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Buttermilk sugar cake cut into nine squares on a wooden board showing crackly granulated sugar crust and golden crumb

Buttermilk Sugar Cake

A soft, tangy buttermilk cake with a crackly granulated sugar crust. One bowl, 40 minutes, no mixer needed.
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Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 57 minutes
Servings: 9 squares
Calories: 310
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cake Batter
  • 240 g all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 200 g granulated sugar for batter
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp fine sea salt
  • 240 ml full-fat buttermilk room temperature
  • 115 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Sugar Topping
  • 50 g granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 175 C / 350 F. Grease a 9x9-inch square baking pan and line the base with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 200 g of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
  3. In a separate small bowl or jug, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. A few small lumps are fine. Do not overmix.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface to the edges with the spatula.
  6. Scatter the 50 g of granulated sugar evenly over the top of the batter right before baking.
  7. Bake on the center rack for 28 to 32 minutes, until the top is golden, the sugar crust looks set and dry, and the center springs back when pressed lightly.
  8. Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges immediately. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing into 9 squares.

Notes

For a nuttier depth, brown the butter until amber before cooling and adding. This single swap makes the cake taste noticeably more complex without changing the method.