Of course, the choice of impregnation depends on the type of cake and your taste preferences. I bring to your attention several types of biscuit impregnation to make it easier to decide.
1.Very tasty impregnation
Products:
1. Cranberry vodka “Finlandia”, clear (it’s better not to take red, it has dye) - 50 g.
2. Homemade pear jam - 2 tbsp. spoons
3. Cold boiled water - 250 ml.
How to prepare a very tasty impregnation for biscuit:
Mix all the ingredients and pour over the prepared biscuit.
2.Syrup for soaking biscuits
Products:
1. Sugar - 5 tbsp. spoons
2. Liqueur, or tinctures, or doda - 7 tbsp. spoons
3. Cognac - 1 tbsp. spoon
How to prepare syrup for soaking biscuits:
Pour sugar into a saucepan and add water. Stirring, bring the syrup to a boil. Then it is cooled and aromatic substances are introduced: any liqueur or tincture, vanillin, cognac, coffee infusion, any fruit essences.
3.Chocolate impregnation
1. Butter - 100 gr.
2.Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp. spoon
3. Condensed milk - 0.5 cans
How to prepare chocolate impregnation for sponge cake:
The impregnation is prepared in a water bath. To do this, you need to pour water into a large saucepan and put it on the fire. And inside the large pan, place a pan of a smaller diameter in which to prepare the impregnation.
Place all the soaking ingredients in a smaller saucepan, cut the butter into pieces so that it melts faster.
To stir thoroughly. But don't bring it to a boil. I use a mixer. Soak the cake with hot impregnation, preferably a warm or hot cake.
4. Currant impregnation for jam cake
1. Currant jam - 0.5 cups
2. Sugar - 2 tbsp. spoons
3. Water - 1 glass
How to prepare currant impregnation for jam cake:
This impregnation is used for the Negro cake in foam. But it can also be used in other cakes in combination with sour cream. Impregnation preparation is standard. Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
5. Impregnation for cake
1.Sugar - 250 gr.
2.Water - 250 ml.
3. Cahors - 2 tbsp. spoons
4. Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
5. Vanillin.
How to prepare cake impregnation:
Boil water in a saucepan, add sugar, stir until completely dissolved.
Bring the syrup to a boil, add vanillin and lemon juice.
Cool the finished syrup.
6. Coffee syrup
1. Water - 1 glass
2. Cognac - 1 tbsp. spoon
3. Ground coffee - 2 tbsp. spoon
4. Sugar - 1 glass
How to make coffee syrup:
Sugar is poured with water (half a glass) and heated until the sugar grains dissolve; the dissolved syrup is brought to a boil, coffee is brewed with the remaining amount of water (half a glass), which is placed on the edge of the stove for infusion. After 15-20 minutes, the coffee is filtered and the pure coffee infusion is poured along with cognac into sugar syrup, which is thoroughly stirred and cooled.
7. Soaking with green tea and lemon
Brew green tea, add lemon juice. When cool, soak the cakes.
8.Pineapple impregnation
Made with syrup from canned pineapples. I do it by eye. Dilute the syrup a little with water, add lemon juice, a drop of cognac for flavor and simmer for just a couple of minutes.
9.Milk impregnation 1
Fill a can of condensed milk with 3 cups of boiling water. Add vanilla, let cool, and coat the cakes very generously.
10.Milk impregnation 2
Bring 3 tbsp milk to a boil with 1 tbsp (250 ml) sugar
11. Lemon soak
Products:
1. Boiling water - 1 glass
2. Lemon, cut into slices - 0.5 pcs.
3. Sugar - 3 teaspoons
4. Vanilla.
How to make lemon juice:
Pour boiling water over lemon, sugar and vanilla. Let's brew.
12.Orange syrup
Products:
1. Orange zest - 1 pc.
2. Orange juice - 0.5 cups
3. Sugar - 0.25 cups
To prove your culinary skills to everyone and personally establish yourself as a rather talented pastry chef, you need to prepare a sponge cake. Having spoiled a mountain of food, we finally achieved fluffy cakes, and now we were faced with a new task - how to make the sponge cake juicy and prepare the impregnation for it. In general, the role of this additive to sweet baked goods is quite extensive: it moisturizes the product and makes it more aromatic, giving certain notes of taste.
Why do you need to soak the biscuit?
Almost every biscuit masterpiece must undergo “wet” processing. This allows, first of all, to relieve consumers of the need to choke on a dry cake, pie or baba. Secondly, such measures make it possible to increase the shelf life of the product, and thirdly, the syrup for impregnating the biscuit is capable of both making the taste of the confectionery more rich and vibrant, and also veiling the egg aroma, because the dough, as you know, contains quite an impressive number of eggs.
To understand the selection of aromatic liquids for baking, you first need to decide on the filling for our dessert. If in the future we are considering options with cream layers, then in this case our choice in the “wet” question is undoubtedly syrups: vanilla, cognac, milk, honey and coffee.
For those products where confitures, jams, jams and other fruit and berry sweet masses are used as a filler, it is better to take fruit, sugar and alcohol syrups.
However, again, a reasonable question may arise regarding those delicacies that are a full-fledged product “without cuts,” for example, rum-baba or cake. In this case, what is better to soak a classic or chocolate sponge cake? Cognac and rum impregnation are rightfully considered the most universal moisturizer, so you can use it for such “buns” and even for cake. In addition, coffee, honey and sugar infusions will be an excellent addition to them, just like fruit syrups.
Biscuit soaking recipes
When taking a young confectioner's course, we must definitely master the lesson on moistening sponge cakes, otherwise all our previous efforts and achievements will go to waste. To do this, we must familiarize ourselves in detail with the options for preparing various syrups.
In general, if you don’t want to bother too much, then you can use as a base the classic sugar impregnation for a biscuit made from refined sugar and water, taken in a ratio of 4:6 and boiled until the sweet crystals are completely dissolved, and based on this decoction, add aromatic inclusions to obtain necessary impregnation.
To prepare a simple syrup, you can use vanilla or lemon juice as a flavoring. However, we are not looking for easy ways, so we will prepare each wetting consistency strictly according to an individual recipe.
However, it is not enough to simply brew aromatic liquid; it is also necessary to comply with the technical parameters for processing biscuits. For example, an extremely important aspect is compliance with the time regime for holding the finished baked goods before wetting, which is about seven hours. If patience is not your strong point, and you still “sinned” by moistening the future cake ahead of time, then, alas, the cakes threaten to fall apart, and the product itself loses its attractiveness, and the taste characteristics “suffer” significantly.
In addition, the process of applying the aromatic solution itself is important. But first things first. First, let's take a brief look at the recipes for the most popular syrups.
Cognac and rum impregnation for chocolate sponge cake with cognac
- Granulated sugar – 4 tbsp;
- Water – 6 tbsp;
- Cognac – 2 tbsp. or rum 1 tbsp;
Heat the sugar and water and boil a little until syrup forms, then turn off the brew and add alcohol to it. From the stated proportions, the output is 300 g of impregnation.
Strawberry sponge cake impregnation without alcohol
- Strawberries – 300 g;
- Water – 320 g;
- Granulated sugar – 50 g;
Preparation:
Usually, such a biscuit “moisturizer” is prepared with the addition of alcohol-containing drinks, but not every parent will dare to feed their offspring such a cake, so we will prepare a harmless “sober” syrup.
We pass the strawberries through a juicer. Mix the resulting cake with sugar and water, cook for 5 minutes over low heat, then filter and mix with strawberry juice. Boil the aromatic liquid again for no more than 3 minutes and cool.
Coffee impregnation for biscuit
Ingredients:
- Natural ground coffee – 2 tbsp;
- Granulated sugar - 1 tbsp.;
- Water – 250 ml;
- Cognac or coffee liqueur – 1 tbsp;
Preparing coffee syrup for impregnating the biscuit:
Sugar needs to be mixed with 125 ml of water and heated until the grains of sand are completely dissolved, and as soon as the sweet liquid boils, turn it off. Now brew coffee in the remaining amount of water, and after boiling, set the Turk aside for 20 minutes so that the broth is saturated with coffee aroma and cools a little. After the allotted time, filter the strong drink, cool and mix with cognac and syrup.
Milk impregnation for biscuit with condensed milk
Probably the simplest impregnation for a biscuit is made from condensed milk. Even a baby can cope with this task. All you need to do is dilute a jar of sweet, thick milk with 750 ml of boiling water, top everything with vanilla or cinnamon, cool and process the cakes.
If you don’t have ready-made condensed milk at home, you can prepare an impregnation from milk brought to a boil (2-3 tbsp.) and 1 tbsp. granulated sugar.
Orange and lemon impregnation for sponge cake
Among all the exotic fruits, the most aromatic are, of course, citruses, and this is easy to see. Here, for example, is an excellent recipe for making orange or lemon syrup for soaking a sponge cake; it is ideal for a “tropical” roll or “fruit and berry” cake. For both fruits, the cooking method is identical, the only difference is in the selection of juice.
Ingredients:
- Freshly squeezed orange (lemon) juice – ½ tbsp.;
- Chopped lemon zest – 1 tsp;
- Chopped zest of 1 orange;
- Granulated sugar - ¼ cup;
Preparation:
Before grinding citrus fruit skins, soak them in boiling water for 15 minutes to remove the bitterness.
Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and put on the fire, where all this aromatic splendor will boil down at a minimum temperature of about 15 minutes. After this, we filter the brew to extract the cake from the peel, cool it and use it for its intended purpose.
Honey and sour cream impregnation for biscuit
How delightful is the combination of honey syrup and sour cream; together, this impregnation gives the confectionery a magical taste and indescribable tenderness.
Preparing this combination is quite easy; for the syrup you just need to dilute honey in a small amount of water, the proportions should be selected based on the consistency of bee nectar. If it is quite liquid, then for every 2 tbsp. product should be 1 tbsp. water, the impregnation itself should be somewhat thick.
Having moistened the cakes, we now need to grease them with cream, which is prepared by mixing a small amount of sugar with sour cream.
Impregnation for jam sponge cake
Jam is probably available in every home, and from this favorite product of Carlson, you can make an excellent syrup in a matter of minutes, which goes perfectly with butter and sour cream. Moreover, we have a wonderful choice of flavors for future impregnation: raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry, peach or apricot...whatever the handy housewife’s pantry is stuffed with.
We will need:
- Half a glass of fruit and berry mass;
- 1 tbsp. water;
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar;
Preparation:
- Mix the jam, water and sand in an enamel bowl and put on the fire until it boils.
- After removing the brew from the stove, we should strain it and cool it.
Cherry impregnation for biscuit
- Cherry juice – 80-100 ml;
- Granulated sugar – 2 tbsp;
- Cherry liqueur – 3 tbsp;
This syrup does not need to be boiled, just combine all the components, mix until the sugar dissolves, and then add water to a volume of 250 ml.
How to properly soak a biscuit with syrup or cognac
Having prepared the syrup to their liking, many hastily rush to the biscuit masterpiece and begin to savory pour liquid into it, mistakenly believing that the more you soak it, the tastier and juicier the cake will be.
You can’t argue that it will turn out juicy, especially when your gaze rests on a real biscuit “blotter”, which leaves a whole puddle of sweet liquid on the plate, and the confectionery “monster” itself looks at least “tired” and wants to collapse on the side. The picture, it should be noted, is not a pleasant one, especially if we remember this whole thorny path along which we followed in achieving beautiful, even and fluffy cakes.
Stop, stop, stop, curb your impatience, because we are almost approaching the finish line of our epic. And for the result to be stunning, in a good way, you need to follow the instructions, which will tell you how to properly soak the biscuit.
- The primary task for us is to determine the condition of the cakes, that is, we need to evaluate whether they are dry or wet, and from the observation results we can draw a conclusion about the amount of syrup we will need. For “crackers” we take more, for “wood lice” - less.
- The second point is the method of applying impregnation. Of course, the best way is to spray the syrup on both sides of the cake. However, not everyone has such a device, so we will distribute the liquid over the biscuit carefully, using a teaspoon a little at a time.
The most important thing is the uniformity of processing, otherwise it will be completely bad if dry crumbs fall on one side and Niagara Falls pours out on the other. You can also moisten the future cake using a silicone brush dipped in syrup. - And one last thing. After complete treatment with impregnation, the biscuit should be put in the refrigerator overnight (about 6 hours). Naturally, it should be packaged so that excess aromas floating in the refrigerator do not stick to our product.
Which syrup you choose for yourself is a matter of everyone’s taste; the main thing is that we, like real confectioners, can now prepare any impregnation for a biscuit and apply it correctly.
A photo of this sweet will be presented in this article. We will also tell you how to properly use such impregnation.
Classic version
A homemade biscuit is delicious on its own. But if desired, it can be done much better. To do this, we recommend using the following ingredients:
- drinking water - about 6 large spoons;
- fine beet sugar - 4 large spoons.
Cooking process
Classic sugar syrup for soaking sponge cakes is quite simple to prepare. To do this, pour water into a small saucepan and then add sugar. After mixing the ingredients with a spoon, place them on low heat. In this form, the ingredients are brought to a boil. To prevent them from burning, the mixture is constantly stirred with a tablespoon.
You should not boil sugar syrup to soak the biscuit. The main thing is that the sugar is completely dissolved. After this, the finished syrup is removed from the heat and cooled to a temperature of 38-40 degrees.
If you want to get a more aromatic product, you can add various fruit juices, tinctures, liqueurs and even cognac to it.
Making berry syrup
Now you know how classic sugar syrup is made. How to prepare a more aromatic sweet for soaking a biscuit? To do this, we recommend using:
- fresh garden strawberries - about 320 g;
- beet sugar - 50 g;
- drinking water - 300 ml;
- any cognac - at the rate of 1 large spoon per 200 g of finished syrup.
How to cook?
Berry sugar syrup for impregnating the biscuit turns out to be very aromatic and tasty. To prepare it, squeeze out all the juice from fresh strawberries using a sieve and a masher. The remaining cake is added to drinking water, where sugar is subsequently added. After mixing all the ingredients, place them on the stove, bring to a boil and cook for about five minutes.
After the described steps, the syrup is filtered and then combined with the prepared strawberry juice. In this form, the ingredients are again brought to a boil and cooked for exactly three minutes.
After removing the impregnation from the stove, cool it. And only after that add cognac to the cooled syrup and mix everything well.
Preparing coffee syrup
Coffee sugar syrup for impregnating the biscuit turns out to be especially aromatic. It can be used to process not only milk cake, but also chocolate cake. For this we need:
- any cognac - 1 large spoon;
- ground natural coffee - 2 dessert spoons;
- drinking water - about 200 ml;
- fine sugar - 2 large spoons.
Cooking method
Before making such a syrup, you need to prepare a coffee infusion. To do this, pour boiling water over natural ground coffee, put it on low heat and wait until it boils. Next, the container with the coffee drink is removed from the stove, closed and allowed to brew for ¼ hour.
After time, the aromatic mixture is filtered. Then sugar is added to it and placed on the stove again. After bringing the ingredients to a boil, remove them and cool completely. At the very end, add cognac to the coffee syrup and mix thoroughly.
Making syrup with liqueur
How to make a sweet sugar syrup to soak a sponge cake? We will look at the recipe for such a mixture right now. To implement it we need:
Cooking process
To make a very sweet syrup for soaking homemade sponge cake, combine all of the above ingredients in a small bowl, then put them on the fire and cook until the granulated sugar is completely dissolved.
Reducing the heat to low, the resulting mixture is slowly boiled until the volume is reduced by exactly half. After this, the sugar syrup is removed from the stove and cooled slightly. The biscuit should be soaked in this sweetness while still warm.
Orange sugar syrup for soaking sponge cake: recipe with photos step by step
Making this sweetness yourself is not very difficult. The main thing is to adhere to all prescription requirements.
So what components do we need to make sugar syrup at home to soak a biscuit without alcohol? Experienced confectioners recommend preparing the following products:
- fine beet sugar - about ¼ cup;
- natural orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed) - ½ cup;
- orange zest - from one medium fruit.
Step-by-step preparation
Before boiling sugar syrup to impregnate a homemade biscuit, you should carefully separate it from the fruit and then chop it very finely.
Place the peel in a deep saucepan and add freshly squeezed sugar. After mixing the ingredients, place them on low heat and wait until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Reducing the heat to a minimum, cook the aromatic syrup for another 10 minutes. In this case, the impregnation for the biscuit should decrease in volume by exactly half. After the described steps, filter it through a fine sieve and soak all the cakes.
How to properly soak a sponge cake using homemade syrup?
Above we have presented several options for how to make sugar syrup at home. However, this is not enough to ensure that you get a delicious and as tender cake as possible. Therefore, we decided to tell you about how to properly soak biscuits with ready-made syrups.
First of all, we need to determine what kind of cakes we have. In other words, you should identify the dry ones or In the first case, you will need quite a lot of self-prepared syrup. If your cakes are wet and greasy, then impregnation can be used in a minimal amount.
A regular spray bottle sprays sugar syrup quite well and evenly over the surface of the biscuit. However, you should fill it with still warm impregnation, otherwise it will not pass through the tube.
If a spray bottle is not at hand, then the homemade cake can be soaked using usually a dessert spoon. Use it to scoop out sugar syrup in small quantities. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the impregnation is distributed evenly throughout the biscuit. Otherwise, in one place the cake will remain somewhat dry, and in another it will simply flow.
If using a small spoon seems inconvenient for you, then this confectionery procedure can be carried out using a regular culinary brush.
As soon as the sponge cake is completely soaked in granulated sugar, and also covered with cream and decorated with various confectionery powders, the finished cake is put into the refrigerator for 5-6 hours, or even better, overnight. In the morning, the cakes will soften well, become tender and very tasty.
Let's sum it up
What kind of syrup to soak a homemade sponge cake with is a matter of personal taste. Many cooks prefer to use the classic version. But to give the cake a special taste and aroma, we recommend using more original recipes. To do this, you can add cherry, chocolate or cherry to the main sugar impregnation. Also, various tinctures, juices, cognac, etc. are ideal for the same purpose. By the way, alcoholic drinks should only be added to ready-made and cooled syrup. Otherwise, under the influence of high temperatures, all their aroma will simply disappear.
Have you heard the joke: “Shall I tell you the recipe for very tasty tea? Take some cognac...
Well, it’s about the same with syrup for impregnation. It's very easy to prepare. Take cognac... and then follow your inspiration)
Meanwhile, syrup is not a joke, but serious. After all, many housewives are wondering what to soak in. And how many customers came to me from other confectioners with complaints that the cakes were dry.
Therefore, I soak almost all cakes, even if this is not in the recipe (except for Napoleon and others, where this is not required).
Of course, you need to know when to stop, as with everything, that is, the cakes should not be completely wet, as I recently tried in a pastry shop.
How to cook sugar syrup, proportions
So, the recipe for impregnation is very simple, you need to take sugar and water in equal proportions and about 5% of the initial total mass - flavoring (alcohol, fruit syrup, vanilla - whatever you like).
Products
60 g sugar
60 g water
6 ml cognac
For a regular cake, you can cook syrup from 60 grams of water and 60 grams of sugar. And 6 grams of cognac (I take five-star).
Stirring, bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes until it thickens just a little.
Then cool to room temperature (otherwise the alcohol will evaporate) and add cognac.
Properly prepared syrup for soaking sponge cakes will make the cakes softer, more tender, and tasty. Modern housewives can use our proven, most successful recipes. The eight simplest and fastest of them are published below.
The syrups used for impregnation contain an average of 50% sugar. Its density is determined by taste, stickiness and appearance, as well as by the boiling point of the solution: with increasing concentration of sugar in water, the boiling point rises.
Ingredients: 110 g granulated sugar, 160 ml filtered water, 60 ml cognac.
Sugar syrup will make the sponge cakes soft and juicy.
- For cooking sweet syrup, only thick-walled dishes are always used.
- Granulated sugar is poured into the bottom of the selected pan. Filtered water is poured there.
- The ingredients must be thoroughly mixed so that all the sweet grains dissolve in the liquid.
- The pan is placed on the fire until the syrup boils. As soon as the first bubbles appear on its surface, you can remove the container from the heat.
Cognac is added to sugar syrup that has already cooled to room temperature. You can use it to soak the cakes right away. The biscuit should be cooled.
Coffee soak recipe
Ingredients: half a glass of purified water and full-fat milk, 2 large spoons of natural coffee, a glass with a heap of granulated sugar.
- First, you need to process the coffee in a coffee grinder. Next, it is poured with the specified amount of boiling water and cooked until tender. No sugar is added to the liquid.
- The resulting drink is slightly cooled and filtered.
- In a separate saucepan, sugar is dissolved in warm milk. The mixture is sent to the stove and brought to a boil. There should be no whole sweet grains left in it, otherwise they will be strongly felt in the finished syrup.
- Immediately after the first bubbles appear, the liquid from the second step is poured into the mixture.
All that remains is to cool the coffee syrup and use it for its intended purpose.
For the chocolate sponge cake
Ingredients: ¼ cup full-fat milk, 2 large spoons of unflavored liqueur, half a glass of granulated sugar, ¼ cup purified water, 2 large spoons of instant coffee.
This syrup will give the biscuit a unique coffee aroma. - Coffee is poured with boiling water and left to brew.
- While the drink is brewing, sugar is poured into the pan. It needs to be filled with hot milk and put on the stove.
- Bring the sweet milk mixture to a boil over low heat. The future syrup must be stirred constantly.
- Ready coffee is poured into the base for impregnation. The ingredients are mixed until smooth.
After the syrup has cooled, liqueur is added to it. The finished impregnation is immediately poured over the biscuit cakes.
Lemon syrup for soaking the cake
Ingredients: 6 large spoons of granulated sugar, half a liter of filtered water, 4 large spoons of cognac, large fresh lemon.
- First of all, the fruit is thoroughly washed and wiped dry. Using a grater with the smallest divisions, the zest is removed from it. This must be done in such a way as not to touch the white pulp. Otherwise, the finished syrup will taste bitter.
- The juice is squeezed out of the remaining citrus component. You need to make sure that no bones get into the liquid.
- The water is brought to a boil over low heat. Granulated sugar is poured into it.
- When the liquid reaches a boil, add zest and lemon juice. 2-3 spoons will be enough.
- The container with the sweet mass is removed from the heat.
When the lemon syrup for impregnation has cooled completely, it needs to be strained and combined with cognac. If desired, you can exclude an alcoholic drink from the recipe. or use white/dark rum.
With cognac
Ingredients: 240 g granulated sugar, 320 ml filtered water, 3 large spoons of cognac.
Impregnation with cognac will make the biscuit more refined. - Water is poured into a saucepan. When the liquid warms up a little, granulated sugar needs to be completely dissolved in it.
- The mixture is brought to a boil with frequent stirring, and then removed from the heat.
- The impregnation is cooled at room temperature.
All that remains is to add cognac to the syrup and mix it well. The cold mixture can be used to soak sponge cakes or muffins.
Creamy impregnation - step by step
Ingredients: 380 ml medium fat cream, 8-9 large spoons of condensed milk (not boiled!).
- To prepare such a delicate impregnation, you will need to combine condensed milk and cream. Both dairy products must be thoroughly cooled beforehand.
- The resulting mixture is whipped using a special blender attachment or mixer until smooth.
- The finished mass is immediately used to soak sponge cakes.
If you use the thickest possible cream for such a mixture, the result will be too thick.
From sour cream
Ingredients: liter of sour cream, 45 g of vanilla and 150-170 g of regular sugar.
Sour cream impregnation is a classic in almost all home recipes. - For the impregnation under discussion, it is best to use liquid store-bought sour cream. Of course, homemade is much tastier, but it is more suitable for making cream.
- First add regular sand to the sour cream, and then vanilla sugar.
- For the first few minutes, the ingredients are mixed with a wide spoon.
- Next, you will need to thoroughly beat the mass with a mixer or blender until all the sweet grains are completely dissolved in it.
- The finished impregnation is moved to a cool place for 30-40 minutes.
Before using it to coat the cakes, the mixture is re-beaten for 1-2 minutes.
Caramel syrup
Ingredients: 160 g of white granulated sugar, 160 ml of purified filtered water, 20-25 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- First you need to combine sugar with fruit juice. These ingredients are placed in a bowl with a thick bottom and walls.
- The mass is heated over low heat. During the process, the sweet grains should completely dissolve in the citrus juice.
- The future syrup warms up for a couple more minutes.
- Cool boiling water is poured into the container.
- After thoroughly mixing the ingredients, the mass is cooked over low heat with systematic stirring.