There’s just something so retro about marbled cakes that is so charming. Despite being so easy to achieve, it still looks magical when you slice in and see the contrasting colours. With chocolate and vanilla being the most classic combination, I thought about how I could make it stand out against its more vibrant rainbow, unicorn or galaxy millennial cousins. I thought about making the chocolate the star of the show (traditional marbled cakes are very lacking on the chocolate side!). With this in mind, I thought of Malt, a very underused but very much-loved ingredient. Think malted milk shakes and Maltesers - all good things! 

I settled on Maltesers as the star of the show for this cake and decided to make it into a Bundt cake as I was feeling fancy! This can certainly be done in a loaf tin, or even as a layer cake. If you do this, I would go for a malted or brown butter filling (see my pretzel cupcake recipe for details). This will contrast the overt chocolate ganache you will want to drench the cake in (that would make a showstopper in itself!) 

Go all out and whip up this super tasty cake. It’s so easy and the taste will blow your mind! As always, tag me on Instagram with your bakes as I love to see your baking creations! 

Ingredients 

For the sponge -

350 g butter

350 g sugar

400 g flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

35 g cocoa powder

1 tsp instant coffee (optional)

2 tsp vanilla

75 g malt powder (Horlicks or Ovaltine)

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs

3 tbs milk

To decorate – 

100 g (approx.) or a large share bag of Maltesers

200 g milk chocolate, chopped

200 ml double cream

50 g malt powder (Horlicks or Ovaltine)

Method 

 1 – 

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees C. Liberally grease your bundt tin with butter or cake spray and set aside. 

2 – 

In either the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together your butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, malt powder and salt. In another small bowl, add your cocoa powder and coffee granules and stir in 3 tbs of boiling water; mix this into a paste, ensuring no dry spots remain. 

3 – 

In the bowl containing your butter and sugar mixture, and with your mixer on low speed, gradually add your eggs, alternating with your dry ingredients, until everything in incorporated. Be sure to stop and scrape down the bowl every now and again to ensure an even mix. Once all the eggs and dry ingredients have been incorporated, add your vanilla and milk mix briefly to combine. 

4 – 

Put two thirds of the above mixture into a separate bowl and set aside. To the remaining one third, add your cocoa powder mixture and mix until evenly combined. You will know when you are done when there are no streaks of unmixed batter.

5 – 

Alternating between your two batters, add large scoops of each to fill your prepared bundt tin. Once you have used all of your batter, use a skewer or toothpick and lightly swirl your two batters together to make a marbled effect. Be sure not to go too far as it will just blend them together - less is more! 

6 – 

Bake your cake on the middle shelf of your oven for 35-45 mins or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean. If your cake is browning too fast, lightly cover with tin foil for the remaining bake time. Once baked, remove to cool in the in for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully. Store in an airtight container if not decorating the same day. 

To make the malted ganache 

1 – 

In a small saucepan or in a microwaveable jug/container, heat your cream until just before boiling point. At this stage, remove the cream from the heat, add your malt powder and whisk/stir together until no lumps remain. Once it is all mixed, check to see if it has cooled down too much. If so, return it to the heat but take care not to overheat or scald the cream. 

2 – 

Add your malted milk mixture to the chopped chocolate and set aside for 2-3 mins. When ready, stir to mix together, ensuring it is thoroughly combined. There should be no streaks of cream. Set aside to allow the mixture to cool to room temp and then store in the fridge in an airtight container if not using the same day. 

To decorate – 

Place your cooled cake on your desired serving plate or cake stand. 

Warm your ganache in the microwave until it is pourable but still thick - you want it to run down the sides but not leak everywhere. The texture of softly whipped cream is a good texture to aim for. 

Evenly pour your ganache over the cake, letting it drip down the sides as desired. You can also spoon or pipe the ganache on for more control. You may have some left over and this can be used for truffles if needs be! (win win)

Break/crumble your Maltesers over the top, placing the occasional whole one for varied texture. Be generous with this to create impact on top of the cake.

Once finished, your cake is ready to slice and serve. You can let the ganache set at room temp a bit before cutting if you want. This cake can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.