Vanilla Malted Milk Cake

Given there are two Popcorn and Malteser Macaron posts on this blog, you might assume that I am a fan of the malt flavour.  Well that assumption is correct my friend.  In fact, my go-to milkshake flavour is the combination of two of my favourite things, vanilla and malt.

So when the Vanilla Malted Milk Cake by Hungry Rabbit appeared on my Pinterest feed one day, it immediately went on my ever-growing list of things to make.

You will have to forgive the photography for this one.  I know the pictures of the finished cake aren’t all that exciting, but it just wasn’t happening and then I forgot to take a picture of the inside when cut as it did look pretty awesome given the cake was so moist.  The layers just looked perfect.  Oh well.

The ingredients for this one are pretty stock standard for a cake.  Eggs, vanilla, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, malted milk powder and, instead of using your normal milk, coconut milk is used.

As Ken writes in his post, you cannot taste the coconut flavour at all in the baked cake (which is good because the hubby is not a fan of coconut), it just adds moisture and creaminess.

To start, whisk the eggs, coconut milk and vanilla in a small bowl/jug.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt.  Mix until combined and then add the butter a piece at a time, continuing to mix until pea-sized pieces remain.

Add half of the wet ingredients to the bowl and beat on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce the speed, add the remainder of the wet ingredients and continue to beat until completely incorporated.

Pour the mixture into your cake tins, I split mine in two but Ken split his in three, and bake in your preheated oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the cake is slightly golden and skewer comes out clean.  If you choose to bake this in only one tin, you will probably need to bake it for a lot longer so just keep an eye on it.

Whilst the cake is baking, you can start work on the icing.  Given this is a vanilla malted milk cake, the icing also has malted milk powder, vanilla plus the coconut milk, butter, sugar and a touch of salt.

Place the coconut milk in a saucepan and heat on the stove, but do not boil it.  Once warmed, remove from the heat and add the malted milk powder and vanilla then stir to combine.  It will become a thick, sticky paste-like consistency and mine had some lumps in it but that was perfectly fine by me.

In the week I was making this cake, I was reading a post by Amanda Retke (from iambaker.net) on the KitchenAid blog The Kitchenthusiast comparing methods of making buttercream where Amanda tested the same recipe in a stand mixer, blender, food processor and using a hand mixer.  The result was that the buttercream made in the food processor was smooth, creamy and fluffy and when piped the edges didn’t break as much.  Although I tend to make ganache in the food processor, I hadn’t tried an icing so decided this would be the perfect opportunity.

You start by adding the butter and processing it until smooth.  Add the icing sugar and salt, continuing to mix until well combined and you are happy with the consistency (which for me is making sure the sugar has dissolved so it isn’t too grainy, even if it is icing sugar).

Add your cooled malted milk mixture and process until well combined and the icing becomes light and fluffy.

See how smooth that is!  Yummo!  You can use this icing immediately, but if your cake is not quite ready for it, just pop it in the fridge.

As you probably will have baked this cake in two or three tins, you won’t have to worry about slicing the cake to layer it.  However if you have only baked it in one tin, you will need to slice your cake into your chosen number of layers.

Place the bottom layer on your serving platter or cake board, then scoop some of the icing on top (1/2 to 3/4 cup is a good guide, but use more or less depending on how thick you want it to be).  Spread the icing evenly, then add the next layer and repeat this process.

Add your final layer and then spread the remaining icing on the top and sides of the cake.  You may wish to do a thin crumb coat first before piling the rest of the icing on, just see how you go.  Place the cake in the fridge for half an hour and then you can serve it.

The malt flavour in this cake was definitely there, as it should be considering how much malted milk powder is in there, and it was incredibly moist.  I am very much a fan of this recipe and if you enjoy vanilla malt milkshakes as much as I do, you should certainly give this vanilla malted milk cake a shot.

Print Recipe

Vanilla Malted Milk Cake

Adapted from Hungry Rabbit

Course

Cake

Servings

slices

Ingredients

For the cake

• 4 large egg(s) room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 3/4 cup malted milk powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 227 g unsalted butter cut into pieces and softened (2 sticks)

For the icing

• 1/4 cup coconut milk room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups malted milk powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 340 g unsalted butter softened (3 sticks)
• 1 1/4 cups icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Course Cake Servings slices Ingredients For the cake 4 large egg(s) room temperature 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk room temperature 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups cake flour 1 1/2 cups caster sugar 3/4 cup malted milk powder 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp fine sea salt 227 g unsalted butter cut into pieces and softened (2 sticks) For the icing 1/4 cup coconut milk room temperature 1 1/4 cups malted milk powder 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 340 g unsalted butter softened (3 sticks) 1 1/4 cups icing sugar 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two or three 8 inch cake pans with baking paper.
2. In a small bowl or jug, whisk the eggs, coconut milk and vanilla.
3. Place the cake flour, caster sugar, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. On a low speed, mix until combined.
4. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time, until you have small pea-sized pieces distributed throughout the mixture.
5. Add half of the egg mixture and beat on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed then add the remainder of the egg mixture and continue to beat until thoroughly incorporated.
6. Divide the cake batter between your prepared cake tins then bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the cake is slightly golden and a skewer comes out clean.
7. Allow the cakes to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before removing and allowing them to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the icing

1. Place the coconut milk in a saucepan and heat on the stove until very warm, but do not boil it.
2. Remove from the heat and add the malted milk powder and vanilla, stirring to combine. Set aside the cool.
3. In a stand mixer, or food processor, beat the butter until smooth then add the icing sugar. Continue to beat until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Add the cooled malted milk mixture and beat until the icing becomes light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.

Assembly

1. Place the bottom cake layer on your serving platter or cake board. Scoop 1/2 to 3/4 cup of icing on top and spread it out evenly.
2. Place the next cake layer on top and repeat the above step.
3. Add your final cake layer then coat the top and sides of the cake with the remaining icing (you may wish to do a thin crumb coat first, refrigerate then do the final coat of icing).
4. Refrigerate the cake for half and hour and then serve.

Recipe Notes

The cooking time will vary depending on how many tins you divide your batter between, and their size.