Golden syrup is a thick, rich, sweet amber-coloured syrup that adds moistness and incredible depth of flavour to baked goods. And if that wasn’t enough, this cake is super-charged with the addition of more syrup after baking to give it a sticky crust and a super-moist crumb.

In the US it can be found in specialty shops that sell British goods and in some supermarkets, but if you can’t get your hands on golden syrup, you can substitute maple syrup, light molasses or even honey, and the treacle can be omitted. The taste will, of course, be very different to this cake, but would be great nonetheless!

This recipe was adapted from the BBC Good Food website. They say it gets better with age, but this one got devoured in less than a day…

Makes 1 x 24cm (9 – 10″) loaf cake
Preparation 20 minutes
Baking 50 minutes

Ingredients

100g (7 Tbsp or 3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
100g (1/2 cup, lightly packed) light brown sugar
200g (10 Tbsp) golden syrup
20g (1 Tbsp) black treacle (molasses)
225g (1 3/4 cups, spooned and scraped) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 large egg
150ml (5 fl oz or 2/3 cup) milk

40g (2 Tbsp) additional golden syrup, warmed

Directions

Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F). Grease a medium-sized ~24cm (9 – 10″) loaf tin and line with parchment.

Place butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle in a medium, heavy-based saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the butter and syrups are melted together. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, and make a well in the centre.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the milk.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour and stir to combine.

Add the cooled syrup mixture and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.

Bake in centre of oven for 50 minutes, until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Remove from oven to a wire rack, pierce the cake all over with a skewer and brush the additional golden syrup over the top. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Store in an airtight container or wrapped in aluminium foil at room temperature for up to a week.