Do most of you brush on a flavored or simple syrup before frosting or is this only a "sometimes" thing?

I use a spray bottle and put a fine mist on every layer.

I only use it if it is part of the recipe and adds another flavor dimension to a cake structured to accept the syrup. I never add it for moisture. Achieving a moist cake should be inherent in the recipe, not an add on. What flavor are you thinking, or just in general? I'll be happy to share.

Susan

Just a general question. I don't want to be missing something important if it can "make" a cake. I don't normally see it in recipes, but I do see it referenced here sometimes - so figured it would be good to find out more about this!

Aside from a planned part of recipe, it is used as a correction if the cake is dry or overbaked. A better recipe and rebaking a mistake are my opinion.

Cakes do not need simple syrup to be moist. I have cakes so moist they look wet if that is my goal. There are too many recipes out there that will give the desired results without adding outside moisture.

I have two cakes that employ simple syrup. The cake structure itself is designed to accept the syrup, the result being a correct structure. One is my coconut cake. The syrup is infused with coconut to add another flavor dimension. The other cake is a champagne cake, shared first by snarkybaker and then tweaked by some CC members. The cake is set up for a rather large amount of a simple syrup and liqueur concoction.

I have many recipes that brush on liqueurs. But again, the structure plans for the addition.

If anyone has a cake that is too dry and needs simple syrup, CC is a great place to have the recipe analyzed or alternate, more moist recipes are always shared. If you are baking a cake and it's for sale, if it is overbaked, it should be rebaked, not sprayed.

Thank you - that makes a lot sense.