Secret Recipe Club - Malt Chocolate Cupcakes
It's time for another Secret Recipe Club post! I'll tell you, I really love how being part of the club forces you to get to know someone's blog, writing style, and photography style. It can be too easy to hit the StumbleUpon button, like what you see, but then move on in your everlasting quest to get to the end of the Internet.
This month I was assigned Savvy Eats - All About Smart Food & Fitness. Written by Julie, she is passionate about living savvy - being smart about what you eat, how you exercise, and about continuing to learn. That's something I can definitely get down with - I'm a firm believer that you should never stop learning!
Sidebar: It's a secret wish of mine to name my future little girl Savannah, and then call her Savvy. How adorable is that as a nickname?
Where were we? Oh yeah - leave it to me to find what is probably the most unhealthy recipe Julie's dared to post - Chocolate Malt Cake. There was never a chance I'd start with anything else from her blog once I saw that though. You see, The Brit loves anything and everything malt. How could I resist the opportunity to make a chocolatey dessert like this when I knew it would make his day?
I turned Julie's Chocolate Malt Cake into cupcakes. And because I'm lazy, I simplified her marshmallow filling a little bit. I have to tell you, this turned into one SUPER delicious cupcake. I added malted milk balls for garnish, and really love how they look like a jaunty little top hat of an accent.
I used Scharffen Berger baking chocolate in powdered and melting form, and it is just gorgeous. If you have the chance, I highly recommend getting some for any chocolate dessert you make.
I hope you'll make these for your favorite person - for a birthday, like Julie did - or just because, like I did.
Malt Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Savvy Eats
Makes 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
¾ cup Malted Milk Powder (I've linked you to King Arthur Flour, where I got mine)
1 cup cold Coffee (I used Green Mountain Coffee Donut House)
½ cup Canola Oil
½ cup Butter (1 stick)
⅓ cup Unsweetened Scharffen Berger Cocoa Powder
2 oz Unsweetened Scharffen Berger Baking Chocolate
3 Egg Yolks
½ cup Half & Half
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325F. In a small bowl, combine Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, and Malted Milk Powder. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine Coffee, Oil, Butter, Cocoa Powder, and Baking Chocolate squares. Heat slowly and steadily until both the butter and baking chocolate are melted. Watch carefully, because if this overheats, it will expand and spill over quickly. Allow to cool while you combine the next ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine Egg Yolks, Half & Half, and Vanilla Extract. Mix until well combined and frothy. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture from the saucepan with the mixer on low. This will allow the eggs to temper. If you pour a semi-hot liquid in all at once, it will cook and scramble the eggs, which is not what you want in a chocolate cake!
Once chocolate mixture has been added, add the flour mix in increments, mixing well and scraping the sides after each addition.
Line 2 12 cup or 1 24 cup muffin tin(s) with cupcake liners. (You'll notice I used cute little Scharffen Berger ones - a little swag I picked up 2 years ago at BlogHer Food!) Using a ¼ cup measure, scoop batter into each cup. By using the ¼ cup measurement, you should end up with uniform and perfectly cooked cupcakes.
Bake for approximately 22-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the center-most cupcake comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before filling or frosting.
Maple Marshmallow Filling
Ingredients
1 7 oz. tub of Marshmallow Cream (Found near the Peanut Butters & Jellies)
2 tablespoons Grade B Maple Syrup
Directions
Empty Marshmallow Cream into a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of real maple syrup (not imitation!) and whisk to combine. It will take a few minutes to whisk and combine fully, so don't give up!
Pour bowl contents into a pastry piping bag equipped with a Wilton 230 Tip, then poke the tip into each cupcake, squeezing the pastry bag to fill the cupcake until you see just a tiny bit of the marshmallow cream poking out of the top. Do not do this until cupcakes are COMPLETELY cool, or mashmallow filling will melt into the cupcake.
Malt Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from SavvyEats
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
2 ⅓ cups Powdered Sugar
⅓ cup Malted Milk powder
¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1-3 tablespoons Half & Half
Directions
Whip butter in a stand mixer or by hand on high until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar in increments until fully combined, then malted milk powder and cocoa powder as well. Whip for a solid 7-10 minutes, until all sugar, malted milk powder and cocoa powder are fully incorporated. Add half and half, one tablespoon at a time, until frosting is your desired consistency.
Frost cupcakes and refrigerate. When frosting has hardened somewhat, insert a malted milk ball into each cupcake for garnish. I also used some sparkling sugar for garnish, but both are completely optional.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Secret Recipe Club - Malt Chocolate Cupcakes - - - [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
What is Half & Half? And where can i get them? Thanks!
Hi Ash,
Half and half is a milk product we get here in the US. It's equal parts heavy cream and regular milk. You can make your own fairly easily. Use whole milk, mix 3/4 cup of whole milk with 1/4 cup of heavy cream to approximate half & half.
Oh, my! These make me swoon! Love the flavors and the malt ball on top is perfect! GREAT SRC pick!
These look amazing!!I love those cupcakes!! gloria
I keep seeing malted milk powder in recipes all over the place... I think I need to get my hands on some now. I haven't touched the stuff since I worked in an ice cream parlor (all throughout high school) and made my share of malted milkshakes. I just remember it being sticky and hard to get off of your hands once it got wet.
Anyway, these cupcakes look glorious, and I think they may have changed my mind. But, I can promise you I won't be making any milkshakes. 🙂
These look delicious! I love the malt ball on top! I'd like to invite you to share your recipe on Sweet Indulgences Sunday.
http://www.wellseasonedlife.com/2011/09/sweet-indulgences-sunday-22.html
These look absolutely amazing! My dad would totally flip to get his hands on a batch of these!
Those are so adorable! They do look like little hats, so cute!
xx
This looks so good! I want one, no at least two, right now! hm...would be lovely with a cup of coffee!.
Malt flavor is the best. I love your cupcakes!
Well thank you so much! We loved them too 🙂
These are so cute! I love the whoppers on top 🙂
Thanks, Katherine! They were a last minute addition, but I think they make the cupcakes what they are.
Those cupcakes look so good!! Especially the fluffy frosting . . . I just want to dip my finger into it--a million times. Mmmmmmm.
Jenna.. you got a camera in my kitchen? Cus that may have happened. Maybe. I'm not telling.
So glad you enjoyed! The cupcakes look beautiful. I especially love the malt ball on top--so cute.
Thanks, Julie. My husband says they're going to be his birthday cupcakes too - he's already planning for March!
I love how the frosting looks like it just melts in your mouth. I love anything malt too. These would be perfect for a birthday party, but I probably wouldn't be able to wait and I'd make them just because. Lovely photos, too!!
I think you should make them just because. They're better that way!
LOVE malt. These cupcakes have gotten a hold of me!
Lynne, I'm glad you like them! They certainly got a hold of my husband too. He was not so happy when I gave the extras away.
These look too perfect, Amber....and that filling!! So so so cute and gorgeous pictures.
And now I want twenty of them.
For breakfast.
Well, that's always an option. You are a queen, after all. Surely you can ordain malt chocolate cupcakes a suitable breakfast?