Hot Milk Cake

Hot milk cake is one of the oldest, simplest American cake recipes, and it’s stayed popular for good reason. Eggs whipped until thick and pale provide all the lift. No creaming butter with sugar, no separating eggs. Just beat the whole eggs for a full 5 minutes until they’re thick enough to ribbon off the beater.

The hot milk and melted butter get poured into the batter at the very end. That blast of heat helps the batter absorb the fat and liquid instantly, creating an incredibly tender, fine-grained crumb that stays moist for days. A full tablespoon of vanilla gives it a rich, warm flavor.

This cake is purposely plain. It’s a canvas for whatever you want to do with it: eat it with berries and whipped cream, frost it, or toast a slice with butter.

Pro Tips

• Beat the eggs at high speed for the full 5 minutes. Underbeating means a flat, dense cake
• Heat the milk and butter just until the butter melts. Don’t let it boil or the milk can scald
• Beat the hot milk in at low speed so you don’t deflate all the air you just whipped into the eggs
• Test at 30 minutes. Overbaking dries out this style of cake quickly

Variations

• Top with a broiled coconut-brown sugar topping while the cake is still warm
• Add lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice for a citrus version
• Bake in two round pans for a layer cake and fill with jam and whipped cream