Golden Syrup Sponge Cake Recipe - Saveur.com. This sticky dessert, sometimes called treacle sponge, is as at home in an English pub as it is at an elegant dinner, like the ones held at Formal Hall. It&#x27;s traditionally baked or steamed in a pudding basin—an aluminum or earthenware bowl designed specifically for pudding—but any sturdy 3-cup ovenproof bowl will do.