Burnt Sugar Cake

Heather
Jun 3
2 min read

Hungry for more? This recipes was featured in a podcast episode!

This recipe was shared with us by our guest, Kesia Kvill, a food and kitchen historian. It was printed in the Five Roses Flour cook book, published in 1915. It's a deliciously moist and flavourful cake that you just might request for your next birthday.

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook time: about 30 min

Yield: 9-inch single-layer cake

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
2 cups white granulated sugar, divided (you'll use two 1 cup measures of sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cold water
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup boiling water
3-4 cups icing sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and set a kettle of water to boil. You'll need it in a few mins.
Put 1 cup sugar in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Watch carefully and stir occasionally, until the sugar melts into a liquid and turns a very dark brown, but is not actually burned.
Remove from the heat and carefully drizzle in 1/2 cup boiling water. Stir and combine as best you can. It will be a syrupy consistency. Set aside to cool.
Grease a 9-inch cake pan and set aside.
Combine 2 eggs, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup cold water and 2 tsp baking powder. Whisk to combine.
Add half of the cooled burnt sugar syrup to the cake batter and mix well.
Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centre of the cake. Remove and set on a rack to cool in the pan.
Make the icing: pour the remaining syrup into a mixing bowl and add icing sugar, one cup at a time, ensuring it is completely incorporated each time. Mix on high until an icing forms. This will be a thin layer on your cake - not a thick icing!
When the cake is cooled (still in the pan), pour the icing over top and spread to the edges.
Slice and serve right out of the cake pan.