A light, tender vanilla malt cake makes the perfect snack or breakfast! Malted milk powder is the star of this Bundt cake, and it’s topped by a malted milk Greek yogurt glaze. You’ll want to cut yourself a bigger piece each time!
A few Christmases ago, my mother-in-law asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I had heard wonderful things about the Baked cookbooks and added these cookbooks to my wish list that season and was grateful when I unwrapped it.
I guess I had been too lazy to make anything from that cookbook because several recipes looked amazing, but I just hadn’t baked any of the recipes. I was especially intrigued by the chapter with malted milk powder recipes. Since I didn’t own any malted milk powder at the time, those recipes just stayed on the backburner.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. My husband’s birthday was fast approaching, and I asked him what type of dessert he wanted me to make for his special day. He was flipping through the most recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine and saw a malted milk cake that he wanted. I read through the ingredients and thought I had everything so I was ready to assemble it.
Wait. I didn’t have any coffee. The recipe called for coffee, and here I was, at home with a coffee machine, coffee granules, and no idea how to operate the thing (I don’t drink coffee, but I have an old-school machine that my parents use when they are visiting). #adultfail
Because I didn’t know how to brew coffee, I went with a backup plan instead. I remembered my Baked cookbook and found a vanilla malt cake that I could make instead. As luck would have it, I didn’t have any powdered sugar for the original glaze recipe in the cookbook, so I made up my own instead.
I made a few adjustments since I wanted Addie to be able to eat the cake (the original included bourbon). The cake was soft with just a hint of malted milk powder. The cake, though moist, produced lots of small crumbs which normally isn’t a problem unless you have a small child who tends to get crumbs everywhere. The glaze I created gave the cake a little more malt flavor without overpowering the cake. Overall, the cake contained just the perfect amount of sweetness and isn’t one of those desserts that puts you in a sugar or food coma.
And in case you’re wondering, I did manage to obtain some coffee for my husband’s birthday cake. You’ll have to stay tuned for that interesting story, as it involves a lengthy trip for a $1.05 cup of joe.
Vanilla malt cake
Ingredients
Vanilla malt cake
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon malted milk powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 7 ounces (1 and 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk well-shaken
Glaze
- 1/4 cup malted milk powder
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease and dust a standard Bundt pan. Tap out the excess flour and set the pan aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Individually add the eggs and egg yolk until just combined. Add the vanilla extract. Turn the mixer down to low and add in half the dry ingredients. Then slowly stream in the buttermilk until well mixed. Finally, add the rest of the dry ingredients until everything just comes together. Do not over mix.
- Transfer the batter into your prepared pan and bake in your preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.