Hot Milk Cake
Submitted by sav
Hot milk cake with eggs whipped until thick, hot butter and milk stirred in at the end, and a full tablespoon of vanilla. A tender, fine-grained sponge that stays moist for days.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
35 minREADY
70 minHot 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
Ingredients
Directions
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs at high speed until thick, about 5 minutes.
Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy.
Combine flour and baking powder; add to batter with vanilla and beat at low speed until smooth.
In a saucepan, heat milk and butter just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally.
Add to batter, beating until combined.
Pour into a greased 1 3-inch x 9-inch x 2-inch baking pan.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) F for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tests done.
Cool on a wire rack.
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