Burnt Sugar Cake

To blog a food blog. My mother is an avid baker and this cake marks the birth of my food blog - a tribute to my mother. This cake is a staple dessert in my family. Though it was not one of my favorites when I was young, this has become one today. This cake is rich, moist and delicious. In the first and each bite, you will taste the slight bittersweetness of the burnt sugar - similar to that of like maple or palm sugar but not quite the same.

The ingredients used in this cake is what most baker or cook can find in her or his kitchen. The method is old-fashioned. What differs is the addition of burnt sugar syrup that you need to prepare and let cooled before you start to make the cake.

Burnt Sugar Cake
A Old Family Recipe From My Mother
Makes 5 Loaf 6x 3 Inches Cakes

The Cake
1 lb caster sugar
1 lb flour
12 oz butter (ie. One and half blocks of what's sold here)
10 eggs
2 teaspoonful of baking powder
1 tbls Vanilla essence

Burnt Sugar Syrup
1/3 sugar
3/4 cup hot water

Heat oven at 180-200 degrees or gas mark 4. In a pan, heat sugar till medium brown. Slowly pour in hot water. Set aside to cool. Grease & flour loaf tins. You need two bigs ones, or few small ones. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter till light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the flour one third at a time, alternate with burnt sugar syrup. Do not overmix. Pour in the mixture in loaf tin. 2/3 full. The cake will rise. Bake for 45 min to 1 hour. Or when inserting skewer, it comes clean. Stand cake in tins for 10 min. before turning them out onto wired rack to cool completely.