Hot Milk Cake

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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.

A hot milk cake on a cooling rack.


 

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.

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for hot milk cake.

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

  1. 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.
Dry ingredients for hot milk cake next to a greased bundt pan.
  1. 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.
Butter, milk, and vanilla cooking in a saucepan.
  1. Meanwhile, in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes.
Hot milk cake batter in a mixing bowl.
  1. 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.
Hot milk cake batter in a mixing bowl.
  1. 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.
Hot milk cake cooling in a bundt pan.
  1. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack or serving plate to cool completely.
A hot milk cake on a cooling rack.
  1. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
A hot milk cake on a cooling rack.

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, and use scalded chocolate milk to the batter 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.
Slices of hot milk cake on plates.

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:

  1. Bring butter, evaporated milk, and sugar to a boil, stirring to melt the sugar.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and chopped nuts.
  3. Spread mixture on the warm cake and place under the broiler until golden, watching the topping closely.
Slices of hot milk cake on plates.

Recipe FAQs

What is the history of Hot Milk Cake?

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.

Can you reduce the amount of sugar in Hot Milk Cake?

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.

How do you serve Hot Milk Cake?

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

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A hot milk cake on a cooling rack.

Hot Milk Cake

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.
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 12 servings (1 slice each)
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 307
4.98 from 244 votes

Ingredients 

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

  1. Milk: This recipe uses a technique called scalding which heats the milk, thus the name Hot Milk Cake. Do not substitute buttermilk.
  2. Yield: This cake makes 12 delicious slices of Hot Milk Cake (or more or less depending on how you slice it).
  3. Storage: Store extra cake covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
  4. 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 307kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 5gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 355mgPotassium: 77mgFiber: 1gSugar: 34gVitamin A: 349IUCalcium: 78mgIron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. This was delicious! I did halve the sugar and it turned out perfectly sweet. I also wanted to use some peaches I canned last summer, and since I made it in the bundt pan I figured an upside-down cake might not be the best way to go since it would compete with the pretty pattern the bundt pan makes. So I put the peach slices on top of the cake before I put it in the oven and when the cake was done and I cut into it, I was delighted to see that they migrated down to the bottom (which was actually the top) of the cake and they made a pretty and delicious addition to the cake.

  2. This was very good and pretty easy. Next one I will make it as a chocolate cake.

    Made the vanilla one this time and put Lemon Curd on the slices!!5 stars

  3. Would it work if I made this better into cupcakes? I wanted to bring to a party and I’ve never made it.
    Thanks!

    1. Hi Wendy, a reader wrote they baked this recipe as cupcakes and they took about 25 to 30 minutes. Mini cupcakes would take less time, approximately 15 to 20. The bake time will likely vary for your oven, so keep an eye on them and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, with a few crumbs attached. Just make sure to not over-bake. Happy baking! – Meggan

    1. Hi Molly, I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t say for sure. Sorry about that. While I do think you can, it may take some adjusting to make sure the cake comes out properly. I would instead add some orange zest to the batter, and use some orange juice and zest in a powdered sugar icing instead of dusting the cake with regular powdered sugar. Here’s the recipe to make the icing, and I would use some juice instead of some or all of the milk. https://www.culinaryhill.com/powdered-sugar-icing/ I hope this helps! – Meggan

  4. This cake was seriously the BEST cake I have every tried from scratch….I only baked 45 minutes and it was perfect….my oven tends to bake faster when it comes to cakes. Everyone from my hubby, inlaws, toddlers, neighbors, they all Loved it! Thank you so much…..the best part is that it was Easy and Quick.I will make it again soon with a berry and whipped cream frosting filling…just didn’t have room to refrigerate it…and there was not a crumb left over!!!5 stars

    1. I’m so happy it was a hit, Gloria! You’re so welcome. I hope the next one is just as great! (Berries and whipped cream sound amazing!) – Meggan

    1. Hi Ellen, thank you so much for your question. A reader wrote they baked this recipe as cupcakes and they took about 25 to 30 minutes. Mini cupcakes would take less time, approximately 15 to 20. The bake time will likely vary for your oven, so keep an eye on them and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, with a few crumbs attached. Just make sure to not over-bake. Happy baking! – Meggan

  5. Made it twice with half the sugar (children). Both times amazing it’s a foolproof recipe. Thank you for sharing it.5 stars

  6. I found this recipe because I was looking for something that uses a lot of milk.

    This tasted amazing substituted with 100% whole wheat king arthur’s flour. I also used half the sugar (turbinado). I’m sure the original version is delicious, too. If you are someone who cuts sugar down in recipes like I do, this one works amazing!

    I did not make the topping because I prefer things a bit less sweet, and I’m excited to try adding cardamom next time.

    I know that I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I am giving it five stars because of how flexible it was.5 stars

    1. Hi Sai, I’m delighted that you loved it and found it flexible! Take care! – Meggan

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