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Hi, I always make a simple sugar syrup to brush on my sponge layers I use equal quantities of caster sugar and water, bring to the boil giving a good stir to make sure dissolved and then off the heat to cool and use. However, when I did this yesterday as it cooled it gradually got more and more crystalized until it was a completely solid!! Please help? Why would it do this and am I doing something wrong? I’m starting to panic that it’s been doing this inside my cakes! Thanks so much in advance xx

Hi fi28

It’s possible that you may have had some undissolved sugar on the rim of the pan which started off the crstalisation in your syrup. It only takes a microscopic grain to cause sugar crystals to seed. To prevent this happening, don’t stir the mixture, just allow the liquid to boil on it’s own for a minute and take it off the heat. If you see sugar particles on the side of the pan, use a wet pastry brush and brush them down into the liquid without immersing the brush. Another way is to place a lid on the liquid and allow the steam to wash the particles down. Crystals can also form if you use a cold metal spoon to stir the mixture. This shocks the sugar into falling out of solution. You can use a squeeze of lemon or about an eighth of a teaspoon of tartaric acid to help prevent crystals forming. This is particularly useful in hard water areas. Now for a fix for what you have….. it might be possible to fix your crystalised syrup by gently reheating it. Don’t go full blast on the heat other wise it will burn. If you can manage to liquify it back add some tartartic or some lemon to stablise it. Simple syrup won’t crystalise in cake so please don’t worry about your cakes. Key thing is not to stir the syrup, wash down with pastry brush or place lid on the pan and use a little of either the lemon of tartaric.

Hi madeitwithlove,
Thank you so much for your help I really appreciate it. There was a bit of undissolved sugar on the edge of the pan and I also stirred it with a cold metal spoon!! I won’t be doing that again! Unfortunately the disasterous batch ended up in the bin instantly but hopefully following your advice I will have more luck from now on!
Thank you so much,
Fi28 xx

You are welcome Fi28, better luck next batch xx