Malt Blondie

I was itching to do some baking since the last baking project was a bit of a fail.  I made a 3D pineapple cupcake display for my friend’s luau-themed baby shower, but it was so hot that day and the frosting melted off.  It’s a shame too because the pineapple frosting was really delicious!

Anyways, I wanted to do some baking to redeem myself, plus I was meeting a friend whom I haven’t seen in 4 year because…he went off to med school!  I decided on malted blondies for the new doctor!

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Malt Brownies

From Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Ingredients

2 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

2 Tablespoon malted milk powder (I used Ovaltine)

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup + 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1 ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ cup malted milk balls, coarsely chopped (I used Maltesers)

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2.  Whisk flour, baking powder, malted milk powder, and salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

3.  Using a stand mixer, beat salt and sugar until smooth.

4.  Add eggs and beat after each addition.  Add vanilla and beat.

5.  Add flour mixture in 2 batches, beating until just combined.

6.  Add malted milk balls, chocolate chips, and walnuts and mix until combined, 10 seconds.

7.  Press the thick dough into the baking pan with an offset spatula.

8.  Bake for 23 minutes or just until toothpick comes out clean.

9.  Cool for 20 minutes before cutting and eating.

 

Before baking.

After baking.

Verdict: These were not bad.  Frankly, I was expecting them to be amazing since everything that I’ve baked from this book has been great so far. I baked them for 25 minutes, which may have contributed to the somewhat dry texture.  I’d check them at 23 minutes next time and maybe they’d be moister.  They had a really subtle malt flavor and the walnuts gave it a contrasting texture, so leave them out if you like a smooth blondie.

Malt Cake

Happy Birthday!  It was the boyfriend’s mom’s birthday and I knew I wanted to make her a cake because I didn’t get a chance to last year since the boyfriend told me the day of, that it was her birthday dinner  (rolling eyes).  I wanted to try another cake from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking since the last cake I made from it was such a hit.  I decided to go with the malt cake.

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Malt Cake

Slightly adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Original recipe was doubled, but I cut it in half to make 3 6-inch layers, which was plenty.

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons cake flour

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon all purpose flour

½ Tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup malted milk powder (I used Ovaltine)

1 cup salted butter at room temperature (original recipe called for ½ shortening)

1 cup sugar

½ Tablespoon vanilla

1 cup ice cold water

2 egg whites, room temperature

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cake pan bottoms with parchment and grease and flour the sides.

2.  Into a bowl, sift flours, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and malt powder so that they’re mixed.  Set aside.

3.  In a separate bowl or with a stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy (3 minutes).  Add sugar and vanilla and beat for another 3 minutes.

4.  On low speed, add flour mixture and water in 3 additions, alternating, starting and ending with flour.  Mix only until combined.

5.  In another bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks.  Fold into batter.

6.  Divide batter into bowls and bake for 26 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).  Cool before frosting (I froze the layers).

 

Before baking.

After baking.

Milk Chocolate Frosting

Original recipe was doubled, but I cut it in half.

Ingredients

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

4 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped

¾ cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

¾ cup salted butter, room temperature

Directions

1.  Place chocolates in a bowl.

2.  In a saucepan, bring cream and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat.

3.  Pour over chocolate and let sit for 3 minutes.

4.  Stir from the inside out until combined and smooth.  Cool to room temperature (I made the day before and let it sit out on the counter).

5.  Beat the chocolate with a whisk attachment for a minute.  Gradually add cubes of butter and beat until smooth and light.

Ready to frost.

Assembly

Place first layer of cake on a plate and spread the Milk Chocolate Frosting on top.  Place 2^nd layer and top with Frosting.  Place top layer on and add a crumb coat to the entire cake.  Place in freezer for a few minutes to harden the crumb coat.  Add final layer of frosting and decorate.

Crumb coat.

Verdict - Everyone seemed to enjoy the cake.  The boyfriend said “malt-y!”.  I was disappointed with the cake layers – they were kind of wet even though they were cooked all the way through.  Maybe it was the freezing process that made them too moist.  However, I really liked the frosting – it was so fluffy, it reminded me of chocolate mousse! I’ll definitely make the frosting again!