Maltshop Cupcakes
I have been excited about trying this out all week, and yet putting it off at the same time. It feels like I have been doing nothing but hanging out in the kitchen, so instead of baking all day yesterday and today, we had some family time together. Yesterday Seven & I went to the fair here in town, followed by pool time with Daddy at the Country Club…and then today, we spent the morning golfing. Just thought I would share a little piece of my “personal life” in addition to my “kitchen life”…it seems the two rarely intertwine here on the blog – but I am a Mommy and Wife first and and a baker second…there is more to becoming domestic than an oven, right?!
That being said, while Seven slept off the exhaustion from golfing, I set about to make these Malt Chocolate Cupcakes. I love malt, especially Chocolate Malts from the Dairy Queen. And thank God for DQ, too, because due to the lack of baking supplies here in our town, they were gracious enough to supply me with Malted Milk Powder. (One of my best friends is the stepdaughter of the DQ owner…yeah for me!) So…like I was saying, I love malt. And I love cupcakes. So why not combine the two? After a little searching on the net for recipes, I came across two. The first was the TGIFridays Malted Milk Cake. So I made it, but into cupcakes. Sadly, even though I filled these only half full, they puffed up and over their liners into a nasty puddle on the sides. Capital Shizzat. What I was able to salvage tasted good, though, and I think when I am in a better mood I will try that recipe again…just with less batter in the liner!
After lunch at my folks, I came home determined to not let todays baking be all about disaster, so I made Paula Dean’s Malted Milk Cake into cupcakes. I did substitute plain yogurt for the Sour Cream, even though I had sour cream. Don’t ask me why, I just did. These guys puffed up prefectly, no spillage, just pretty. Taste wise? Not bad, but nothing special. Not overly malty, not overly moist…just kind of darkish chocolate cake. Maybe I should have used the sour cream? Would that have perked up the flavor? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
The icing is also from Paula’s recipe. I didn’t really measure, I went by taste, but it was close to her recipe. Jon says it is a good icing – and he’s not a big chocolate fan, so that’s a compliment. It’s malty, and does taste very similiar to a choclate malt. So, success! And aren’t they cute? I mean seriously…who can resist such a cute little cupcake?? Not me, so that’s why out of the nine I made (I divided her recipe into thirds…what a hassle THAT was) I boxed up 6 of them to send to Jon’s work. Whew…too many calories around the house and a TWD coming up – I can’t have it.
For anyone interested, here’s the recipe I used…
Maltshop Cupcakes
(original recipe by Paula Dean, adapted by me…
Ingredients:
Batter:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (I used plain yogurt)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Batter:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (I used plain yogurt)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Malt Frosting:
1 cup unsweetened butter, room temperature
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup whipping (heavy) cream
½ cup malted milk powder
5 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare muffin tins or PNCs with a light spraying of Pam. If making whole recipe, prepare 27-30 cups.
Batter:
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to mix. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, vegetable oil, and eggs to flour mixture; beat until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat just until mixture is combined.Bake:
Pour batter into the pans, bake 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Try not to open oven until close to time to remove.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to mix. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, vegetable oil, and eggs to flour mixture; beat until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat just until mixture is combined.Bake:
Pour batter into the pans, bake 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Try not to open oven until close to time to remove.
Chocolate Malt Frosting:
In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder until creamy.
In a small bowl, combine whipping cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating until combined. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake.Garnish:
Optional: Garnish with malted milk balls.
In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder until creamy.
In a small bowl, combine whipping cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating until combined. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake.Garnish:
Optional: Garnish with malted milk balls.
