Hot Milk Cake – Simple Vanilla Flavored Plain Cake
Hot Milk Cake has a rich buttery flavor with a hint of vanilla. It is a versatile dessert that can be served plain or with toppings such as fresh berries, whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar. It is also often used as a base for other desserts such as trifles or layered cakes.
Pound cake is my favorite kind of cake that is free of any topping. I love the simple and clean flavors of the cake and when I bake it, I almost finish the whole thing myself. It is one of the few things that I fight with my boys to eat.
This recipe looked very close to the pound cake that I have made except it had hot milk added to it. It was something very different that I have never done before and hence wanted to give it a try.
This week's theme is to choose 3 recipes from the Taste of Home - Top 100 recipes. This is the first recipe that I chose and I was very happy with the outcome. I halved the recipe to make an 8 x 8 cake.
Also, I noticed that my cake browned way too quickly on the top, and hence I had to cover the top with foil and continue to bake. Other than this one tiny mishap this cake was a total hit at home and I ate more than half of it.
This cake would be perfect for summer outdoor picnics as it does not have any frosting and yet is very soft and spongy. We can serve it with some fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream frosting to make it an elegant dessert.
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 25 - 30 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Recipe adapted from - Taste of Home
Ingredients to make Hot Milk Cake - (makes an 8 x 8 pan)
- All Purpose flour - 1 cup plus 2 tbsp
- Baking Powder - 1 ¼ tsp
- Sugar - 1 cup
- Eggs - 2 (large)
- Milk - ½ cup plus 3 tbsp
- Butter - 5 tablespoon (cubed)
- Vanilla - 1 tsp
Procedure
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl.
- Beat the eggs on high until it is thick (about 4 minutes). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture gradually until they are well combined and smooth.
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk and the butter. Heat the mixture in low flame until the butter melts and the milks bubbles up on the sides.
- Add this hot milk carefully into the batter and beat until combined.
- Pour the batter into a well greased 8 x 8 pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. My cake started browning at the top at about 12 minutes and I had to cover the top of the pan with a foil to prevent it from burning.
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Recipe
Hot Milk Cake
Equipment
- Oven
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose flour plus 2 tbsp
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs large
- ½ cup Milk plus 3 tbsp
- 5 tablespoon Butter cubed
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl.
- Beat the eggs on high until it is thick (about 4 minutes). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture gradually until they are well combined and smooth.
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk and the butter. Heat the mixture in low flame until the butter melts and the milks bubbles up on the sides.
- Add this hot milk carefully into the batter and beat until combined.
- Pour the batter into a well greased 8 x 8 pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. My cake started browning at the top at about 12 minutes and I had to cover the top of the pan with a foil to prevent it from burning.
Easy to make and the outcome was Delicious!!!
Thanks a lot Jessica and glad that you tried the recipe.
Hi Sandhya, I’ve been trying out different baking recipes for only a little while now, and i cane across your reciepe and it sounded delicious and also something completely different from what i am useto or have tried! I followed the recipe as best as i could providing i had no whisker, just a fork and a sore arm and still it didnt quite fluff up the way i would have liked (my bad) But i proceeded with the instructions and the cake came out amazing! so so delicious! the only down side which im not sure if it was due to the ‘eggs not being whisked properly’ is that the cake didn’t rise that much and was still quite low down the dish. but i will definitely be trying again (with a whisk) and will probably be my go to sponge from now on because it tastes amazing! Thankyou x
That came out so good! Soft and melts in the mouth. Will be my go to cake recipe from now on. I topped it with whipped cream and fresh berries. Was difficult not to eat the whole thing on the first day. Thank you!
I have made a hundred cakes and this one is a small but mighty gem. I needed a last minute nothing fancy dessert and it went together like lightening with the ingredients all on hand. I brought it to my friends dinner still warm in the pyrex. I made a lemon glaze in a flash and poured it over and left it in the pan. This little cake is seriously good. We licked the plate clean and we joked about the name hot milk cake. A smash hit! I baked it just shy of 350 for exactly 25 just set. The texture was almost like a cheesecake. I will try a chocolate icing next time but what's better than lemon? Thank you Sandhya
Thank you so much for your feedback. I am so happy that the recipe worked for you and you all liked it as much as we do. I have to try your lemon glaze idea when I bake it next time.
Hi Sandhya! I don’t have a cake pan. Do you think this would bake well if I put the mixture in cupcake tins?
Hi Lyndie, I have not tried them in a muffin tin, but it should work. Keep an eye on the timing though as that might vary.
I made this tonight and it smelled delicious. For some reason, though, when I took it out of the oven it almost shrank some and was a bit gummy in the middle. Any suggestions on how to help this?
Thanks!
Alisha
Alisha, thanks for trying the recipe. Every oven temperature is different. Maybe yours is a little bit hotter, so maybe turn down the temperature a bit and let it cook a little longer. Also turn off the oven and let the cake sit inside for couple of minutes and then take it out. The sudden change from hot to cold might shrink the cake at times.
I checked my cake at 20 and it was still jiggling so I did exactly that. turned off the heat and left it for another 5 and voila! Perfect!
Why boiling milk. That would cook the egg when added to mixture hence crowing of the cake sooner and uneven cooking..
Anu, we beat the eggs well, add the flour and then then add the hot milk. In this recipe, as we keep beating the mixture when adding the hot milk, it mixes it uniformly and does not cook the eggs. It is what gives the beautiful texture to the cake.
Looks yummy!! My boys don’t like cakes too because of the frosting. Will definitely try this 😊
Thanks Sudha! Give it a try and let me know.
H Sandhya, I went through your blog. Everything look so perfect. I will use your recipes and update here once I make them.
Thanks for sharing and wish you good luck.
The cake turned out yummy. Thanks for sharing. I can add a lil less sugar as my lil munchkin does not like anything that is too sweet