This Golden Syrup heart loaf cake is a cake within a cake… well, not quite. What you do is mix two different batters; in this recipe one is a beetroot cake and the other a golden syrup one. The finished product looks a lot trickier to do than is actually the case.
The uncooked beetroot cake mixture was such a vibrant pink – it was so beautiful! If only I’d remembered from when I used it on a previous occasion that it loses its colour once cooked, it turns to a golden brown.
As it happened, the two cake mixtures were virtually the same colour once they’d both been cooked. Epic “nailed it!” attempt on my part.
You can make the central shape anything you like – it doesn’t have to be a heart. It can be a plain circle or a square or any shape cookie cutter you have to hand. Similarly, the flavour and colour of your cakes can be something else of your choosing. Use a couple of tablespoonfuls of cocoa powder or fine-ground instant coffee and the inner colour will be dark brown. You could simply use a few drops of food colouring in one or both of the cake mixtures; yellow & green, pink & blue… or even lighter and darker shades of the same colour.
I’m going to have to try this recipe again – I won’t let it defeat me!
Click here or on the image below to save this Golden Syrup heart loaf cake recipe to Pinterest
- 100g/3½oz caster sugar
- 100g/3½oz butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 100g/3½oz self-raising flour
- 25g/1oz beetroot powder
- 100g/3½oz butter
- 50g/1¾oz caster sugar
- 50g/1¾oz light brown soft sugar
- 200g/7oz Golden Syrup
- 250g/9oz self-raising Flour
- 1 egg
- 135ml/4¾fl oz milk
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
- Grease and line a 23cm/9" square cake tin
- Cream together the caster sugar and butter until light and fluffy
- Whisk the eggs and add to the sugar/butter mixture in 2 increments
- Sift in the self-raising flour and beetroot powder and fold into the batter
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes until fully cooked
- Leave to cool for 10 minutes, remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack
- Once fully cooled, use a heart-shaped cutter to carefully cut out bat shapes from the cake. Set the shapes aside while you prepare the other cake mixture
- Grease and line a 1kg/2lb loaf tin
- In a small saucepan add the caster sugar, light brown soft sugar, golden syrup and butter and gently melt. Set aside and allow to cool
- Sieve the self-raising flour into a large mixing bowl
- Whisk together the milk and egg before adding them to the flour alongside the cooled sugar/syrup/butter mixture
- Combine until smooth and lump-free
- Spoon about ⅓ of the mixture into the loaf tin
- Get the heart shapes and carefully set them upright into the mixture. Place them tightly together so they hold each other up
- Carefully spoon the rest of the mixture into the loaf tin. Ensure you cover the hearts and that they stay in place
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until fully cooked
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin
- Slice and serve
Cakes & Bakes: Super sticky syrup sponge
We’ve been hooked on the Great British Bake Off since the very start. That’s where we were first introduced to the author of the syrup sponge recipe we’re featuring today.
Ruth Clemens of The Pink Whisk was the runner up in that inaugural series. Since then, she’s become a successful food blogger, has had a number of cookbooks published and is a regular contributor to magazines; I tore out and kept this recipe from a recent copy of Stylist. The recipe is quick & simple to make and, if you’re a fan of very sweet gooey puddings like me, tastes great!
The sponge went down a storm with Justin, he enjoyed his with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – I paired mine with a dollop of crème fraîche. Custard would be another delicious option!
Super sticky syrup sponge
Ingredients
- for the sponge
- 125 g/4½oz golden syrup
- 100 g/3½oz butter
- 100 g/3½oz caster sugar
- 265 g/9½oz plain flour
- ¾tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¾tsp baking powder
- 165 g/6oz golden syrup
- 215 ml/7½ fl oz boiling water
- for the topping
- 50 g/1¾oz golden syrup warmed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
- Line the base & circumference of a 20cm/8'' round springform tin with non-stick baking paper
- Add the 125g golden syrup to the base of the tin
- Put all the sponge ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, adding the boiling water last
- On the slowest speed and using the whisk attachment, mix together the batter slowly increasing the speed to medium until well combined
- Pour the batter over the golden syrup in the tin
- Bake for an hour
- Carefully release the cake from the tin and invert onto a serving plate
- Pour the warmed golden syrup on top and serve