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If you’re 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 “In the Night Kitchen:” milk in the batter, milk in the batter, we bake cake and nothing’s the matter! He’s right. When there’s Hot Milk Cake, very little can go wrong.
Table of Contents
Recipe 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.
Ingredient notes
- 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 in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack or serving plate to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This cake makes 12 delicious slices of Hot Milk Cake (or more or less depending on how you slice it).
- Storage: Store extra cake covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: 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.
- 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 ¼ cup of your best cocoa powder to the dry ingredients in step 1, and scald chocolate milk for an ethereal chocolate cake that’s 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 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ cups butter
- ½ cup evaporated milk (or half and half)
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- ¾ 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 it’s 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 day’s milk was used to make this simple cake for special occasions.
While I haven’t personally tested this, readers have successfully made this cake with as little as half the amount of sugar. That can be helpful if you’re looking to cut back on your sugar intake, or you’re 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
Ingredients
- 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
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 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 in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack or serving plate to 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: This cake makes 12 delicious slices of Hot Milk Cake (or more or less depending on how you slice it).
- Storage: Store extra cake covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: 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.
This cake had a nice texture and flavor, but I found it too sweet. Might try making it again with less sugar.
Can you freeze this cake?
Hi Antoinette, I don’t see why not. Make sure you let the cake cool completely, and then I would recommend wrapping it in press n’ seal first, and then a layer of aluminum foil after that. It should be good for 4-6 months!
I had milk that was about to expire.
Excellent recipe. Easy to follow and execute.
I will have fun with this recipe. I think this cake will taste nice with fruit compote and whipped cream.
thank you
My cake deflated when I took from oven, wondering what went wrong
Hi Jean, I’m so sorry your cake deflated! My instinct is that the cake wasn’t all the way cooked through when you pulled it out. Sometimes cakes can have a nice golden edge developing, while still needing a little more time for the middle to cook properly. Did you check it with a toothpick or a skewer prior to pulling it out? I’m so sorry again, Jean. – Meggan
Made it yesterday and mine deflated too. It was what my mom used to say was a “sad” cake meaning that it fell. I’ve read some recipes that say to only bake it 30 minutes and when mixing to beat 10 minutes….which is right?
So simple yet so good. Reminds me of a cake my Grandma used to make.
This recipe is exactly what I remember it tasting like when I was little! Perfection! I used 1.5 cups of sugar instead to cut down a bit and was still perfect, I’ll try with 1 cup next time! My kids devoured the whole cake within hours! Thanks you for this awesome recipe!!!
Do you beat or fold the flour in? I beat it in and it was a denser cake than i thought it would be! Still yummy!
Hi Sarah, the dry ingredients should be mixed in on low speed, not beaten or folded in. Sorry it turned out dense, you may have had the speed to high or mixed it too long! I’m glad you enjoyed it! – Meggan
I want to make this recipe for a Boston Cream Pie. Can I put the batter in a 9 inch pan. Would I need two pans? Also I see some have substituted cake flour. Would you recommend that?
Hi Terri, I haven’t tested the recipe that way so I don’t know for sure on your questions. I would say that yes, you will need 2 9-inch cake pans because the batter won’t all fit in one. I don’t personally specifically recommend cake flour because I haven’t tried it with that. I’d rather not ruin your day/waste your ingredients with something I haven’t tried. Sorry about that! Good luck. -Meggan
Hi , Can any fruits be added to this cake? LIke apples to amke it an apple cake? Blue berries to make it blueberry cake? Etc.
Hi Anne, I am not really sure without making it. It’s possible, but it’s equally possible that it might just be a disaster. I would love to try it out someday so I can say for sure, but for now, I don’t know! If I were going to try it, though, I would try blueberries first. They are low in moisture (vs. strawberries or raspberries or apples) and so they seem least likely to ruin your day. But again I can’t say for sure. I don’t want your cake to be terrible! Sorry about that! Good luck! -Meggan