Mary Berry's Malted Chocolate Cake

Fans of The Great British Bake Off are no doubt fans of Mary Berry too. Here's a lovely chocolate cake of hers from Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites cook book. Mary said: "This cake is the perfect family treat, and a real crowd-pleaser. The malt extract gives a lovely creaminess to the sponge, while the malted chocolate flavour is echoed in the cake’s topping."

Mary Berry's Malted Chocolate Cake

Prepare ahead

The filling will remain soft and ready to use in a bowl covered with cling film for 2–3 days. The finished cake can be kept in an airtight container for up to a day.

Freeze

Freeze the cake and icing separately, then defrost at room temperature and assemble when ready to serve.

Ingredients

30g (1oz) malted chocolate drink powder
30g (1oz) cocoa powder
225g (8oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
225g (8oz) caster sugar
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs

For the icing

3 tbsp malted chocolate drink powder
1½ tbsp hot milk
125g (4½oz) butter, softened
250g (9oz) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
50g (2oz) dark chocolate (at least 50 per cent cocoa solids), melted
1 tbsp boiling water
About 20 Maltesers, to decorate

Method

1. You will need two 20cm (8in) round sandwich tins. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 and grease the tins with butter and line the bases with baking paper.

2. Measure the malted chocolate drink powder and cocoa powder into a large bowl, pour over 2 tablespoons of water and mix to a paste. Add the remaining cake ingredients and beat until smooth.

3. Divide evenly between the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes. Set aside in the tins to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make the icing, measure the malted chocolate drink powder into a bowl, add the hot milk and mix until smooth. Add the butter, icing sugar and melted chocolate and mix again until smooth, then add the boiling water to give a gloss to the icing.

5. Place one cake on a plate and spread over half the icing. Sandwich with the other cake and spread (or pipe) the remaining icing on top, using the tip of a rounded palette knife to create a swirled effect from the centre to the edge of the cake. Arrange the Maltesers over the top and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Here's another wonderful book on baking:

Mary Berry's Baking Bible A comprehensive book on baking with 250 recipes







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