Gâteau de Sirop

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Gâteau de Sirop, or “Syrup Cake,” is a Louisiana delicacy with a rich Southern history. As the main producer of sugar and cane of the country, Louisianans embraced cane syrup for its sweet, delicate flavor and often added it to various dishes. Once baked, this cake develops a crisp upper crust and a soft, tender interior. A cup of coffee or glass of bourbon would be a great complement to this cake.

Prep Time: 1½ Hours

Yields: 1 Cake

Ingredients for Cake:

• ½ cup finely minced canned pear
• ⅓ cup solid vegetable shortening
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup Steen’s™ Pure Cane Syrup
• ⅓ cup boiling water
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1½ cups flour
• ¾ tsp grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp baking soda
• vanilla ice cream for serving
• fig preserves for serving

Ingredients for Sugar-Cinnamon Topping:

• ⅓ cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 3 tbsps flour
• 3 tbsps solid vegetable shortening
• ⅓ cup roasted pecan pieces

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan then set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream shortening, sugar and syrup. Add water and mix well. Stir in egg. Add baking powder, cinnamon, salt, flour, nutmeg and baking soda, beating until smooth. Folder in minced pear pieces. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

While cake is baking, prepare topping. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for topping, mix well. When cake is done, evenly spread topping over baked cake and return to oven. Bake additional 20 minutes or until topping melts.

Remove from oven and serve warm with ice cream topped with fig preserves.

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