The following recipe comes from the family archives of Charlotte Lyons, cookbook author and former longtime food editor at Ebony magazine.

In matters of desserts, the African American palate remains one that loves sweet desserts. This is a brown sugar pound cake that has lasted the test of time in Charlotte’s family, with few changes. A generation after Ma Jessie Harris’s (not me!) sweet potato cake recipe entered into the family repertoire, this cake was developed by Ma Jessie’s daughter—Charlotte’s great-aunt, Myra Harris Slaughter. Here Charlotte has lightened it up while retaining the classic pound cake taste. With the light molasses flavor of brown sugar both in the cake and in the glaze, and a generous helping of nuts and coconut, this has a depth that sets it apart from other pound cakes. —Jessica B. Harris, Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine

Read our interview with Harris about her new cookbook here.

Ingredients

Brown Sugar Pound Cake
For the cake
- Softened unsalted butter and cake flour, for the pan
- 3⅓ cups cake flour, sifted
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
- 8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 lb. light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
For the glaze
- About 5 tbsp. (⅓ cup) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup evaporated milk

Preparation

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the shortening and butter on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until combined. Add both of the sugars and beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the bowl.
Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Alternating with the evaporated milk, add the flour mixture in several additions, beating to form a smooth batter. Using a spatula, fold in the coconut and walnuts. Distribute the batter evenly into the pan, smoothing the surface.
Bake until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 40 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack set over a baking sheet for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake from the pan onto the rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the evaporated milk, increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and cook until thick but spreadable, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Spread the glaze over the cooled cake and serve.

Reprinted with permission from Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine by Jessica B. Harris, copyright © 2025. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photography copyright: Kelly Marshall © 2025

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