Malted Chocolate Cake + A Welcome!

I want to put out a welcome mat, hand out party blowers, maybe even some silly string (that stuff is awesome) because I am so darn excited to finally be able to welcome you to my new home! As many of you know I used to blog over here, but the love and support I get from you guys made me think it's time for an upgrade.

The process took a lot longer than I thought it would, partially because the logo was such a struggle for me until I finally hired the wonderful Sadaf F K from Design Bliss Feast with her modern fun aesthetic. The whole process that goes into creating a logo was a real eye opener and I have enormous respect for Sadaf and other graphic designers who put up with persnickety clients! She really went above and beyond to ensure that I was happy with the final product. Just look at it - who wouldn't be!??!

It can't be a housewarming party/ blogwarming post without some cake so without further ado I present my malted  chocolate cake with malted vanilla buttercream. This chocolate cake is so lovely with it's fine but tight crumb and a mellower taste than my usual dark chocolate cake. The frosting though is a revelation - I have typically shied away from 'plain vanilla' frostings unless I need to make a decorators buttercream, but this one I would eat with a spoon. I may even eat several spoons of it when no ones looking....

The original recipe is from Chowhound and while the cake recipe is the same I have made changes to the frosting recipe to make it less greasy and easier to use for decorating. Being able to pipe stars is almost a must for me! Please note that when you spread frosting versus decorate with a piping bag you use less frosting. To cover it with stars or roses please increase the frosting by at least 50%.

Ooh and before I forget please do <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14749793/?claim=3ehpsk7kbh2">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>!

Malt Cake
(Makes 2 8-inch or 3 6-inch layers)

2 cups malted milk powder (I used the plain Ovaltine powder i.e. not chocolate)
1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for coating the cake pans
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon fine salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs (at room temp)
1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
⅔ cup vegetable oil, plus more for coating the cake pans
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ⅓ cups whole milk

Heat the oven to 325°F  and brush 2 (8-inch) cake pans with oil, sprinkle over flour, and tap out any excess flour. Set aside. Grab two large mixing bowls. Use one to mix up the malted milk powder, measured flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps. Now use the other to whisk together the eggs, sugar, measured oil, and vanilla until nice and smooth. Whisk in the dry ingredients and milk in 2-3 batches, alternating between the two i.e. ⅓ of the flour mix, then some milk, then ⅓ flour... etc.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the cakes start pulling away from the sides of the pans, about 45 to 50 minutes. For my smaller 6 inch pans I was closer to the 30 minute mark. A good rule of thumb is to switch on your oven light once you can smell the cake and see if it looks done before testing with a skewer.

Once they are done let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes then loosen the sides w knife and invert on to a rack to cool completely. I like to make sure my cakes are nice and cold before I frost them so I wrap them in plastic and leave them in the fridge for two hours or more. 

Vanilla Malt Frosting

1 cup butter / 2 sticks butter
3-4 cups of icing sugar
¾ cup malted milk powder
½ cup whole milk at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ tsp salt

Beat the butter till fluffy and creamy, gradually add 3 cups of icing sugar and half the milk. Turn the mixer up, and whip for 3 minutes or so then add the remaining ingredients on low speed. Mix on high for another 3 minutes until the frosting looks lighter, airier and tastes well combined. Adjust the consistency with extra milk or icing sugar depending on whether you want it softer or stiffer.

You may end up with a slight graininess from the malted milk powder. In my experience it dissolves in the fridge. Refrigerate the frosting until ready to use. I personally like whipping it up for 30 seconds or so after taking it out from the fridge to restore fluffiness and make it easier to work with. 

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Malted Chocolate Cake w Vanilla Malt Frosting

A moist chocolate cake with lovely balanced chocolate flavor

Author: Sarah Mir

Ingredients

• CAKE
• 2 cups malted milk powder I used the plain Ovaltine powder i.e. not chocolate
• 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour plus more for coating the cake pans
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil plus more for coating the cake pans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ⅓ cups whole milk
• FROSTING
• 1 cup butter / 2 sticks butter
• 3-4 cups of icing sugar
• ¾ cup malted milk powder
• ½ cup whole milk at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

CAKE

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare your cake tins by greasing them then sprinkling flour over top. Tap out the excess.
• Mix up the malted milk powder, measured flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps.
• Use another bowl to whisk together the eggs, sugar, measured oil, and vanilla until nice and smooth
• Whisk in the dry ingredients and milk in 2-3 batches, alternating between the two i.e. ⅓ of the flour mix, then some milk, then ⅓ flour… etc.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the cakes start pulling away from the sides of the pans, about 45 to 50 minutes. In smaller 6-inch pans it will be done close to the 30 minute mark
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, loosen the sides and invert then let cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING

• Beat the butter till fluffy and creamy, gradually add 3 cups of icing sugar and half the milk.
• Turn the mixer up, and whip for 3 minutes or so then add the remaining ingredients on low speed.
• Mix on high for another 3 minutes until the frosting looks lighter, airier and tastes well combined. Adjust the consistency with extra milk or icing sugar.

TO ASSEMBLE

• When the cakes are nice and cold take ⅓ of the frosting and evenly spread it on top of the bottom layer. For 3 6 -inch layers divvy the ⅓ up between the two bottom layers. Add a little more if needed.
• Stack the cake and do a thin layer of frosting on the side to crumb coat the cake i.e. stop the crumbs from escaping out. Put in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
• Spread remaining frosting over the tops and sides.

Notes

Adapted from Chowhound