Ultimate Chocolate Malt Cake

NOTES:

I made this cake for my parent's 35th anniversary and let me tell you, it was extraordinarily rich and decadent. The malt flavor is subtle, despite the amount I include in this recipe. You can add more for a richer flavor or take it out altogether if you just want a chocolate cake recipe. It was absolutely delicious -- if you’re looking for a chocolate treat, this is the cake for you! We ate about ⅓ of it and then cut the remaining cake into individual slices, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and froze them. It does take a while to make though, so plan your day accordingly.

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups cake flour

• ¾ cup dutch cocoa powder

• ¾ cup Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa powder

• ¾ - 1 teaspoon salt (depends on how fine your salt is)

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 ½ cups malt powder (I used the one from King Arthur)

• Slightly less than 1 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 3 Eggs

• ¾ cup canola oil

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

• ⅓ cup full-fat buttermilk

• 2 espressos (or ~½ cup warm coffee)

• ¾ cup full-fat sour cream

• ~⅓ cup hot water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Trace the outline of two 9-inch circle pans onto parchment. Generously spray the pans with Pam then place the parchment on the bottom of each pan. Make sure to spray the sides of the pans as well. Then spray the top of the parchment. This ensures that the parchment will stay in place and that the cake won’t stick to either the pan or the parchment.

3. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the cocoa powders and hot water until smooth.

4. Add the sour cream, buttermilk, and coffee to the cocoa-water mixture.

5. Then add the oil, eggs, and brown sugar. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth.

6. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the flour, malt powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

7. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Fold until just combined.

8. Even divide the batter into your two 9-inch pans. Note: you can also bake this cake in four separate 9-inch pans if you don’t want to cut them later. You can bake three layers if using 8-inch pans, just slightly reduce the baking time. Pro-tip: smack the pans a few times on the table before placing them in the oven, to reduce the air bubbles in the cakes.

9. Bake for about 38 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out dry in both cakes. The centers should be slightly firm and bouncy to the touch. Depending on your oven, it might need a few minutes more or less. Test it at 35 minutes and use your best judgment.

10. As cakes are cooling, place the bowl of your stand mixer and the whisk attachment into the freezer. The mousse turns out much better if the bowl and whisk are cold, not room temperature.

11. Transfer to wire cooling racks. Let sit for about 8-10 minutes then remove from pans. If your cake is stuck, try gently running a plastic knife around the edges. Place cakes back on the cooling racks and cool completely. Make sure to put the bottom of the cakes on the rack, and not the top of the cakes.

12. As the cake is cooling, make the ganache.

Chocoltate-Malt Ganache Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Note: I recommend splurging and getting a high-quality one. It makes a noticeable difference. I used Callebaut 811 semi-sweet chips.

• 1 cup malt powder

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted Butter

• Pinch of salt. If you use salted butter, omit this.

Instructions:

1. Place chocolate in a large heat-safe bowl.

2. Place cream and malt powder in a small-medium saucepan. Whisk on medium-high heat until scalding but not boiling! Make sure to constantly whisk otherwise the powder will stick to the pan and burn.

3. Pour over chocolate and let sit for a couple of minutes.

4. Whisk until smooth.

5. Add in butter and salt. Whisk until melted and well incorporated.

6. Let cool so it thickens. If you’re in a rush, you can place the ganache in the fridge but make sure to stir it every 20 minutes so it doesn’t lose its shine.

7. As the ganache is cooling, make the mousse.

Mocha Mousse Ingredients:

• ½ cup hot water

• ¼ cup Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa powder

• 8 punches of semi-sweet chocolate chips. See note above about using good quality chocolate.

• 1-2 Tablespoons of instant espresso powder. You can use more or less depending on how strong you want the mocha flavor to be. I did two and it had a strong coffee flavor. If you just want plain chocolate mousse, I recommend including about 1 teaspoon of espresso powder still because it enhances the chocolate flavor, without tasting like coffee.

• 2 cups very cold heavy cream

• 2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar

• Dash of vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Whisk the hot water and cocoa powder together in a large bowl until smooth.

2. Melt chocolate in the microwave in 20-second intervals until smooth and well melted. Mix well in between each interval to prevent burning.

3. Add the cocoa-water mixture into the melted chocolate and stir until thick and smooth.

4. Add the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into the bowl of your stand mixer. Hopefully, your bowl is very cold at this point. If not, wait until it is. Trust me, it’s worth it.

5. Mix on high speed until medium peaks. Soft peaks and hard peaks will both result in a slightly runny mousse from being either under or over-whipped. Medium peaks are optimal.

6. Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until just combined. Avoid over mixing the mousse because it will deflate it.

7. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to assemble.

Assembly Instructions:

1. Once the cakes are cooled completely, cut each cake in half. This eases the weight on the mousse in each layer. If your cakes are heavily domed, carefully slice just the top of the dome. Don’t cut too much off, you can always put the slightly domed cakes upside down and fill the edges with extra mousse/ganache. You can use the cake scraps to make cake pops if wanted. I personally like my cakes to have a domed top so I only cut a little off on one layer, if need be. Then I use that as my base layer.

2. Spread about 1-2 teaspoons worth of ganache onto the center of your plate to prevent the cake from moving. Place your first layer on the plate. I usually take the top piece of the less-rounded cake, and I place it upside down as my first layer. You can place small slices of parchment around the plate to keep it clean if you want.

3. Spread a thin layer of ganache and then slightly less than ¼ of the mousse on top. Then repeat with the remaining three layers.

4. Take the remaining mousse and fill in the gaps around the edge to smooth it out. This is called a ‘crumb coat so that the ganache will be smooth on the edges. If you don’t have enough mousse, you can also use a little ganache to fill in the gaps. Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes.

5. Take the rest of the ganache and spread an even layer on the top and on the sides of the cake. Smooth it out and decorate it to your liking. You might need to clean the plate if you got it messy -- as I did.

6. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.