Milk Chocolate Malt Ball Cupcakes

Those "Baked" boys have done it again! Of course I'm referring to Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, authors of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. This is the second recipe I've tried from this awesome book, and it's just as fabulous as the first one! If you don't remember, I made their Red Hot Velvet Cake in cupcake form a few months ago, and it became my new favorite red velvet recipe! I don't know how often I'll need a go-to recipe for Malt Ball Cake, but this one is definitely it! The cake itself is so soft, it nearly falls apart in your hands. Some of the cupcake wrappers were even coming loose from the cake! Now, usually I'd see that as a bad thing. But since these cupcakes are so freakin good, WHO CARES IF THE WRAPPER IS FALLING OFF?? It's just giving you a head start! ;D Let's talk about this frosting. At first I was nervous, because I've never had good results when ganache is involved in the frosting recipe. And I did have to do things a little differently than the book said in order to get my frosting to a good constistency. But once it was there, it was heaven! My dad says it's so light, you almost don't feel it when you're biting into the cupcake! And it's so chocolatey! You don't even need to scroll to the bottom of this post to know that these cupcakes get a 5 out of 5 all the way across the board!

PS: In case you didn't notice, these cupcakes came in dead last in the poll. The whole time I was making them, I was in fear of being drug (dragged? drug?) out in the street and stoned by you guys for breaking my own poll rules. I hope you trust me that they were WAY worth the rule-breaking! ;) Don't worry though, you'll see the actual winning cupcakes sometime soon. I pinky promise!



Oh I guess you wanna know how I made those little Easter egg nests on top, don't you?? There's really no recipe, but I can give you the general idea. I toasted about 1/2 cup shredded coconut and let it cool. Then I melted umm... maybe 1 cup of guittard dark chocolate apeels? Maybe more? I'm not entirely sure, it was just the last I had and I didn't measure. Then carefully stir the toasted coconut into the chocolate, making sure not to break it up too badly. Spoon it onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Press a few malt ball eggs into the "nests." Pop the sheet into the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. And TADA! Do whatever you want with them! :D

MILK CHOCOLATE MALT BALL CAKE (halved from Baked; original quantities in gray yield 3 8-inch cake layers or approximately 32 cupcakes)
Makes 16 cupcakes
“You can find Carnation brand malted milk powder in most local grocery stores, or you can substitute malt Ovaltine.”

FOR THE MALT CAKE LAYERS
1 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour (2 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt (3/4 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon)
1/2 cup malted milk powder (1 cup)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar (2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (1 tablespoon)
1 cup ice cold water (2 cups)
2 egg whites (4)

FOR THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
3/4 cup heavy cream (1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups [3 sticks])

MAKE THE MALT CAKE LAYERS (or cupcakes!)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour. (For cupcakes, line your muffin pans with paper liners, duh silly!)
Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together into a large bowl. whisk in the malted milk powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the ice water, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (or 18-20 minutes for cupcakes), rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.

MAKE THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Place both chocolates in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil, then remove from the heat and immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Starting in the center of the bowl and working your way out to the edges, whisk the chocolate mixture until completely smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
With the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, on medium speed gradually add the butter pieces and mix until thoroughly incorporated. The frosting should be completely smooth and have a silky look.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes (but no more), until it can hold its shape. (Here’s a helpful tip from yours truly: Chill the frosting until it feels cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until the frosting lightens in color, about 10-20 seconds. This is makes the frosting a lot easier to spread than the way they suggest making it!) Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface and evenly spread about 1 1/4 cups of the frosting on top. Top with the next layer, trim and frost the top, then add the third layer and trim. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Garnish the cake with the malted milk balls and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

This cake will keep beautifully in a cake saver at room temperature (cool and humidity free) for up to 3 days. If your room is not cool, place the cake in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.