The function of inversion syrup: Keep the mooncake crust soft and enhance the coloring of the cake crust. You can use gold syrup instead, syrup can be purchased in supermarkets. A common brand is the American King brand. If you can’t find it in the supermarket, you can also use corn syrup instead, but the color will be affected to a certain extent.

The role of sap water: mainly for coloring, and secondly to neutralize the acidity of syrup. If you don't have soda water, you can use equal parts baking soda and water instead.

Cantonese-style mooncakes without invert syrup and water will not only affect the color of the mooncakes, but also affect the taste. The mooncakes cannot remain soft.

Extended information:

The sugar is boiled by adding water and acid to a certain time and appropriate temperature, and then cooled. This syrup can be stored for a long time without crystallization, and is mostly used in Chinese moon cake skins, saqima and various products that replace sugar. Invert syrup is rich in sugar and is an essential ingredient for cakes.

Steps/Methods

1. Raw materials: 400 grams of fine sugar, 200ML of water, 50ML of fresh lemon juice.

2. Prepare a stainless steel pot (do not use an iron pot or aluminum pot) and put the sugar into the pot. Add water and stir slightly with chopsticks to mix the sugar and water. Heat over medium heat, please do not stir afterward to prevent the sugar from sticking to the walls of the pan.

3. After the sugar water boils and there are no more sugar particles, pour in fresh lemon juice. After boiling again, turn to low heat and simmer slowly. From this point until the end of boiling the syrup, remember not to stir the sugar water again. If some of the sugar water sticks to the wall of the pot. In order to prevent this part of the sugar from producing sugar crystal particles, you can take a brush dipped in water and brush it around the wall of the pot. When the water flows down the wall of the pot, the sugar on the wall of the pot can be washed into the pot.

4. Keep cooking slowly over low heat. Cook for about 40 minutes to 1 hour. The longer you cook, the darker the syrup will be.

5. After cooking the syrup, turn off the heat. After the syrup cools, find a sealed jar or bottle with a lid, put the syrup in it, and leave it for 1 day before use. The longer it is left, the better the effect will be. Inversion syrup has a strong preservative ability. You can make a little more at a time. If you don’t use it up this year, you can still use it the next year.

6. Because the syrup will be thicker after cooling than when it is hot. Therefore, if the consistency is thinner than honey when cooking, it will be fine. It will become thicker after cooling. If you find that the syrup is too thick halfway through, you can add some water.

Extended source of information:

Baidu Encyclopedia Inversion Syrup