When you beat scalded milk into a cake batter, a robust mixture turns thin, runny, and looks ruined. But something magical is happening, and the results -- the classic hot-milk cake, which dates at least to the Great Depression -- are light, buttery, and golden. This genre of cakes typically contains little butter but plenty of milk and eggs. The hot milk, explains Johnson & Wales University instructor Peter J. Kelly, whose mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all made the same cake, begins to poach the eggs. So the finished cake tastes rich and, lacking a large quantity of butter, almost feathery. We think of these confections as make-do, as if those industrious home bakers of yesteryear had decided that the milk was creamy enough, so why not use it in place of butter? Perhaps there was more milk on hand than butter.

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Many old-fashioned cakes have similar odd instructions, calling for a cup of boiling water, for instance, to be added to the batter when you're almost finished mixing it. We noticed this method in a gingerbread cake that cookbook author Marie Simmons wrote about. You're sure it must be wrong, and yet the cake bakes beautifully, and the results are immensely pleasing. We liked the hot liquid method so much that we decided to do a chocolate version with plenty of butter, cocoa powder, melted bittersweet chocolate, and milk. This one, of course, isn't rich because of some baking chemistry. It has all the butter a cake can hold. And it's splendid. But we kept returning to the simple yellow cake with its three tablespoons of butter, airy slices, and humble beginnings.

Ask the Cooks: Not So Hot

When I was young, meringue cookies were readily available at most bakeries, but now they are hard to find. I try to make them as I remember them crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside but they never come out this way. Plus, they often brown too quickly in the oven. Got any tips on how to make them more like the kind I used to eat? —AMY KRIGMAN, Chelmsford

In today's health-conscious world, it seems that low-fat treats like meringue cookies would be all the rage. Egg white, sugar, and flavoring, the same ingredients that form the semisolid layer on lemon meringue pies, are piped or spooned out and slowly baked. The resulting qualities are the things you miss so dearly.

The premature browning you describe is caused by too much heat, too soon. Most meringue cookies are baked at no more than 200 degrees for a long period of time. Some are even left overnight in a gas oven with just the pilot light for heat. This approach is more dehydration than baking, and it might be one reason why meringue cookies are out of favor with commercial bakeries. These little sugar sponges absorb aromas and humidity easily. In short, they are high-maintenance treats.

Home cooks can use a little cream of tartar to boost the volume of the egg whites. And to be sure the sugar dissolves completely in the beating process, rub a little of the egg-white foam between your fingers. If it feels grainy, keep beating. Once you get it right, your inner child can munch to her heart's content.

This week's answer is by Peter J. Kelly, a chef/instructor at Johnson & Wales University.

Recipes

HOT-MILK CAKE (makes one deep 10-inch cake)

The original recipe for this cake came from Peter Kelly's great-grandmother, who gave it to her daughter-in-law, Kelly's grandmother. She gave it to her daughter, Kelly's mother, Kathryn, who made it for every occasion while he was growing up in Valatie, New York, in the Hudson River Valley. She often multiplied the recipe by 6 or 7 (but never recorded the measurements for the larger cakes). We tripled Kathryn Kelly's basic measurements -- without tripling the baking powder -- to make this version. We used a 1-piece tube pan, since the thin batter will leak out of a typical angel-food pan with removable bottom.

Butter (for the pan)
Flour (for the pan)
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Set the oven at 325 degrees. Butter a 1-piece 10-inch tube pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at medium speed or 5 minutes or until thickened and the mixture ribbons onto itself when the beaters are lifted.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter to scalding.

With the mixer set on low, beat in the vanilla and then the flour mixture. It's OK if there are still pockets of flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Beat the hot milk mixture into the batter just until it is well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then turn it out, remove the parchment paper, and set it right side up on a wire rack to cool completely.

Cut the cake into thick slices for serving.

HOT-MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE (makes 1 deep 10-inch cake)

Removing the cake from the oven at the right moment makes the difference between a great cake and a good cake. Don't use a skewer to test the center, because once a skewer comes out clean, the cake will be overdone. As soon as the top springs back when you press it lightly with a fingertip, the cake is ready to come out of the oven. Chocolate batters continue to firm up as the cakes cool.

Butter (for the pan)
Flour (for the pan)
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole milk, heated to scalding

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 1-piece 10-inch tube pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Set the bowl of chocolate over (but not touching) the water. Stir the chocolate once or twice until it melts. Remove the bowl from the water and wipe the bottom.

Sift together the cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter with the granulated and brown sugars. When the mixture is fluffy, add the eggs, one by one, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl several times.

Beat in the melted chocolate just until combined.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the scalded milk, beginning and ending with flour, just until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed lightly with a fingertip.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn it out, remove the parchment paper, and set it right side up on a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into thick slices for serving.

ONE-EGG GINGERBREAD WITH LEMON SAUCE (makes 1 9-inch cake)

Cookbook author Marie Simmons writes that this is a popular cake in her family. The simple 1-egg batter is mixed, at the end of beating, with 1 cup of boiling water.

CAKE
Butter (for the pan)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
1 cup boiling water

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-inch-square baking dish (2 1/2-quart capacity). Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and salt.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until blended. With the mixer running, gradually beat in the molasses, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the dry ingredients just until they are moistened. Beat in the water gradually.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Let the cake cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve with warm lemon sauce.

LEMON SAUCE
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup hot water
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a small saucepan, stir together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Gradually add the water and stir until blended. Set the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook the sauce, stirring, for 3 minutes or until it thickens. Stir in the lemon rind and its juice and the butter. Serve at once.

The recipe for one-egg gingerbread is adapted from Fresh & Fast, by Marie Simmons (Houghton Mifflin, 1996)