Viral TikTok recipe sending Victorian children to hospital

Children and teens from across Victoria have been seriously burnt — with several needing skin grafts — by boiling sugar for a viral TikTok recipe. Warning: Graphic images.

Violet Higgins scalded her foot when the molten toffee burnt through the plastic container she was pulling out of the microwave oven. Picture: David Caird

More than a dozen children and teenagers have been seriously burnt by boiling sugar for a viral TikTok recipe, prompting an urgent warning from Victoria’s top children’s hospital.

In just one month, the Royal Children’s Hospital has had three or four burns patients who spilt hot toffee on themselves, while at least 15 cases have been reported across Australia and New Zealand.

“Microwave tanghulu” TikToks showing fruit dipped in toffee have racked up tens of millions of views, including a small handful showing broken containers oozing the hot water and sugar mix.

But RCH burns surgeon Monique Bertinetti warned kids were suffering “significant” burns after trying to copy the recipes without adult help.

She said one-third needed skin grafts, with some facing a year-long recovery.

“We’ve certainly seen a spike in these toffee scald burns, especially in young adolescent teens who experiment off trends on social media,” she said.

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Violet’s foot was badly burnt while she was trying to follow the recipe on TikTok. Picture: Supplied

“They feel it is a safe thing to do so, but often these things that we see on social media are not particularly safe and lead to serious harm.

“A lot of these toffee incidents happened in a plastic cup in the microwave, and the toffee just burns straight through that cup and drops on to hands, abdomens or feet.”

She said sugar burns were more dangerous because the mixture sticks to kids skin – typically forcing their parents to rip it off – and continues to burn deeper and deeper.

“The temperature the toffee gets to is much higher than say a hot liquid,” she said.

“It’s a significant burn all the way through, sometimes full thickness.”

She urged parents to chat to their kids about what they see online, be involved if they want to try any trends themselves and – if their child does get harmed – run the burn under cold water for 20 minutes.

More than a dozen children and teenagers have been seriously burned by boiling sugar for a viral TikTok recipe.

‘Microwave tanghulu’ TikToks showing fruit dipped in toffee have racked up tens of millions of views.

“If we don’t get that message out to the community, we could see a further spike in these burns,” she said.

Shepparton tween Violet Higgins, 12, wanted to make tanghulu last month after seeing multiple videos on TikTok, and said she thought the microwave would be safer than a stove.

But her horrified mum was forced to rip the burning toffee from her daughter’s skin, after it melted the plastic bowl it was in and landed on a screaming Violet’s foot.

“Even after my mum pulled it off it was still burning,” she said.

“It was just sizzling, you could even hear it on my skin.”

Violet, who has now been on crutches for four weeks, had to come to the Royal Children’s Hospital so their specialist burns unit could remove the dead skin on her foot.

She said all her friends were shocked by how deep the burn was, and urged other kids to learn from her injury.

“Everyone doesn’t put the part where they hurt themselves in the video,” she said.

“They just say how fun it is, so I wanted to try it.”