If you like the smell of hot milk, this hot milk cake (aka great depression cake) will please you. With basic ingredients, you can enjoy a vanilla scented sponge cake.
If you like the smell of hot milk, this fluffy hot milk cake will hit the right place. You will love the vanilla scent of this cake, too.
Hot milk cake is also known as a great depression cake due to its popularity during the great depression period in the 1930s. With a common pantry items, you can still create a lovely dessert and this hot milk cake recipe was welcomed in the frugal time.
The cake itself has a sponge cake texture but it’s much easier to make. The most difficult part of the recipe is beating the eggs to a full volume.
I definitely recommend to use an electric mixer to do the job. You can, of course, beat them by hand. I am sure that would make your arm muscle much stronger. Great exercise!
This is a simple cake and you can dress up with any toppings of your choice.
What are the key ingredients?
- butter
- milk
- eggs
- flour
- baking powder
- vanilla paste or extract
You might already have most of the ingredients in your pantry. This hot milk cake is a perfect quarantine recipe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Best method to heat the milk
Combine butter and milk in a small sauce pan and leave it on a low heat to heat up. Make sure you don’t boil the milk. You want your milk to be scalding hot, but not boiling.
What pan should I use to make the cake?
You can use literally any size or shapes of the baking pans. You will need to adjust the baking time accordingly though.
I made mine in 8 mini bundt pans this time. I have made it in a 9-inch round pan, a large 10-cup bunt pan, loaf pan, etc. This is a very forgiving cake and they all baked very nicely.
How do you serve this cake?
You can serve as is with some powdered sugar sprinkled on top. I like to present with fresh berries and whipped cream on the side. You can serve it as humble as it can be, or as fancy as you want. Your choice!
Hot Milk Cake
Equipment
- 8 mini bundt pans or 1 large 10-cup bunt pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1-1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- powdered sugar to sprinkle
- fresh berries and whipped cream to garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour 8 mini bunt pans or a (10-cup) large bunt pan.
- Put butter and milk in a small sauce pan and leave it over low heat until scalding hot
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- Beat eggs on high speed in a electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Gradually add the sugar a little bit at a time. Add the vanilla and mix until the eggs turns to pale yellow, about 4-5 mimutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the eggs and fold together gently.
- Pour the scalding hot milk to the cake batter and stir them gently.
- Pour the batter to the and and bake in the preheated oven. 25-30 minutes for mini bundt pans or 45-60 minutes for a large bundt pan.
- Rest the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Take out the cake from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
- Sprinkle with a little bit of powdered sugar. Garnish with fresh berries and serve with whipped cream if you wish.
These mini bundt cakes look super cute and I bet they taste really yummy made with hot milk batter!
Hi Holly, love your recipes!
I’m from Italy and we use the metric system. What does ‘1 cup’ mean in grams?
In U.S we use cup measurement as a volume, so the weight of 1 cup can vary depends on what’s in it. For example, 1 cup plain flour=120g, 1 cup sugar=198g, 1 cup liquid (milk or water, etc)=240ml. Hope this helps.
To what degree do you preheat the oven to?
350˚F or 175˚C