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If youโre looking for the fluffy, perfect vanilla cake your grandma (and mine) used to make, this Hot Milk Cake recipe is definitely the one. Made with scalded milk, this lovely, old-fashioned cake is soft, sweet, and absolutely foolproof.
Dressed up in a million different ways or eaten as-is, one bite of Hot Milk Cake will take you back to your childhood. For that reason, this time-tested family recipe is the near and dear to my heart. And of course, it makes a fabulous birthday cake, too!
Maurice Sendak said it best in his book โIn the Night Kitchen:โ milk in the batter, milk in the batter, we bake cake and nothingโs the matter! Heโs right. When thereโs Hot Milk Cake, very little can go wrong.
Hot Milk Cake ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Milk: This recipe uses a technique called scalding, which heats the milk, thus the name Hot Milk Cake. Do not substitute buttermilk.
Step-by-step instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup tube pan or Bundt cake pan. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in milk and vanilla and continue to heat until small bubbles form around the outside of the pan and the mixture is very hot but not boiling. Reduce heat to low.
- Meanwhile, in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes.
- Once the egg and sugar mixture has tripled in volume, slowly add the hot milk mixture, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing after each addition until just incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, checking at 55 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean, with a few crumbs attached, but do not over-bake.
- Cool 10 to 15 minutes in the pan. Invert onto aย cooling rackย set over aย baking sheetย and cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Hot Milk Cake tips and variations
- Yield:ย This cake makes 12 delicious slices of Hot Milk Cake (or more or less, depending on how you slice it).
- Storage:ย Store extra cake covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer:ย Cool Hot Milk Cake to room temperature, then wrap it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.
- Cinnamon: Add a dash of cinnamon for extra spice and warmth.
- Almond Hot Milk Cake: Add almond extract in place of the vanilla and top with slivered almonds.
- Chocolate Hot Milk Cake: Add ยผ cup of your best cocoa powder to the dry ingredients in step 1, and scald chocolate milk for an ethereal chocolate cake thatโs just as easy to make.
- Hot Milk Cake with fruit: This cake makes an excellent peach, plum, or Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Arrange fruit on the bottom of the cake pan, pour batter over, then bake as directed. Invert before serving.
Caramel Coconut Topping for Hot Milk Cake
Ingredients:
- 1 ยฝ cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 ยฝ cups butter
- ยฝ cup evaporated milk (or half and half)
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- ยพ cup chopped nuts
Directions:
- Bring butter, evaporated milk, and sugar to a boil, stirring to melt the sugar.
- Remove from heat and stir in coconut and chopped nuts.
- Spread mixture on the warm cake and place under the broiler until golden, watching the topping closely.
Recipe FAQs
One of the first sightings of Hot Milk Cake was in 1911, but it continued to grow in popularity due to itโs simplicity. It really became a well-known recipe during the Great Depression, where modest food had to stretch to feed hungry families, and every last drop of food was used and saved. Grandmothers and mothers had to make do with what they had, and often the last of the dayโs milk was used to make this simple cake for special occasions.
While I havenโt personally tested this, readers have successfully made this cake with as little as half the amount of sugar. That can be helpful if youโre looking to cut back on your sugar intake, or youโre planning to serve it with my caramel coconut topping.
This is the kind of cake that I could easily nibble all afternoon until there was nothing left, but if you have patience and intend to serve this for dessert, try a dollop of whipped cream, some fresh berries, or a scoop of ice cream. Readers also love chocolate sauce on top.
More fabulous cakes to try
Cake Recipes
Danish Layer Cake (Dansk Lagekage)
Chocolate Recipes
Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake
Cake Recipes
Vanilla Cheesecake
Cake Recipes
Pig Pickin Cake
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Hot Milk Cake
Equipment
Ingredientsย
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting the pan
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup milk (see note 1)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- Powdered sugar for dusting, optional
Instructionsย
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup tube pan or Bundt cake pan. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in milk and vanilla and continue to heat until small bubbles form around the outside of the pan and the mixture is very hot but not boiling. Reduce heat to very low.
- Meanwhile, in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes.
- Once the egg and sugar mixture has tripled in volume, slowly add the hot milk mixture, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing after each addition until just incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, checking at 55 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean, with a few crumbs attached, but do not over-bake.
- Cool 10 to 15 minutes in the pan. Invert onto aย cooling rackย set over aย baking sheetย and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Milk: This recipe uses a technique called scalding which heats the milk, thus the name Hot Milk Cake. Do not substitute buttermilk.
- Yield:ย This cake makes 12 delicious slices of Hot Milk Cake (or more or less depending on how you slice it).
- Storage:ย Store extra cake covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer:ย Cool Hot Milk Cake to room temperature, then wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.
Pretty delicious. I made the cake with a little bit less sugar and an 8 inch round springform pan (the over flow batter into smaller pans) in a small convection oven. It came out pretty good but very thick.
I made a glaze like the one listed. I took 2 cups whole milk and reduced it, added half a cup of butter and a cup of brown sugar and reduced it until it was thick and poured it over the warm cakes. Next time I make it I would cut the cake into two because the top half of the cake was super delicious and Iโd like the second half to taste as good. Without the glaze itโs great to eat with tea and not dry at all but with the glaze itโs amazing.
Thank you for taking the time to write, Melisssne! Iโm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks again! โ Meggan
I just made and it is perfect, I made exactly as it is written and is not too sweet to me at all. Itโs perfect! Thanks for recipe that helped me get some milk used up!
Iโm so happy you loved it, Marsha! Youโre welcome! โ Meggan
SHOULD I SIFT THE FLOUR OR NOT? ALSO SHOULD I USE CAKE FLOUR OR GOLDMEDAL FLOUR? AND DEPENDING ON WHICH FLOUR I USE WHEN SHOULD I SIFT
Hi Waymon, yes. Please sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. The flour should be all-purpose, and it can be whichever brand you have on hand. I donโt personally specifically recommend cake flour because I havenโt tried it with that, and the readers have shared mixed reviews on it. Iโd rather not ruin your day/waste your ingredients with something I havenโt tried. Sorry about that! I hope you love this cake! โ Meggan
Hi- can you make this recipe in 2 rounds instead of a bunt pan?
Thank you!
Hi Sarah! Yes, I would start checking them for doneness at 30 minutes. I hope you love it! โ Meggan
Two cups of sugar for a cake of this size is pure insanity.
Hi Alice, other readers have reduced the sugar to 1 cup and enjoyed it. I hope you do, too. Take care! โ Meggan
Hi Meggan! I have a question about the chocolate version of the cake. In adding the 1/4 cup of cocoa, do I have to reduce the flour by 1/4 cup? Also, you said to โuse scalded chocolate milkโ , so am I adding the cocoa to the milk mixture?
Hi Krystal, Iโm so sorry for the confusion! You can add the 1/4 cup of cocoa in step one, sifting it along with the flour and other dry ingredients. You can also use chocolate milk instead of regular milk. I updated the wording. Iโm so sorry again that it wasnโt clear. โ Meggan
Great classic recipe. As others have mentioned, 1 to 1-1/2 cups sugar seems to be more than enough. Less salt works too. And works great as well baked in a 9ร13 baking pan.
Thanks, Paul! Take care! โ Meggan