# Burnt Sugar Cake

Burnt Sugar Cake is a historic Black Southern celebration cake that slowly faded when box mixes took over.

- Total time: 60 min
- Cuisine: American
- Category: Baked Goods
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 0.5 cup burnt sugar syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 0.5 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 0.5 cup burnt sugar syrup
- 0.25 cup evaporated milk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 cups butter, divided
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 0.5 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 4.5 cups powdered sugar

## Instructions

1. Melt sugar over medium heat until deep amber (do not stir, swirl pan).
2. Carefully add boiling water, stir smooth, simmer 3–5 min. Cool.
3. Reserve ½ cup for cake + ½ cup for frosting.
4. Heat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
5. Grease three 8-inch pans.
6. Cream butter + sugar 3–5 min.
7. Add eggs one at a time.
8. Whisk dry ingredients.
9. Alternate dry ingredients + milk into batter.
10. Mix in burnt sugar syrup + vanilla.
11. Bake 25–30 min.
12. Cool completely.
13. Boil butter, brown sugar, syrup & milk 2 minutes.
14. Cool until warm, then beat in powdered sugar, salt & vanilla.
15. Frost cake quickly before it sets.
16. Melt ¾ cup butter.
17. Boil brown sugar + cream + salt.
18. Beat into melted butter with powdered sugar.
19. Add remaining butter 1 tbsp at a time.
20. Rest 10–30 min until spreadable.
21. Fill and frost cake with traditional burnt sugar frosting.
22. Optional: cover outside with penuche frosting.
23. Finish with rustic swoops and swirls.

## Equipment

- 8-inch pans

## Tips

- Making burnt sugar syrup was a skill. You had to melt sugar to a deep amber without burning it. Then carefully add water to turn it into a syrup.
- Work fast when frosting the cake with traditional burnt sugar frosting before it sets.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DQN7Y8Frm/
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/b46471e6-7067-46ff-a727-7ed918ff3493
- Extracted: 2026-05-10

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt