My recipe for Hot Milk Vanilla Sponge Cake is the perfect classic bake. With a light tender texture, the cake is still sturdy enough for stacking or soaking up flavoring without breaking. Its versatility makes it a great base for other desserts and cakes.
Hot Milk Vanilla Sponge Cake
If you like easy bakes then this is a great one for you. Made with basic ingredients, it has all of the flavors with less of the fuss.
Whether it's filled with fluffy whipped cream and scattered with fruit or plain and simple with a delicate dusting of powdered sugar, this sponge cake recipe is bound to impress.
Ingredients used in the recipe
This cake uses basic ingredients to create absolute deliciousness:
- Milk
- Butter
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Flour: Use cake flour or all-purpose
- Baking powder
- vanilla extract
Variation
This is a basic hot milk sponge recipe making it the perfect canvas for various flavorings, fillings, and toppings.
Here are a few ideas if you would like to give it a try:
- Bake it as cupcakes, a sheet, a square, or round, depending on how you’ll be using it later. Keep in mind that baking times will vary according to the shape and size of the cake.
- Create a decadent twist on this classic by decorating with shavings of rich dark chocolate, and a creamy buttercream filling.
- Add strawberries or blueberries to whipped cream and fill generously in between the sponge cake layers.
- Serve fresh from the oven with a sprinkling of powdered / icing sugar
- For a tangy twist, drizzle, with a delicious lemon or orange-flavored glaze.
Tips for the perfect Hot Milk Sponge
Making a hot milk sponge cake is really easy, but here are a few guidelines and tips that will ensure the perfect bake ALWAYS!
Measure out the ingredients correctly. This is the key to a soft and fluffy bake. Make a point of properly measuring out your ingredients before you start baking This will ensure the perfect textured cake.
Eggs aerate better when they are at room temperature and not ice-cold.
Grease the pans before mixing so that you can pour in the batter immediately after mixing. That would help get the cake mix into the oven quickly. After mixing you shouldn’t let the batter sit for more time than necessary. The more the mixture sits, the denser the cake would be.
Do not forget to preheat the oven to the correct temperature. You are going to want the mixture to start baking as soon as possible to avoid a dense bake.
Making the Hot Milk Vanilla Sponge
Grease and line a 9x11 inch ( 21x11cm) loaf tin with parchment/baking paper.
Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C)
Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan. Heat just until the butter has melted.
With an electric mixer (hand-held or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), beat the eggs on high for 2 minutes. Gradually add in the sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until pale yellow and thickened.
Sift in the flour and baking powder. Fold roughly with a spatula, just to combine. Add in the heated butter and milk mixture.
Beat at low speed, just until the batter is combined and free of lumps.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake at 320°F ( 160°C) for 25 to 30 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Set the pan on a rack to cool. After the cake has cooled, remove the cake, and peel off the parchment paper.
Decorate as you prefer.
Enjoy ♥
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my other amazing loaf and cake recipes
Still hungry for more?
Follow on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram or Subscribe for the latest recipe updates
Hot Milk Vanilla Sponge Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup /125ml milk
- ⅓ cup / 70g butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup / 200g white granulated sugar
- 1 cup / 120g all-purpose or cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grease and line a 9x11 inch ( 21x11cm) loaf tin with parchment/baking paper. SEE NOTE 1
- Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C)
- Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan. Heat just until the butter has melted.
- With an electric mixer (hand-held or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), beat the eggs on high for 2 minutes. Gradually add in the sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until pale yellow and thickened.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder. Fold roughly with a spatula, just to combine. Add in the heated butter and milk mixture.
- Beat at low speed, just until the batter is combined and free of lumps.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake at 320°F ( 160°C) for 25 to 30 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a rack to cool. After the cake has cooled, remove the cake, and peel off the parchment paper.
- Decorate as you prefer
Video
Notes
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
Hot milk, what a clever idea!! This sponge cake looks like it would soak up some sort of delicious sauce or chocolate glaze....drooling!
Laura says
Oh, that texture! Swoon! A gorgeous cake, Ashika! And you’re so rright, a perfect canvas for everything and anything!
Emma @ Bake Then Eat says
This cakes crumb looks amazing, I have to try this very soon.
Heather says
Perfect crumb for petit fours. Lovely cake.
Hua says
Hello, this cake looks like what I'm looking for, I'm thinking of making a cake with dried fruit and nuts inside, do you think this cake batter can hold up to adding around 200grams of dried fruit?
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi, yes the fruit can be mixed into the batter. It is best to toss the dried fruit in a little flour first before adding it to the batter. This will ensure that the fruit does not sink to the bottom of the cake while baking.
I hope that this helps answer your question 🙂
Hua says
Hi! Thank you for your advice, I scaled the whole recipe up to 3 eggs and the others accordingly, but reduced the sugar to 100grams and kept the butter at 70g. I also added raisins, fresh pineapple, pickled plums, walnuts and dried hawthorn and a teaspoon of cinnamon! I was trying to make a fruitcake but wanted a more cakey cake😂 plus not so dense a texture. It turned out delicious though the fruits sank to the bottom! Thumbs up for this recipe!
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Hua, You are welcome 🙂
😂 I love your twist in this recipe, that is a LOT of fruit. I am so happy that it turned out great for you, I will have to give it a try with fruit sometime too 🙂
Hua says
Hi Ashika, I made it again yesterday and it turned out even better than the first time...so happy! I think I overmixed it the first time so the batter was too liquidy and the fruits sank to the bottom, this time around the batter held up the fruits well!
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi, that's great, I am glad it turned out well 🙂
Narges says
Hey there
I have tried different recepies with hot milk and although i have tried to stick to the actual recepy but all of my cakes have turned brown inside and quite burned on the out side
I have to say the last one i made only stayed in the oven for 25 minutes and was brown already😔
Could this have to do with the hot milk?since i hadnt experienced it before with my other cakes
Thank you for your help
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Narges, I am sorry that you are having a problem with the hot milk sponge. There are a few suggestions and tips I can offer that can help if you would like to give this recipe a try again
1. Some cakes tend to brown too quickly before they have been baked. To avoid this, I place a sheet of foil lightly over the cake, halfway through the baking time. Do not let it touch the batter. Shape the foil into a dome so that it does not touch the batter. The foil reflects the heat so that the cake does not burn or brown too quickly before it has been baked.
2. The color of the baking tin plays a big part in your baking. Dark baking tins absorb and hold in too much of heat causing the sides and top of the cake to brown or burn quickly. Try to get silver or light-colored baking pans.
3. Use a water bath method when baking. This method consists of placing the cake pan with the batter in a large, shallow pan of warm water. The water surrounds and protects the sponge during baking by maintaining an even, low-moisture heat. It also keeps the surface of the cake level and prevents the cake from cracking. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and put the cake pan into a large baking pan ( I use a large roasting pan for this purpose.) The water in the large baking pan should reach 1 inch / 2 ½ cm up sides of the cake pan. You can refer to the pictures in my post for Cotton soft sponge cake to see how it is done.
I hope this helps 🙂
Happy Baking 🙂
Val says
I have just made your hot milk vanilla loaf cake. Easy to make but didn't really rise, should it have done so?plus I had to cook 40 mins. Please advise, many thanks Val
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Val, thank you for giving my recipe a try. I am glad that you found it an easy bake. To answer your questions:
The cake does rise, but not too much. The texture should be light and airy indicating that the cake has risen and baked well. As long as it is not dense and heavy, you have the perfect bake.
Regarding the time: Oven temperatures vary so the time the cake will take to bake will also vary between 10 minutes more or less.
I hope this helps answer your question 🙂
Pooja says
Hey! Can this recipe be used as a base for a classic pineapple whipped cream cake? Thanks
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Pooja, sure, this sponge is quite dense and sturdy, so should work for a pineapple base cake as well.
I hope this helps 🙂
Happy baking 🙂