A few weeks ago I came across The New Boston Globe Cookbook while the HH and I were at the library. After thumbing through it for a few minutes, I decided to bring the cookbook home. Five recipes in the book caught my eye, and this recipe for hot milk cake was one of them.
When it came time to bake the cake though, I had overlooked the part about needing a one piece 10 inch tube pan {a regular pan with a removable bottom would have leaked because of the thin batter according to the authors}. So we made do with a bundt pan instead, {only using about 75% of the batter so the cake wouldn’t overflow. 😉
And guess what?
Darrrrrrrrling, the cake was FABULOUS! And unique. And has a VERY old fashioned and wonderful taste to it. After much deliberation, we decided the hot milk cake tasted like a cross between a pound cake and an angel food cake. Not to heavy, not to light, but just right.
In my opinion, this would be the PERFECT cake to bring along to a pot luck, or to serve at a family gathering. The cake itself {much like my neighbor Carole’s creamy grape salad recipe, is very unassuming, but after that first bite, people will be trying to track you down for the recipe. 😉 And that my friends, is when you know you’ve got a winner.
Make it! The cake is AWESOME.
~Mavis
Hot Milk Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 /2 teaspoon salt
- 6 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups milk {I used 2%}
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 1-piece 10-inch tube pan and line the bottom of the tube pan with a circle of parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper and dust the baking pan with flour. If you don’t have a 10 inch tube pan, simply butter and flour an ordinary bundt pan and fill the pan about 3/4th of the way full with batter.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until thickened and the mixture ribbons onto itself when the beaters are lifted {about 5 minutes}.
In a saucepan, heat the milk and butter to scalding.
With the mixer set on low, beat the vanilla into the eggs and sugar and then add the flour mixture slowly, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl until everything is combined.
Beat the hot milk mixture into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cool cake for 20 minutes, then remove from pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled. Remove parchment paper and dust with powdered sugar.
Vicki B. says
Hot milk cake is one of my favorite vanilla cakes, along with 1-2-3-4 cake and pound cake. I’m always amazed at how many variations to plain vanilla cake there are!
KC says
What’s its shelf life, more or less? Decent on the second or third day, or is this more of a First Day Best cake?
Thank you!
Mavis Butterfield says
We were stil eating it on day four. Keep the cake covered and you’ll be fine.
Lana says
This sounds wonderful and I have the pan! It was my grandmothers and I use it all the time.
Katherine says
I bet this would be delicious with some strawberries!
Nancy from mass says
My dad used to make this (and I do too). We called it a boiled milk sponge cake. It’s so Goodall!
Kerri Adams says
I grew up knowing this cake as Sponge Cake. We always frosted it with chocolate icing. It was my grandmother’s recipe.
Candice says
Hi Mavis!
My grandmother made this cake all the time. It was her go-to cake for every occasion! I haven’t had it in ages so i am going to try making it some time soon. BTW-thank you for making me laugh! I especially love your posts with the pilgrim costume! 🙂 Oh-and I have a crazy Lucy, too, but she is a cat and also very spoiled.
Kirsten G. says
When you made it in the bundt pan, what did you do with the extra batter?
auntie says
Is that right?—2 tablespoons of baking powder? Seems like alot.
Mavis Butterfield says
It’s 2 TEASPOONS. Not tablespoons.
Debbie - MountainMama says
Oh this is definitely going on my TO DO list asap!! It sounds perfect!
Jen says
What’s the trick to getting it to come out of the pan so nicely? No matter how I butter and flour a bundt pan, or how long I let it cool after cooking, the top looks like a DISASTER. What’s the secret? Help!
Christine says
Making this for Valentine’s Day and it’s almost done in the oven. Looking good!!!!!
Julie says
Can I make this in an angel food pan??
Patti Vanderbloemen says
You recently reposted this recipe on your blog (January 2021) and I finally broke down to bake it four days ago. This is quite possibly the best “from scratch” cake I have ever tasted! I shared ha,d with my sisters family…and she was so grateful! I will make this one again…and again! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jenny says
Yes, wonderful cake! A real sponge cake is different, but this is equally good and way easier!
I read an old household hint about keeping a note taped inside a cupboard listing the capacity of all our cookware. (Some has it imprinted already). Or maybe write on pans w permanent marker.
Fill up your Bundt cake, round cake, various casseroles, pots with water and then measure it and write it down. Measure your Baki g sheets, loaf pans, pie pans (8”? 9”? 10”?) – much easier to know ahead of time than right in the middle of cooking! It’s especially helpful for vintage, odd-sized containers, or for those of us who have lots of pans.