Old Fashioned Hot Milk Cake Recipe

Every time we have a special occasion in our family, I break out my grandmother’s hot milk cake recipe.

I make it for my dad on his birthday and my kids on their birthdays. Sometimes we make it just because we can.

Is there anything better than warm, old-fashioned hot milk cake?

I submit that there is not.

This is my Mommom’s recipe. You probably already have all of the ingredients in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk
• 1 stick of butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 cups of all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• a pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Beat 4 eggs together with 2 cups of sugar in a large bowl. Stir in vanilla.

2. Combine the sifted flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl.

3. Slowly add the flour mixture to the eggs and sugar until it forms a dough.

4. Heat the butter and milk on the stove until it just starts to bubble. Do not let it boil. The butter should be completely melted.

5. Add the hot milk to the rest of the ingredients and stir until completely mixed. It will form a thin batter.

6. Bake in a 9×9 or round cake pan at 350º for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Variations:

I topped this one with cinnamon sugar. Sometimes Mommom would cut up fresh peaches in the summer and add them to this cake batter, topped this way. Her “peach cake” was pretty famous among her church friends. I remember them calling her to request it for their birthdays. Note that if you add fruit, the cake may take longer to bake.  

You can top it with your favorite icing.

For birthdays Mommom always topped it with a simple icing made from powdered sugar, a few teaspoons of milk, vanilla extract, and whatever color food coloring we wanted.

Or her chocolate icing which was made out of Nesquick combined with a splash of boiling water, melted butter, and powdered sugar.

My husband’s favorite variation of hot milk cake has a peanut butter and chocolate topping. Make this one in a 13x 9 pan because you need space for the topping. Spread your favorite creamy peanut butter on top of the cake while it is still warm. Let it cool, then melt a bag of chocolate chips or a few Hershey’s chocolate bars and pour them on top. When they cool, you’ll have separate layers of peanut butter and chocolate. This version tastes just like the peanut butter Kandy Kakes made by Tastykake.  

**Please note that sometimes this cake takes longer to bake than the time listed. Start checking it at 35 minutes. Often it will be done then, but it can take up to an hour depending on your oven, elevation, etc. 

For an EVEN EASIER simple dessert recipe from my grandmother, check out: