Golden Syrup Recipe and 7 Treacle Substitutes

Golden syrup, also known as light treacle, is a thick, amber-colored sweetener similar to honey that appears in many British baking recipes, such as treacle pudding. Producers make this inverted sugar syrup by refining cane sugar or sugar beet juice. Dark treacle, also known as black treacle or molasses, is a darker version of golden syrup. Black treacle also goes by the name of “blackstrap molasses” outside of the United Kingdom.

Golden syrup is a sweet, thick ingredient in many baking recipes. Here are four foods that commonly use golden syrup:

1. 1. ANZAC biscuits: Taking their name from the abbreviation for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, ANZAC biscuits use oats, flour, sugar, butter, golden syrup, boiling water, and desiccated coconut. They are popular in Australia and New Zealand to this day, despite first gaining popularity during World War I.
2. 2. Gingerbread: In the United States, molasses is the ingredient that gives gingerbread its color and sweetness, but in many other locations, gingerbread recipes use golden syrup. Using golden syrup gives gingerbread a lighter color and a milder flavor.
3. 3. Toffee: Traditional English toffee is a sweet, buttery, and crunchy treat that contains golden syrup. It’s a popular topping for ice cream or a stand-alone dessert, and you can dip it in chocolate and nuts, or leave it as is.
4. 4. Treacle tart: A traditional British dessert, treacle tart consists of a flaky shortcrust pastry crust filled with a thick, creamy confectionery filling flavored with treacle, another name for golden syrup. The filling also contains breadcrumbs, heavy cream, eggs, and lemon juice.

There are several ingredients you can substitute for golden treacle if you find yourself without it, including:

1. 1. Agave nectar: Much thinner than golden syrup, agave nectar is a high-fructose, low-glucose liquid sweetener. It’s almost twice as sweet as golden syrup, though, so use less agave than the recipe instructs.
2. 2. Brown rice syrup: With a nutty flavor and brown color, brown rice syrup is a good substitute for golden syrup.
3. 3. Cane syrup: Raw sugar canes reach a thick, syrupy consistency when you boil them down. The liquid somewhat resembles molasses, but cane syrup and molasses are very different ingredients.
4. 4. Corn syrup: Use light corn syrup, as opposed to dark corn syrup, as a substitute for golden syrup. The clear, sweet, sticky ingredient crystallizes easily; however, it lacks a flavor of its own and instead takes on the flavor of the other ingredients in a recipe. Corn syrup is a main ingredient in pecan pie.
5. 5. Honey: Similar in color, taste, and texture to golden syrup, honey is a good substitute for treacle. Look for a thick amber honey, rather than a super-light honey. Use the same amount of honey as you would golden syrup in a recipe.
6. 6. Light molasses: The byproduct of extracting sugar from sugar cane, grapes, or beets, molasses has a distinct flavor in the same way golden syrup does. Light molasses works as a substitute for golden syrup, and regular molasses is essentially a different name for dark treacle.
7. 7. Maple syrup: A bit thinner than golden syrup, maple syrup is a good option to replace golden syrup in recipes. The opposite is true, too—you can use golden syrup on waffles or pancakes instead of maple syrup.