The most darling Christmas cake is here! I LOVE how simple, yet tasty, this cake turned out! My NEW chocolate peppermint malt cake is a perfect combination of chocolate and peppermint – elevated even further with a bit of malt for thickness and richness. It tastes just like a delicious chocolate peppermint malt shake!

Tis the season for peppermint

I feel like peppermint for winter and Christmas is the equivalent of pumpkin to fall baking. Lots and lots of peppermint treats and desserts will start to fill up the kitchen as the season goes along for us. However, I wanted to create a fun cake with a twist. Chocolate peppermint is one I’ll always come back to, but adding malt in the mix really adds in a creaminess and taste/texture that I think you’re really going to love.

Some other peppermint recipes that we adore are:

How to use Malt flavoring in cakes

My favorite way is TWO different ways – using malt powder (white) or just going with Ovaltine (chocolate malt powder drink mix). They both work really well in cake AND buttercream. For us, while making a chocolate peppermint malt cake, this is a double in! I’ve always been able to find my malt powder right next to the hot cocoa mixes in the grocery store.

How to make a malt cake

I started with my usual chocolate peppermint cake recipe (chocolate cake with a little peppermint extract – only use a little, that peppermint extract is very strong!), and then added the malt powder to it. You can’t taste the malt in the cake as much as you can in the buttercream, to be honest, so even if you left it out, it wouldn’t be a huge deal. I add it, though, because I love being able to have it in both the cake and buttercream.

The rest of the ingredients are pretty simple

  • Sour cream – use room temperature
  • Buttermilk – room temperature, again
  • Eggs -room temperature…. notice a pattern?
  • vegetable oil – you can do melted butter, too, if you’d like
  • vanilla
  • peppermint extract
  • malt powder
  • cocoa powder (I love the really dark stuff!)
  • Duncan Hines Cake Mix – dark chocolate fudge

How to make chocolate peppermint malt buttercream

This one is super easy! You just need to make sure to follow the directions and make sure to mind the consistency of the buttercream. We’re adding in a few more ingredients that tend to thicken up our buttercream a little extra (cocoa, malt powder, powdered sugar). So the key here is to use good quality heavy cream and add in any extra you need – starting at a Tablespoon at a time to see how it whips up after adding it.

If it’s too thick, add in some heavy cream. If it’s too thin, add in some powdered sugar.

Peppermint hearts with candy canes

Aren’t these just darling? And it’s a super easy way to dress up your cake for Christmas (or dare I say even Valentine’s Day?). Take two small candy canes and gently press them into the side of the cake while the buttercream is still “wet’ or also known as “freshly frosted.” Next, add in the crushed peppermint inside of the hearts. This is a little tricky because my fingers didn’t want to cooperate, but we made it work!

Whoppers on a cake

With the “rim” around the outside top of the cake, the malt balls don’t tend to roll around and escape off the counter. Yay! Trust me, I’ve done that way too many times with whoppers on a cake!

They tend to be a little pesky when slicing into the cake, so it’s always a good idea to have a small bowl nearby, put the malt balls inside the bowl, then just plate the spheres with the cake when it’s time for serving. That way they don’t fall off and roll away when you’re trying to make clean slices.

That’s it! I hope you love my new chocolate peppermint malt cake this holiday season! It was so tasty and cozy – perfect for these winter months ahead. As always, I’d love to see your Baking with Blondie cakes! Make sure to tag me @bakingwithblondie or #bakingwithblondie on social media when you share it so I can join in on all the fun.

Happy baking!

xo,

Mandy

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Peppermint Malt Cake

Rich chocolate peppermint cake frosted in a peppermint malt buttercream, decorated with candy cane hearts and topped with malted chocolate spheres!
Servings: 12 slices
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Ingredients
 

Chocolate Peppermint Malt Cake Layers

  • 2/3 cup sour cream , room temperature
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 3 whole eggs, room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract , You an add a full teaspoon if you're a diehard peppermint fan, but I think it tends to get strong, so it's up to you!
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup malt powder, or chocolate malt powder (Ovaltine works well here)
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 15.25oz Chocolate Fudge, or Dark Chocolate Cake Mix, I prefer the taste and texture of Duncan Hines brand, but other brands should be similar

Chocolate Peppermint Malt Buttercream

  • 1 1/2 cup (or three sticks) unsalted butter, Left out at room temperature for 10 minutes to slightly soften
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract , Again, you can add the full teaspoon, but it's totally up to how much peppermint yall can handle in your cake!
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more if needed
  • 1/2 cup malt powder, or chocolate malt powder (like Ovaltine)
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 7-8 cups powdered sugar

Extras

  • mini candy canes
  • crushed candy canes (or just pulse some of the candy canes in a food processor for this one)
  • Whoppers, or chocolate malt spheres

Instructions
 

Chocolate Peppermint Malt Cake Layers

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees (for convection ovens. If you have a traditional oven (convention) just leave the cake rounds in an extra couple minutes!). Prep three 6" cake rounds with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients. Sift in the malt powder, cocoa powder, and cake mix gently until incorporated. Split the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake rounds. Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until the centers of the cake are finished baking. Let cool on a wire rack, wrap up in plastic wrap, then freeze until assembly.

Chocolate Peppermint Malt Buttercream

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add in the salt, vanilla, peppermint extract, and heavy cream – mix up again. Add in the malt powder, cocoa powder, and then the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time. Add in a little more heavy cream if needed (about 1 Tablespoon at a time) to thin out the buttercream.
  • Flip the mixer on high speed and let the buttercream whip up for a lighter, more fluffy, texture.

Assembly

  • Stack and crumb coat the cake layers using a cake scraper, cake turntable, angled icing spatula, and a straight icing spatula. Freeze the crumb coat for 2 minutes.
  • Using a wooden spoon or spatula, hand beat the air bubbles out of the buttercream. When it's smooth, spread it all over the cake in a final layer, using a cake scraper for clean sides – leave the top unfinished for a more rustic look.
  • Hand place on the candy canes in a heart pattern on the side of the cake and gently press on some of the crushed candy canes in the centers of the hearts.
  • Top the cake with the malt spheres (whoppers). And enjoy!