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The 2-second trick that'll transform the crust of your cake

You see, some clever cooks long ago realised that if you sprinkle a cake with sugar before baking, or even just after, you will give it a slightly crispy caramelised crust that contradicts the soft crumb inside the cake in the most delicious of ways. When you sink your teeth into a slice, you get to experience an ever-so-delicate caramelised crunch.

Whether you add the sugar before or during, or even after, baking your cake does make a difference, but I’m sure you’ll find all results equally pleasing!

Sugar sprinkled on a cake before (and during) baking

Sprinkling sugar over the cake batter is such a simple thing to do (and it only takes 2 seconds), but it truly alters the crust of a cake.

The batter is sprinkled with 1 ½ tablespoons of caster sugar before baking. The cake is then baked and a thin crust forms on the top.

“While the cake bakes, the sugar creates a slightly crunchy texture on the surface of the cake,” explains taste digital food director Amira Georgy. “The sugar melts and caramelises and it forms a thin crust that contrasts with the soft interior of the cake.”

This technique offers a hint of sweetness on the surface of the cake and we find that it works very well with cakes that contain fruit. You get the bursts of sweetness from the fruit in the cake, and then just enough sweetness on top from the sugar, and so there is no need to add even more sugar in the form of icing, which would make it all sickly sweet.

“While the cake bakes, the sugar creates a slightly crunchy texture on the surface of the cake,” explains taste digital food director Amira Georgy. “The sugar melts and caramelises and it forms a thin crust that contrasts with the soft interior of the cake.”

This technique offers a hint of sweetness on the surface of the cake and we find that it works very well with cakes that contain fruit. You get the bursts of sweetness from the fruit in the cake, and then just enough sweetness on top from the sugar, and so there is no need to add even more sugar in the form of icing, which would make it all sickly sweet.