Malteser Cake & Oh What A Snowy Day!

Malteser Cake

The weather forecast predicated snow and this is just what we got! As I type the snow is still falling this evening! It’s was reported on the B.B.C. News as being the worst snow fall in 18 years!

snowy view

On the upside I’ve seen children playing snow balls and making snowmen and thoroughly enjoying themselves! I really loved the snow as a child but now I would rather be in a warm kitchen baking or cooking rather than playing snowballs outdoors these days! The signs of old age creeping on.........

My Rosemary covered in snow

I baked my son’s favourite Malteser cake this weekend, which comes courtesy of Nigella Lawson’s book Feast. It’s not a swanky cake but if you adore Maltesers this is a wonderful take on them with a malty chocolate sponge and malt chocolate icing and adorned on the top with a crown of Maltesers. I did add an extra little bit of bling by sprinkling over some edible gold glitter. I can’t recall how many times I have baked this cake now for different occasions but it always seems to do the trick and everyone loves it *including Mr R* whom is a secret Malteser eater *giggle*. I kid you not, we can be watching a DVD and when I look up at the ending a huge bag has been devoured! I will leave you with that thought lol......

Malteser Cake

Makes 8 - 10 slices

Ingredients
For The Cake:
150g soft light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
3 eggs
175ml milk
150g butter
2 tbsp Horlicks (malted powder drink)
175g plain flour
25g cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
For The Icing and decoration
250g icing sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder
45g Horlicks
125g unsalted butter
2 tbsp boiling water
2 x 37g packets Maltesers
*Take whatever you need out of the fridge so that all the ingredients come to room temperature*.

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Butter and line two 20cm (8 in) sandwich cake tins with baking parchment.

Whisk together the sugars and eggs in a mixer. Heat the milk, butter and horlicks powder in a saucepan until the butter melts, hot but not boiling. When the sugars and eggs are light and frothy, beat in the hot horlicks mixture, then fold in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Equally divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for 25 minutes, by which time the cakes should be raised and will spring back to the touch. Let them cool in their tins for 5 – 10 minutes before turning out to completely cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing: place the icing sugar, cocoa powder and Horlicks in a food processor and blitz to remove any lumps. Add the butter and blitz again, stopping to scrape down and start again. Pour the boiling water down the funnel with the motor running until you have a smooth buttercream.

Sandwich the cold sponges with half the buttercream, and then ice the top making a swirly pattern. Place Maltesers all the way around the outside edge of the cake.