Recipe: Paola Velez's chocolate Malta cake
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Chocolate Malta cake. Photo: Courtesy of "Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store"
Paola Velez's chocolate cake is infused with Malta, a lightly carboanated, non-alcoholic malt beverage made in Venezuela.
Why it matters: As Velez writes in her book, "we've all seen our fair share of chocolate sweets and bakes infused with coffee. But have you ever heard about, let alone taste, what happens when you give malta a try instead? Bitter, sweet, rich, hoppy, and amazingly elevated."
Cake ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon dark rum
- 1 cup (240 mL) olive oil
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) avocado oil
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (240 mL) malta beverage
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) whole milk
Icing ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) unsifted powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
- 2 to 4 tablespoons malta beverage, as needed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- Pinch of kosher salt
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 10-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the granulated sugar and eggs on medium speed until fluffy and pale, about 8 minutes. Add the molasses, vanilla extract, and rum and mix until combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the olive oil and avocado oil in a thin stream. Mix until glossy and combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add half the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl with the wet ingredients and pulse the mixer on and off, almost like you're trying to jump-start a car, so the flour gets gradually incorporated without flying all over your kitchen.
- When the dry ingredients are mostly combined, mix on low to incorporate them fully, about 3 minutes.
- Gradually pour in the malta and mix until combined. Gradually pour in the milk and mix until combined, pausing to scrape down the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cake is springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, then flip the cake onto a parchment-lined work surface and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the icing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of the malta, the vanilla paste, and the salt until smooth. If you want a thinner icing, add up to 2 tablespoons additional malta.
- Pour the icing over the cooled cake and let it set before serving. Garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder.
The fine print: Recipe reprinted with permission from Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store by Paola Velez © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © 2024 Lauren V. Allen.