Malted Chocolate Cake Recipe
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This Malted Chocolate Cake makes a “whopper” chocolate cake recipe perfect for celebrating all sort of occasions – or just because!
Sam threw me a bit of a curve ball yesterday. For a while now, he’s requested red velvet cake for his birthday. I took it for granted that he’d have the same request this year.
As I was talking to him over breakfast yesterday morning, I mentioned that I would be frosting his cake while he was in classes. Low and behold, that’s when he said, “Good deal. I’m looking forward your chocolate cake.”
Ummm….
Well….
“Great! I’ve got it all planned out for ya!”
Goodness, what a fib!
While technically a red velvet cake falls under the category of a chocolate cake, I knew what he meant.
Thankfully, my chocolate cake couldn’t get much easier to make, so I knew it wouldn’t be a problem to whip it together right quick. The problem was, I wanted to do something just a wee bit different for him for his birthday.
That’s when I realized that we had a few Whoppers left over from Halloween and I knew just what to do with them! Since they are Sam’s absolute favorite candy at the moment, I decided to turn his cake into a Malted Chocolate Cake!
I made a quick trip to the grocery store and grabbed malted milk powder. Now, I want to make sure to explain that there are two types of malted milk powder. Not to get all nerdy on you, but just so that you know the difference if you decide to make this cake, too. There is diastatic malted milk powder and nondiastatic malted milk powder.
Diastatic malted milk powder is primarily used in bread baking as it contains enzymes that help the dough rise and helps to form a crusty bread. Nondiastatic malted milk powder on the other hand does not contain those enzymes and is used mainly for flavoring in milkshakes, drinks and other items – like this cake!
Then, just so everyone knew something was a little different with my cake, I added a few Whoppers for decoration.
Here’s my Malted Chocolate Cake Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Malted Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Malted Chocolate Cake
- 1 3/4 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (35 g) malted milk powder
- 2 cups (396 g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (63 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (2.6 g) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (2.3 g) espresso powder
- 1 cup (227 g) milk
- 1/2 cup (99 g) vegetable or canola oil
- 2 large (100 g) eggs
- 2 teaspoons (9.4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (227 g) boiling water
Malted Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
- 1½ cups (339 g) butter, , softened
- 1 cup (84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (35 g) malted milk powder
- 4 1/2 cups (454 g) confectioner’s sugar
- ½ cup (113.5 g) milk
- 2 teaspoons (9.4 g) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (1.15 g) espresso powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by brushing with homemade cake release (cake goop), spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
For the Cake:
- Add flour, malted milk powder, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
- Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter. Cake batter will be very thin.
- Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
For the malted chocolate buttercream frosting:
- Add cocoa and malted milk powder to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps. Cream together with butter until well-combined with an electric mixer.
- Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added.
- Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
- If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears too wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
WOOO! need to try this in Tornado party next weekend 🙂 😉 :} ;} =)
Hope you enjoy!
Does the recipe require natural or Dutch processed cocoa powder?
Catherine, I use natural unsweetened cocoa powder for this cake.
Hi there. My cake fell pretty flat once I took it out of the oven. What did I do wrong? Instructions were followed precisely.
Rachel, there could be several reasons your cake fell. If you live in a high altitude area, your cake would rise fast in the oven and then fall. The best site I have found for high altitude cooking is Colorado State University Extension. Another reason is taking the cake of the oven before it has completely cooked. Make sure that you are not overfilling each of your cake pans when you divide it between them. Make sure that you are not opening and closing your oven door during the baking. Make sure you don’t over beat the cake batter. Humidity can also make a difference. If there is a lot of moisture in the air, the moisture can cause this to happen as well. I hope this helps.
Love this cake I added more malt for a little more malt flavor turns out great every time thanks
Thanks, Sue!
I love coffee, but for my family members who really don’t like it, should I skip the espresso powder? I don’t want to ruin the recipe but if they detect any coffee flavor, it will ruin the cake for them. Is it possible that espresso powder tastes nothing like coffee in this recipe? Thanks!
You can just omit the espresso powder, Alanea. I have never tasted coffee in the cake. It just enhanced the chocolate flavor to me.
Hi I was hoping to make this for my birthday. Can I use malted chocolate powder like Milo or Ovaltine? I was looking for a cake with a specifically malted chocolate taste. Thank you!
I think the Ovaltine would work, Ash. Hope you have a very happy birthday.
Does malt powder has to be chochlate flavor?or simple malt powder is fine?which one do you recommend.
Also butter is unsalted?
Xana, the malt powder does not have to be chocolate. I use salted butter. Hope this helps.
Hello! Would the recipe be the same for a bundt cake pan? I don’t have 2 9″ cake pans 🙁
Thanks!
You can make this recipe in a Bundt pan, Caroline. You would just need to bake a little longer.
Hi Robyn, for the frosting, you don’t say anything about the butter. When do you add this? the directions sound like it may be incomplete. Can you help me here?
Hi Kim,
Thanks for catching that. You cream the butter, cocoa, and malted milk powder together until well combined and then add sugar and milk according to the instructions. The recipe instructions have been updated. Thanks!
Made the cake over the weekend. It was a hit with my family. My daughter even requested for her birthday cake in July. Very moist. The malt flavor was subtle. Might try adding a little more malted milk powder next time.
Loved the cake and the frosting. I baked it as 26 cupcakes. I cut the frosting recipe in half and still had a little leftover after generously frosting all 26 cupcakes! The malt flavor was subtle but I could taste it in the frosting. Overall, a delectable cupcake! Thank you for the recipe.
So happy you liked it Beth! xo