I don't know if I ever shared the recipe for the hot-milk sponge cake or not, but it's a good recipe, so I'm going to, even if I did before.

I'm going to give the "small" version of this. Unlike some cakes, this one also doubles well, and that's what I do for groups like the CWF group where we could be serving 20 people or so.

It makes a nice, mild, pleasant-textured cake. While I generally like chocolate things, I also really like this cake, even though it is just a plain yellow cake. (It is good - again, in the case of CWF - to bring places where you have someone who is allergic to/dislikes chocolate)

If you double the cake, bake it in a 9 x 13 inch pan. And you will most likely need to bake it for longer than the allotted time.

There are a lot of things you can do with this cake. I'm going to include, at the end, the recipe for the "traditional" Lazy Daisy topping (a sort of under-the-broiler form of frosting). But you can also frost it (my mother used to make a really good cooked caramel icing for this cake, and no, I don't have the recipe). Or, as I'm going to do with this cake, use it kind of like a shortcake base and serve it with a fruit sauce and whipped cream. (My mother used to use this cake for strawberry shortcake when strawberries were in season). I think this is also the same basic cake she used in pineapple upside-down cake, which is one of my dad's favorite desserts (but which, I have to admit, I don't care too much for).

Hot Milk Sponge Cake (amount for 8" pan)

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup cake flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla (can also use lemon, or rosewater, or vanilla + almond depending on what you want in the finished cake)
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter

(*You can use conventional flour - take out 2 t from the cup, I think is how the substitution goes - but I really recommend cake flour for this one. I've made it both ways and the cake flour makes a definite difference to the texture)

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in one bowl.

In a second, larger, bowl, beat the eggs well. (My mom says to use an electric mixer; I always just use a whisk. But beat them well: they should be lemon colored and sort of frothy)

Add the sugar gradually, beating all the while. Beat until the resulting mixture is smooth.

Melt the butter, and add the milk to it. Heat it until it is warm to the touch but not boiling (the microwave is good for this). Add the flavoring to the milk mixture.

Then, add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar. Beat them well (add the flour gradually). When they are well mixed, stir in the milk mixture. (You don't beat it; you kind of fold** it in). Make sure that the milk is well mixed in; my mom warns that if you don't do that, the cake can separate and have a rubbery bottom layer. I've never had that happen to me.

Put the batter in a greased 8" square pan (glass is fine, I always use glass) and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until the cake tests done.

To test for doneness: the cake will be quite brown on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean. If the cake seems to be getting too brown before it is baked, you can put a foil over the top of it (just lay it loosely on) to slow down the browning while it cooks.

(**Fold: if you don't know how, here are some pointers. I say that because I read an article a while back claiming a lot of people didn't have "culinary vocabulary" any more and didn't know terms like "braise" and "fold" and "cream" ("cream" used as a verb, as in creaming together butter and sugar.) But you probably all are more knowledgeable than that)

And here's the Lazy Daisy topping. It's nice and it's good but I don't think it's the only - or perhaps even the best - way to top the cake.

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, spread this on the top and put it back in the oven for about 7 minutes (watch closely!) to allow the icing to spread and melt over the cake.

This is a VERY tender cake and it will tear if you are rough with it. (If you're going to actually ice it, it's best to make a cooked icing that will be pourable but will set up as it cools).

Lazy Daisy topping:

7 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cream (or evaporated milk)
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts, coconut, or a mix of the two.

Drop in "blobs" over still-warm cake. Put back in the oven for about 7 minutes. Icing will melt and spread. When you take the cake out, you can further (gently) spread the topping with an offset spatula.

Edited to add: Another successful execution of this recipe!



This also kind of gives you an idea of the degree of brownness you want on the top. (And the cake in question took 30 minutes...it tested done at 25 but the top was still a little pale)