Chocolate lovers… this one’s for YOU. This cake is A-MAZ-ING. I am drooling just thinking about it. Probably one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had. My cousin, Jill, gave me this recipe.. let me tell you it tastes BETTER than it looks (seems impossible huh? But it’s true!) I made this for my hubby’s birthday and he absolutely loved it. He asked if he could have it for his birthday EVERY year. This cake easily fed 12 adults. Thank you so much, Jill! You are the cake QUEEN!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 c. flour
- 1 1/4 c. sugar
- 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c. milk
- 1 c. malted milk powder (can be found by the instant breakfasts)
- 1 c. vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 c. sour cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Malt icing (see recipe below)
- Chocolate ganache (see recipe below)
- Malted milk balls (Whoppers)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Butter & flour 2, 9-inch baking pans (you may have a little leftover to make a cupcake or two if you want). In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, oil and eggs to flour mixture, beating at a medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating just until combined.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on racks. Frost cakes, pour on ganache (after you pour the ganache over the cake. Place the entire cake in the refrigerator and let cool for at least an hour), and garnish with malted milk balls.
Chocolate Malt Icing:
(this makes a lot of frosting… the original recipe makes a little less but I made extra for the layers. The frosting is so good!)
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
3/4 c. milted milk powder
7 1/2 c. powdered sugar
In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. In a small bowl, combine cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed to combine. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth.
Chocolate Ganache:
16 oz. bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate (we used chocolate chips)
2 c. heavy whipping cream
Place the chopped chocolate into a medium-sized bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a microwavable container and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes on high, or until it just begins to simmer; be careful not to allow cream to boil over. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds or so. Using an electric mixer, beat on low until chocolate mixture is smooth. Use as is for glazing.
Here’s a picture of how it looked after we sliced into it… (drool…)
Oh! Wow! This recipe was bookmarked instantly. I definitely have to try this. Thanks!
So I see the picture and it looks great! I have never made a layered cake before though. Did you cut your cakes in half and frost, and then start layering or how do you get the frosting inside the cake? sounds like a stupid question probably but I would love to try it!
That is not a stupid question at all– yes, I did cut the cakes in half so there were 4 skinny cakes.. then I loaded frosting in between each layer. You can just do the 2 layers if you don't want to slice up the cakes — I just think the 4 layers look pretty
UM Excuse me – is your last name Anderson – because I'm fairly certain that you are my sister. My sister just called me because she saw the link on my blog to your blog and said, " Um hello does that girl live in my mouth." I was like UH YAH! now if you aren't are sister – do you want to be – trust me you do! just say yes now! Love this – thanks much! Jen
haha I would love to! Can't have too many sisters, right? Maybe that is why my sisters and I are so close.. because we all like to eat.
My mouth is watering looking at these pictures! I will def be trying this one out!
Wow, that cake looks fabulous and delicious!
We just made your Big Kahuna Sandwhich over the weekend and it was amazing!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe, we will be making it again!
Thanks! Just made your yogurt pancakes, they were delicious. I will be making this cake for my husband birthday. It is August 13th. I will let you know how I did. I am so excited though!
Love love LOVE your blog. and i'm seriously DROOLING over this. YUM!
Made this cake for a girls get-together. You're right. It's fabulous!! The only problem is all the leftovers. I just had chocolate cake for breakfast. Bad, but it sure was yum! Thanks
I made your cake and it was yummy- but I have some questions. I baked it for 20 min- but the toothpick was very wet when I pulled it out. I baked it for more time, but may have dried it out. Is it really 20? Also, I am not a malt fan, so I left it out. My frosting turned out soft and it ran everywhere when I poured the ganache on it. Do you think the absence of malt did that? Maybe I should have used more powdered sugar. I am anxious to try this again. I look forward to your response.
@ Taylor-
I don't know if by leaving the malt out made a difference or not. I haven't made it without the malt. The malt flavor isn't really strong.. I don't know if there is a good substitute for malted milk powder. I for sure only did the cakes for 20 minutes. If the toothpick comes out too wet, I would check it every 2-3 minutes until it comes out clean.. no one will know if you poke the cake a ton. The cake should be really moist and the frosting shouldn't be runny at all. You may have had the right idea by adding more powdered sugar for next time. I have never had that problem! Sorry it didn't turn out as expected!
I forgot to mention that I used nesquick as a substitute for the malt in the cake batter. I don't know if it did anything or not, but the cake was delicious. I really appreciate your response. Oh, did you refrigerate your frosted cake before you poured the ganache on? I love your blog!!! We LOVED the Winger's sauce.
@ Taylor-
Yeah I think we refrigerated it for a bit while I made the ganache.. maybe an hour? I also had the ganache sit for a while so it wasn't like WAY warm when I poured it on. I am glad you liked it.. and the Winger's sauce (that is one of my hubby's FAVORITES)
Okay I made the cake again… I am determined to get it right
My cake took a lot longer to cook again, must be my oven. The frosting is so soft- I even let it sit over night in my fridge before I used it to frost the cake. So, I tried the frositng a 3rd time and I used more powdered sugar and less cream. Did your frosting seem soft? Thanks for answering all my questions. This recipe is amazing- I just want to perfect it, so I can make it for company or an event.
The frosting isn't a thick, hard frosting like royal icing or even like a cream cheese frosting. The consistency is supposed to be like a whipped frosting, it should be a little lighter. Is it so soft that you can't put the ganache on?
Well, let's just say, my cake doesn't look near as pretty as yours!! The ganache does kind of mix with the frosting and alot gathers at the bottom of my cake plate. None the less, this cake is amazing and the frosting tastes divine. I found I had to keep it refrigerated to keep the frosting and ganache from getting softer and drooping.
Made this cake like I said I would for my husbands birthday on the Ausgust 13th. I was amazed at myself. It turned out FABULOUS! Thanks for the recipe! I will be making this cake again, and again, and again for special occasions. As for the other lady with frosting problems. I made it just how the recipe said and it was fine. I refrigerate the frosted cake for about an hour and then put the ganche over it. So if you don't like malt just leave it out of the cake like you did but put it in the frosting and it might turn out. My cake also took about 30 min to bake instead of 20. It could be the elevation.
Okay,made this cake for the 3rd time and it was the charm. I decided to put the malt in ( I can't even stand the smell of the stuff, but was determined for it to turn out RIGHT). Guess what… it really needs the malt
I couldn't taste it (yeah) and it turned out amazing. It even helped the frosting somehow. I made it for a family party last night and everyone LOVED it. Thank you for a recipe that will be part of out family from now on. Your blog ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Taylor — YAY!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad it FINALLY turned out.. and that you liked it with the malt! Thanks so much for letting me know! I am so happy to hear your family liked it. I was so baffled why it wasn't working out! I am so glad you figured it out. Now I know for SURE it doesn't work without the malt. I am sure my future readers will appreciate knowing that!
Thanks for not giving up!!! –Erica
Erica-thank you for this fabulous recipe. My hubby and I are junk food junkies, and we both agreed this is "THE best chocolate cake EVER". Absolutely amazing.
Hi there!
I can't wait to try this recipe but can't seem to find any malt milk powder! I have seen the Carnation Malt Milk Powder online but I can't find it anywhere.
What brand do you use? Could I possibly use Horlicks or Ovaltine Malt Beverage powder instead? Will the "malt" flavour be strong enough from those drinks to use?
Thanks a bunch in advance!!!
I used the Carnation brand. I found it at our local grocery store. Sometimes it is found by the instant breakfasts, sometimes by the coffee creamers.. Your best bet is to ask one of your store associates. Depending on the store it could be tricky to find. I don't know if I would try the powder drinks, it might make the cake taste funny. Good luck!!
Erica,
I ended up using Ovaltine because it was all I could find… not the chocolate drink mix but the "regular" flavor that's a yellowish colour. It works great!! I don't know if it tastes exactly like yours, but I know it's DARN good!
Thanks soooo much for this recipe! The frosting is so amazing and I'm definitely going to use it for cupcakes too.
Thank goodness you have a blog!