I wasbetwixtand between, one foot lingering in San Francisco, while the other was inching its way back into my kitchen some 350 miles away. I attended a conference in theCity by the Baythis past week, and as I sat taking notes during the final session, I found myself more and more distracted by the longing to get back to baking. San Francisco is not lacking in fabulous bakeries, and I certainly sampled a few of them during my stay. I wasn’t in need of a cupcake, tart, oreclair. What I needed was to sate my creative soul, something that baking satisfies so well.
I get fidgety when I am absent for too long from the kitchen, and by the final day of the conference I found myself getting lost in daydreams about the first thing I would make when I returned home. Amisunderstanding betweenmyself and an ice cream scooper at the infamous Bi-Rite Creamery heavily influenced that decision. Due to an over-stuffed tummy acquired at Tartine Bakery, last summer I passed up an opportunity to visit Bi-Rite Creamery. This time, I made it my first stop. After just one swipe of my tongue across a scoop of Malted Vanilla with Peanut Brittle and Milk Chocolate Pieces and I knew just why people wait in seemingly endless lines to taste of these fine ice creams. If any doubt lingered as to its superiority, it was doused with the second scoop of Coffee Toffee. Coffee is the benchmark by which I judge all ice creams. It passed with flying colors.
It came as no surprise to the Hubs that the following day Irequestedpleaded we return for more. It was during my second addiction feeding frenzy that the misunderstanding took place. I asked for Malted Vanilla with Peanut Brittle and Milk Chocolate Pieces but apparently the server only heard the word vanilla. Working my way down the cone, scoop by scoop, I kept hunting for that familiar malted milk flavor I had enjoyed the day before. Eventually I realized that the vanilla on my cone was, well, just that – plain vanilla. Frustrated and too far away to go back, I turned my frown upside down. After all, if not the flavor I had ordered, it was delicious nonetheless.
A botched attempt at a second fix of that scrumptious malt ice cream led me to this “Whopper”of a recipe (Pun intended.) Subtlety flavored with milk chocolate, this cake appears much more chocolatey than it tastes, which suited me fine since it was the flavor of malt I was longing for. Containing four sticks of butter, it fits squarely in the pound cake category. Nothing light and fluffy about it – but everything wonderful. And yes, it absolutely satisfied my need for a malt fix.
Plan ahead and allow ample time to make this cake. It bakes for two hours and takes at least two more to cool completely. A cake well worth the wait.
Cake
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 sticks (32 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup malt powder, such as Ovaltine or Nestle’s Chocolate Malt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 1/4 cups (7 1/2 ounces) malted milk balls, such as Whoppers, coarsely crushed
Frosting
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
4 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons malt powder, such as Ovaltine or Nestle’s Chocolate Malt
1/4 cup half & half
2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup malted milk balls, such as Whoppers, crushed or left whole, for decoration
Preheat oven to 300˚F. Butter bottom, sides, and center tube of a 9 1/2 – 10-inch diameter, fixed bottom tube pan with at least 3 3/4-inch tall sides. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and butter paper.
Cake: Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix butter and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Add eggs in three additions, beating for 1 minute in between each addition. Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute. In a small bowl, stir together the malt powder and milk until the malt powder has dissolved. With mixer on low speed, add half flour mixture. Mix in malted milk. Mix in remaining flour mixture, just to incorporate. Stir in malted milk balls. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
Bake until top feels firm if touched lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 2 hours to 2 hours, 15 minutes.
Let cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge and center tube of pan to loosen. Remove from pan by inverting onto wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting: Heat butter and milk chocolate together in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, stir together the malt powder and half & half until malt powder is dissolved. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and milk mixture to saucepan and whisk until smooth and blended. If thicker frosting consistency is preferred, add an additional 1/2 cup powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cake Decorate as desired with whole or crushed malted milk balls.
Yield: 20 servings
Source: Adapted from Real Food Magazine
