burnt sugar

<em>The trick to burnt sugar cake is to use burnt sugar syrup as its main flavor. Make sure you prepare the burnt sugar syrup ahead of time so that it can properly cool and thicken. While you're at it, prepare the <a href="http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-salted-caramel-recipe/" rel="noopener">salted caramel</a> ahead of time too.</em>

Burnt Sugar Cake

(200 grams) granulated sugar

(180 milliliters) boiling water

baking powder

baking soda

salt

(1.5 sticks; 170 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

(120 milliliters) cooled burnt sugar syrup

egg whites,

(120 grams) sour cream,

vanilla extract

(120 milliliters) whole milk,

(2 sticks; 230 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

(480 grams) confectioners’ sugar

Tablespoons (30 milliliters) whole milk or heavy cream

Homemade Salted Caramel, cooled

(50 grams) chopped pecans*

For best success, read the recipe in full and watch the video tutorial in the post above before starting.

Prepare the burnt sugar syrup

first so it has time to cool. Make sure you have boiling water at the ready. For the burnt sugar syrup, place sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Best to use a 3 quart heavy-bottomed quality saucepan. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the sugar has completely melted and is amber brown, about 8-10 minutes. If the sugar is clumpy, break up the lumps with your wooden spoon. A candy thermometer is not necessary, but if you&#8217;re using one, the sugar temperature should reach about 300°F (149°C) when it&#8217;s ready. Turn the heat to low and very carefully and slowly drizzle in the boiling water, a little at a time. Stir after each addition and stand back, as the mixture will rapidly sizzle and bubble. After all of the boiling water is stirred in, stir and cook the sugar syrup for 3 more minutes on low. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely, overnight preferred. It&#8217;s imperative that the sugar syrup is completely cool. You will have about 1 cup of syrup.

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans.

Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer running on medium speed, pour in 1/2 cup of the cooled burnt sugar syrup. Beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the egg whites, sour cream, and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until combined. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not over-mix. The batter will be slightly thick.

Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. As a result of the burnt sugar syrup cooking inside the cake batter, the cakes brown nicely on top and on the sides. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack.

As the cakes cool, I suggest making the salted caramel. The salted caramel adds necessary flavor. We&#8217;ll use it as a filling and garnish. When ready to use in step 9, make sure the salted caramel isn&#8217;t too hot anymore. If it&#8217;s too hot, it will melt the frosting. If it&#8217;s too cool, it won&#8217;t drizzle. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before using. If you prepared the salted caramel ahead of time and it became too cool or too thick, microwave it for 5-10 seconds or JUST until it&#8217;s drizzle-able again. (It won&#8217;t be too hot at this point.) You can also toast the pecans during this time, too. See recipe note.

Make the frosting

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add confectioners&#8217; sugar, remaining 1/2 cup of cooled burnt sugar syrup, vanilla extract, milk/cream, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat until completely combined, about 2 minutes. Add more confectioners&#8217; sugar if frosting is too thin or more milk/cream if frosting is too thick. Taste. Add more salt if desired. (I usually use 1/2 teaspoon of salt total. I like this frosting salty/sweet.)

Assemble and frost: 

First, using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). If you have any leftover burnt sugar syrup, drizzle over leveled cakes. I usually don&#8217;t have any leftover, but this is a great place to use any last drops if you have some. Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Using a large icing spatula, evenly cover the top with frosting. Drizzle 1/4 cup of salted caramel on top of the frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30-45 minutes before finishing the frosting and garnish. The caramel inside the cake must &#8220;set.&#8221; After chilling in the refrigerator, spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Run a bench scraper around the cake to smooth out the sides, if desired. Garnish with toasted pecans and more salted caramel. Slice and serve.

Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

I made this recipe exactly as written. It is seriously the best cake I’ve ever had in my life. There are so many wonderful flavors and textures blended together - the deliciously rich cake, smooth frosting, salty sweet caramel and the crunchy toasted pecans. It is heaven. The cake does not taste burnt! It tastes like caramel. It adds an extra dimension to the sponge and the frosting so it doesn’t taste like plain vanilla. It tastes somewhere between vanilla and caramel. I highly recommend.

This cake is absolutely delicious! I am a caramel lover and this was AMAZING. I’ve never made salted caramel before and couldn’t believe I was able to do it! Thank you for all your recipes. They are incredible!

Hi Sally,

I absolutely love your detailed recipes. I tried this cake a few days ago! It tasted heavenly! The only problem was that when I started frosting it, it started crumbling. I tried to cool it in the refrigerator for some time hoping I'd be able to frost it properly but was really tough to do that. What could have gone wrong?
Thank you

Made this cake exactly and loved the flavors and textures. Took me two tries with both the syrup and caramel ....so worth starting over. Learning curve!

If you don't see the video, you may need to switch to another browser. For example, Brave wasn't displaying it so I switched to Safari and it was there.

This cake, and recipe, is everything I've been looking for. I do want to ask, could the milk in the icing be substituted for something non dairy (water, simple syrup, corn syrup, increased burnt sugar syrup, for example) so the cake doesn't need to be refrigerated and can be wrapped and kept on the counter?
Thanks for sharing your recipes.

Hi Sally, 
Congratulations on your new addition to your family your girls are beautiful. I am deeply sorry for the  loss of loving Jude. Another winning recipe Sally. I made this cake on Sunday for my coworkers and it disappeared  way before 11:30 am  I kid you not I did not get a chance to taste the cake myself but, I heard it was awesome. Thanks Sally for always making our tummies happy  much ❤️

Hi Sally,
Is there any way to incorporate the burnt sugar caramel flavor into your chocolate cake?

Oh my goodness - this is the best!!  While it is a little labor  intensive, the instructions are very clear.  I made the recipe over 2 days.  My husband and I agree this could be our new  most favorite cake. 

I made the Upgraded German Cake just before this and everyone raved. 

Love your recipes. Wish I could figure out how to avoid cooking meals and just bake!!

Beautiful cake! Moist and fragrant. Salted caramel was delicious and easy to prepare as well. I divided the layers into four so that I could add more frosting and salted caramel in between. Topped it with pretzels and cake scrap crumbles

I followed this recipe to the letter and didn’t make any substitutions but my cakes did not rise at all. :(

My Grandmother made burnt sugar cake and used a wooden spoon my Grandfather carved by hand while cooking the syrup.  I made one in memory of them; using the same spoon.   It turned out AMAZING!  Your directions made it “doable”.  THANKS for the memories.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/rYChUhZL.mp4

It’s soft, buttery, and totally worth every minute of prep time.

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