Malted Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake

• All-Purpose Flour. Use a good quality flour, such as King Arthur.
• Cocoa Powder. Use dutch process cocoa powder for more intense chocolate flavor.
• Malted Milk Powder. Made from malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated milk and has a nutty taste. It works perfectly with chocolate.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda. These leveners that are essential to help the cake rise and creates a light and fluffy texture.
• Salt. Just a little to balance out the sugar and flavors.
• White Sugar. Do not use less sugar than what is called for in this recipe. The cake isn’t very sweet. Using less will result in a dry cake.
• Buttermilk. Makes the cake tender. You can also use whole milk.
• Oil. Use any neutral oil such as, avocado, canola, or grapeseed.
• Eggs. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. You can quickly bring your eggs to temp by submerging them in hot tap water for 15 minutes.
• Vanilla. You can use vanilla paste or extract. Use a good quality vanilla for best results.
• Hot Water. Hot water will be used to “bloom” the cocoa powder and makes the cake fluffy. You can also use hot coffee instead for more intense chocolate flavor.

Expert Tips

• Use a kitchen scale to weigh all your ingredients. It’s the best and most accurate way to bake.
• If you are not using a kitchen scale, measure your flour correctly. Fluff and aerate your flour first, then spoon into your measuring cup and finally level off with the back of a butter knife. Do not pack it in as it will add too much flour.
• Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature – This includes the eggs and buttermilk. To quickly bring eggs to room temp, submerge them in a bowl of hot tap water for 15 minutes. To quickly bring your buttermilk to temp, microwave in 10 second intervals.
• Do not overmix your batter – Be careful not to overmix. Overworking the batter can result in a dry and crumbly cake.
• Follow the recipe exactly – I know it can be tempting to alter a recipe, but doing so can change the final outcome. For instance, 1 ¾ cups of sugar may seem like a lot, but it’s the perfect amount of sweetness and sugar is needed to keep the cake soft.
• Do not overbake – Overbaking will dry out your cake. It will take about 30 minutes to bake. You’ll know when it’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with clean.

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