Golden Syrup Cake is a moist sponge cake made with golden syrup, butter, milk, flour, and topped with shredded coconut.

This delicious syrup cake is one of my family's favourite. It is so soft, fluffy, and sweet that it doesn't need any glaze. You can serve this cake warm or cold with a drink of your choice.

Why This Golden Syrup Cake Recipe works?

• Makes a lovely dessert
• Satisfies your sweet craving
• It is so simple to make that it doesn't need an electric whisk or stand mixer
• Kids love it

Golden Syrup Cake Ingredients:

Self-Rising Flour: You can replace it with a mix of plain flour and baking powder (check the tips).

Golden Syrup: Is the key ingredient in this recipe that gives sweetness to this cake.

Egg: Only one egg is needed in this recipe, make sure it is at room temperature and use a large egg.

Caster Sugar: I like to use it in this recipe because it dissolves so fast in liquids.

Milk: You can use whole or skimmed milk; however, I prefer using whole milk because it makes the cake richer.

Butter: I like to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter, you can use it.

Lemon Zest: It gives the cake a fantastic citrus flavour. 

Coconut: I use two tablespoons of shredded coconut to sprinkle on top of the cake. It gives the cake amazing taste and beautiful look as well.

How to make Golden Syrup Cake?

Preparations: Preheat your oven to 170C.

Grease an 18-inch cake tin with butter or line with parchment paper (you can also make this cake in a 9-inch loaf tin).

Preparing the Wet Ingredients: In a small saucepan, add butter, sugar, and golden syrup on low heat until the butter melts. Turn off the heat and let the golden syrup mixture cool down for 5-7 minutes then whisk in the egg and the milk.

Adding the Dry Ingredients: Next, add flour and lemon zest. Combine well using a whisk to make sure there are no lumps in the batter.

Baking: Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until fully baked.

Adding the Toppings: Immediately once you get the cake out of the oven, brush it with the golden syrup and sprinkle with shredded coconut. Then let it cool completely before taking it out of the tin.

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Top tips:

• You can replace the caster sugar with granulated sugar; however, if you do that, make sure it is completely dissolved in the mixture as it may take more time to dissolve, unlike caster sugar.
• You can also substitute caster sugar for brown sugar, which will give the cake a lovely dark colour and delicious taste.
• Feel free to replace the lemon zest with orange zest.
• If you like to add some crunchiness to this golden syrup cake, you can add ½ cup of any nuts of your choice to the batter (finely chopped).
• Feel free to make this cake in a 9-inch loaf tin if you like.
• If you don't have self-rising flour in your pantry, that is fine, you can make your own self-rising flour. Mix 1 cup plain flour with 2 tablespoons baking powder. You can double or triple this amount.
• Whisk well and make sure there are no lumps in the butter before you pour it into the cake tin.
• I recommend topping the cake with some lemon zest if you don't like using coconut.
• Serve a slice of this delicious golden syrup cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
• You can make this recipe in a loaf tin; if you like, just use a 2lb loaf tin.
• If you only have plain flour at home, you can use it instead of self rising flour. However, you will need to add a teaspoon of baking powder.
• If you entered a skewer in the centre of the cake and it comes out not clean, cover the top of the cake with a foil sheet and bake for 5 more minutes.

Storing and freezing:

Store: Store this golden syrup cake in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Freeze: This cake freezes very well, just wrap it in plastic wrap and put in a well-sealed container. It keeps well in the freezer for 1-2 months. Just let it thaw at room temperature before serving it.

Topping Options:

Below are some topping alternatives to coconut. 

• Top it with Lemon Glaze: Mix ½ cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
• Whipped cream
• More Golden Syrup
• Some Fresh Fruits
• Ice Cream
• Powdered Sugar

Recipe FAQs

More Cake Recipes:

• Coffee Loaf Cake: This cake is for coffee lovers, loaded with coffee flavour and topped with mocha fudge frosting.
• Spiced cake with Black Currant: Classic English cake made with spices and black currant. It is soft and tasty.
• Coffee Cake with coffee cream frosting: Two-layered soft coffee cake which is topped with a delicious coffee cream frosting.
• Blueberry and Peach Dump Cake: Easy made dump cake with peach and blueberry. So delicious with a dollop of ice cream.
• Lemon Poppyseed Cake: Fluffy cake loaded with tangy lemon flavours and crunchy poppy seeds.
• Blueberry White Chocolate Cake: This cake made with white chocolate and blueberries and topped with mint leaves and more fresh blueberries.
• Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake with ganache: Soft chocolate cake made with sour cream and so delicious with a cup of coffee.

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