Hot Milk Cake with Cherries & Yogurt

Hot Milk Cake with Cherries & Yogurt

Hot milk cake. Mmmm. Sounds nutritious and interesting. These lovely mini cakes were made to join the latest bake-along event. Heehee.

The original theme should be hot milk cakes with strawberries and cream. But I've ONE KILO of fresh red cherries in the fridge. So I guess I'd substitute strawberries with cherries. Oh, and cream. I don't keep cream in my pantry. But I do have a tub of Greek yogurt, so I guess yogurt should do the trick.

By the way, speaking of cherries. They are sweet Tasmanian cherries. I adore them. They are best eaten chilled straight from the fridge. I assumed the little one would love them but I was so wrong. He took one bite and gave me this "what-is-this-mom-are-you-trying-to-poison-me" kind of look. Then he started playing with the stem, shaking the cherry until the fruit detached, then he tried to attach it back. HAHAHA!

Recipe adapted from here and inspired by Lian.


Ingredients:
(Makes 16 mini square cakes)

Note: My modifications in orange

Nonstick vegetable oil spray (omitted)
2 large eggs 
2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons molasses sugar)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour (I used all-purpose flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder)
2/3 cup whole milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound large strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced lengthwise (I used fresh cherries, stoned and mashed)
1/2 cup chilled heavy whipping cream (I used Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (omitted)

Note: The original recipe uses muffin pan or ramekins to bake individual cakes. I followed Lian's method and bake in a cake pan.


How to:

1. Preheat oven to 210°C. Line a 8x8-inch square cake pan with baking paper. Set aside.

2. Beat eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer at high speed until thick, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar; beat until thick and pale yellow, about 1 minute longer. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Add flour and beat 30 seconds.

3. Bring milk and butter just to boil in small saucepan, stirring until butter melts. Add hot milk mixture to batter; beat until blended and smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared cake pan.

4. Bake until the top turn pale golden and firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan at least 20 minutes. Let stand at room temperature.

5. Toss cherries and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl to coat. Let stand 30 minutes for juices to form.

6. Remove cake from pan. Cut off sides and cut into squares. Spoon some cherries and juice over. Cover cherries with tops of cakes. Spoon Greek yogurt over, garnish with remaining cherries and juices, and serve.

The cake, nicely baked with a lovely pale golden top.

The thickness is just right.

My toddler munches on these cut-off cake sides as snack.

Cherries soaking in its own juices and sugar.

Assembled with cherries and yogurt.

Time to feast!

I'm linking this post to the event, Bake-Along #74: Theme - Hot-Milk Cakes with Strawberries and Cream organized by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings, and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.