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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.
Hi Meggan this delicious cake recipe
Is there hot milk chocolate cake recipe????
Hi Salma, I don’t have a recipe for Hot Milk Chocolate Cake, but the world needs it! I’ll add it to my list. Thank you for your comment! Take care. 🙂
Hi Meggan, should i add the hot milk into the sugar-egg mixture when it still hot / slightly warm?
Hi Nia, yes. The milk was hot but then you turn the heat to low. It’s still pretty hot though when you add it in to the batter. I think that’s where the name Hot Milk Cake comes from, it’s weird but it works! Thanks for your question, I’ll fix up the post so it is clear. Thanks.
You mentioned that you updated the recipe and added butter? What did it use before?
Hi Diana, sorry for the confusion! Her recipe used less butter, not a full stick. I will go clarify that in my post (once I dig out her recipe and see exactly what amount she used; I cannot remember). Thanks.
This cake is SOOOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!! I just made 8 of these for Christmas gifts and I have heard from everyone that they love them!!!!
EIGHT! You’re amazing, Leanne! So happy that everyone loved them, it’s one of my favorite recipes. 🙂 Happy New Year!
I usually don’t bake, I just make puddings Bread & banana. I had a taste for something sweet so I started looking for a simple cake recipe. I made the hot milk cake the day after Thanksgiving. Well it came out perfect & was very good. My son & husband really enjoyed it to. So this is my go to simple cake.
Hi Vanessa, thank you so much for the kind words! I am so glad you found it, made it, and liked it. And if it passes the husband/children test, all the better. 🙂 Thanks again and take care, I appreciate your support!
I had never heard of hot milk cake til I met my former mother-in-law. It was her favorite so I HAD to find a recipe and in one of my River Roads books there it was, and it was so easy with nothing but basic ingredients!! This is a fantastic cake that’s even better with a thick chocolate buttercream frosting!!!
THICK chocolate buttercream frosting. Judy, I think you have just answered the question “What is the meaning of life?” The answer is, thick chocolate buttercream frosting. 🙂 Sounds wonderful and I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for visiting. 🙂
After reading all the comments I will definitely give it a try!!!! Any idea of the butter measure in grams? I was thinking of replacing the sugar with condensed milk, what do you think ??
Another excellent recipe Meggan. This really is a wonderful and almost forgotten vintage 1920’s-30’s cake recipe. This went right into my homemade cookbook for keeps. It’s that good. So thanks for bringing it back. One point i need to stress, and that is this recipe does need either whole or 2% milk. Some people seem to get so “worked up” about swapping out the regular ingredients for low or nonfat versions. That they don’t understand that anything less in fat content affects the flavor and texture {crumb} of the cake. Not to mention the keeping quality too. Any professional baker will tell you this. And if they do swap out to low/nonfat, you can tell immediately as the taste isn’t right. So i say, if using real butter and whole milk once in awhile gets a person upset. Then don’t bother making it! Keep up the good work Meggan.
Thank you so much for your comment Edmund! I am in culinary school now but I haven’t taken Principles of Baking yet. Once I do, all my recipes will need to be rewritten to reflect information such as what you have just provided. One thing I really believe is that fat doesn’t make you fat anyway, sugar more likely does. But anyway, I’m all about real butter and whole milk and I always have heavy cream on hand. In my cooking classes the instructors stress that restaurant food is good because they always use so much butter. And like you said, if you’re going to make a cake, make a cake! Thanks again for your comment and I will definitely put in the recipe that lean and fat-free dairy should not be used. Take care and I hope you have a lovely weekend. PS Glad you liked the cake! 🙂
Can weuwe smthng jnstead of butter?
Hey Hamdah! You could try, but I’m not sure what it would be off the top of my head. I would have to retest the recipe. Do you mean something like a vegan butter substitute (i.e., earth balance). I am not sure if those are a 1-to-1 swap. Sorry about that!
Thank you for putting up the Nutrition Facts.
Thanks for the great recipe!!! I have made this two times now. Perfect to go with any drizzle or icing. Love it!
So glad you love it! And happy I could help out (finally) with the nutrition facts. I am slowly working my way through all the recipes. You are not the only one who has asked for such information, so I’m happy to finally start sharing it. Take care! Thanks again for your kind words!