What exactly is it for and when should it be used? Does it really make a difference on moisture or taste? Can you make different flavors? My cake (covered in MMF) will be sitting for a day and wondered if it will make it seem "fresher"?

Tiptop's top tips and lowdown on simple syrup.

I create mine with equal parts water and sugar. Heat over stove until sugar is dissolved then I add flavoring of some sort: vanilla, or lemon, or mint, or raspberry or some liquors. I must say that this is a flavor to taste method - you know dribble in as seen on the Food Network cooking shows.

I add this to all of my home made scratch cakes as they tend to be drier and denser then box.

I cool the cake and add cooled syrup with a pastry brush to the tops, sides and bottom of my leveled cakes then I wrap in plastic and foil and flash freeze in the moisture. After thawing I then add my BC crumb coat and my fondant.

As I do a lot of detailed work, I like using simple syrup to keep the cake fresher for any cake but especially for my Australian String or Lambeth decorating.

HTH everyone.

Simple syrup is just sugar and water - how thick it is depends on the ration of sugar to water. Bring the water and sugar up to a boil for about a minute so the sugar dissolves, then take it off the stove and let it cool.

A light brush with simple syrup is a good way to add moisture to a cake, plus it can be flavored easily. In French baking, cakes were typically plain genoise (sponge cake) and flavor beyond that would come from the syrup used to brush them.

If your cakes are drier than you like, it's an easy fix without having to go hunting for a new recipe that is moister.

Additionally, if you're serving homemade iced tea in the summer, try serving simple syrup with it instead of sugar - sugar doesn't dissolve very well in cold drinks. You can try flavoring the simple syrup with raspberries, lemon or mint - really nice touch.