Lush Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Malt Frosting

Mamala. This is how I affectionately referred to my beloved mother. Mamala. She passed away six years ago, and every year I still bake a cake on her birthday (Aug 4) in her honor.

As far back as I can remember, I made her birthday cakes. She was the ultimate chocoholic and I loved when her eyes rolled back in her head as she took the first bite of any dessert. Her two most favorite flavors were anything chocolate and anything malt, and here we get both. 

I have made hundreds of chocolate cakes, but this is The One. The go-to. Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) never lets me down, and the addition of malt powder to the frosting gives it an extra kick. This cake is lush, never dry, super chocolatey with a superior texture. Definitely a dessert for chocoholics beyond recovery.
 
Adapted from: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home 
Number of Servings: 8-10
 
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

  
Chocolate Malt Frosting

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
• 2 tablespoons malt powder
• 4-5 tablespoons sour cream

 
Directions
Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
3. Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

​Chocolate Malt Frosting

1. Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.
3. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of hot tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate, coffee and malt to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Add sour cream and mix just until incorporated.
4. Spread immediately on the cooled cake. Place in refrigerator to firm up.