technically a syrup, it is classified as a professional pastry ingredient. When added to ice cream, it prevents the formation of ice and sugar crystals, and helps the dessert itself not melt too quickly. If you replace part of the sugar with glucose syrup in a cake batter, the sponge layers will become softer, more tender, and stay fresh longer. You can also make bubble sugar (bubble caramel) – a decoration made from glucose syrup. It is done quite quickly and easily. Glucose is also used to prepare mirror glaze and modeling chocolate. In some cases, glucose syrup can be replaced with invert syrup or corn syrup.
Where to buy ingredients
You will find glucose syrup only in specialized pastry shops. Pharmacy-grade glucose is not suitable for baking purposes - it is sold in solutions with low concentration. We also recommend buying chocolate and cocoa powder at these specialty stores. The quality of professional couverture chocolate is noticeably higher than what you find in the nearest supermarket. And cocoa powder is available in various shades, allowing you to choose the most suitable one. Here you will also find ready-made dessert syrups that will significantly save your time.
Simple syrup recipe for cakes
For those who love to bake from scratch, we suggest making the syrup yourself. The basic recipe for simple syrup is extremely easy: you need sugar and water. For every 4 tablespoons of sugar, you need to take 6 tablespoons of water. No special tools are required for preparation, just a heavy-bottomed saucepan and a spatula. Pour in the sugar and water, and turn on low heat. Stirring constantly, wait for the sugar to dissolve completely and bring the syrup to a boil. Once it boils, remove from heat and cool to body temperature. Now you can add flavorings. These can be commercial extracts, as well as fruit juices, tinctures, liqueurs, etc. Just make sure you never add them to hot syrup, otherwise, the volatile aromatic compounds will be destroyed.
Alcoholic syrups for cakes
As you can see, making a syrup is very simple. Now it's time to add a special touch in the form of a tablespoon of alcohol. Most often, cognac is used for these purposes. Rum is also an excellent choice. To enhance fruity notes, add a spoonful of wine or a corresponding liqueur to the soaking syrup. Instead of liqueur, you can also use a tincture, either store-bought or homemade.
Alcohol-free cake soaking syrup
Alcoholic syrups are straightforward, but they are only suitable for adults. What if you're planning a treat for kids? Now we will tell you how to prepare an alcohol-free syrup for a cake.
Citrus. Boil the basic simple syrup. While it is cooling, take half a lemon or a small orange and squeeze the juice. Grate the zest on a fine grater. Add to the cooled syrup and let it infuse.
Green tea. Brew strong tea without sugar, add lemon or lime juice. Strain and mix with the base syrup. You can skip the basic syrup entirely; in that case, brew a slightly weaker tea with sugar, strain it, and soak the sponge cake with it.
Syrup for a chocolate sponge cake. For this delicious soak, you will need 200 g of sweetened condensed milk, 100 g of butter, and a tablespoon of cocoa powder. Combine the ingredients in a saucepan, and without bringing to a boil, heat in a water bath. Don't forget to stir the ingredients constantly. This syrup must be applied while hot. Frozen cherry syrup for cakes. You don't need to thaw the berries; just cover them with sugar and add a little water (just a bit). Put them on the stove, bring to a boil, and turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and let cool. Taste it: if the syrup is not concentrated enough, repeat the procedure. The finished syrup needs to be strained.
Cake soaking syrup: proportions
To find out how much soaking syrup you will need, take the weight of the sponge cake and multiply it by 0.7.
Sweet sauces for ice cream
Ice cream syrup must be much thicker than soaking syrup for cake layers. We have already published a recipe for coffee ice cream syrup in the article "Toppings in Culinary Arts". Today we will tell you how to prepare chocolate sauce for ice cream. Such a topping can be made in two ways: with cocoa powder and with chocolate. We will make the one with chocolate.
Chocolate ice cream syrup recipe. This recipe is quite simple: you will need dark chocolate, cream (at least 10% fat content), and butter. Take cream and chocolate in a 1:1 ratio, and butter at 30% of the weight of the chocolate. Preparation: break or grate the chocolate (you can use couverture chocolate callets) and pour warm cream over it, stirring constantly. Add soft butter and mix thoroughly. The sauce is ready!
To make an ice cream topping, you can use any recipe. Boil the simple syrup, without removing from heat, add additional ingredients, and continue cooking over low heat for about 10 minutes. This way you will get a sauce of the desired thickness. And finally, some delicious syrup combinations for your experiments:
Good luck with your experiments and enjoy your treats!
