Simple Syrup for Cake and Drinks
Whether you need simple syrup for cake, cocktails, coffee, or lemonade and beyond, it's one of those foundational recipes that everyone should know. Here's how to make the basic recipe and some popular variations.
Calories: 48kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (237 ml) (237 grams) water
Instructions
- Place the sugar and the water in a small pot.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Cool completely before using.
Notes
- If you have a kitchen scale and want to make a truly 1:1 syrup, weigh your ingredients and use an equal amount of water and sugar by weight. It doesn't make a perceptible difference in this case, but weighing ingredients precisely is a good practice.
- Once cooled, pour the syrup into a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and place it into the refrigerator. Plain syrup or any variation infused with long-lasting or dry ingredients (such as cinnamon or vanilla) will keep for a month. If you've steeped a fresh ingredient like mint or basil leaves, use the syrup within one to two weeks.
- Or freeze it for longer-term storage. A standard ice cube from a tray is about one fluid ounce, (30 ml) (two U.S. tablespoons). You can pour leftover syrup into a tray, freeze until solid, and then transfer to an airtight container like a zip-top freezer bag. That's an easy way to keep what's essentially measured doses of simple syrup on hand. You can defrost in the fridge overnight, at room temperature, or with a quick spin in the microwave.
Suggested variations
- Rich simple syrup: For a more concentrated sweetener with a more viscous consistency, use two parts sugar to one part water.
- Demerara syrup: Demerara sugar is a minimally processed sugar that retains a light amber color and a more nuanced flavor with hints of molasses. You can use it instead of regular granulated sugar for a more richly flavored simple syrup. Turbinado sugar is similar (but a bit more finely textured, lightly flavored, and less sticky). You can also use that if you like.
Steeping dry ingredients
It can be really nice to steep tea, dry spices, and other dry ingredients in your simple syrup for cake or beverages. To the sugar and water, you can add a couple of tablespoons of looseleaf tea (like Earl Grey), a couple of broken cinnamon sticks, half a vanilla bean pot split open with a knife, a few cloves or star anise pods, dried hibiscus flowers or lavender — you name it. Let the ingredients steep for 24 hours, then strain before using the syrup. These additions do not shorten the shelf life of the simple syrup.Steeping fresh ingredients
You can also use fresh ingredients to flavor your syrup. Try a big handful of torn basil or mint leaves, a sliced jalapeño, the peel of an organic lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit removed from the fruit with a vegetable peeler, or a cup of fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or cranberries. Let the ingredients steep for 24 hours, then strain without pressing down on the solids. Syrup made with these fresh additions should be used within a week or so.Incorporating extracts
For the easiest flavoring of all, you can stir in a little bit of your favorite good-quality extract. For milder flavors like vanilla and orange, start with about a teaspoon of extract per cup of simple syrup and adjust to taste. For stronger extracts like almond, start with ¼ teaspoon and work from there. Extracts do not shorten the shelf life of the syrup.Nutrition
Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 48kcal