Mary Berry’s malted chocolate cake is a two-layer sponge made with malted chocolate drink powder and cocoa, sandwiched and topped with a malted chocolate buttercream icing, then finished with Maltesers. It bakes at 180°C (160°C fan) for 20 to 25 minutes in two 20cm sandwich tins and serves 8 to 10.
Berry published this in Absolute Favourites (2015) and her headnote explains the flavour logic: “The malt extract gives a lovely creaminess to the sponge, while the malted chocolate flavour is echoed in the cake’s topping.” She uses malted chocolate drink powder in both the sponge and the icing, so the malty taste runs through every layer of the cake.
The icing has a trick worth noting. Berry finishes it with a tablespoon of boiling water, which she says gives it “a gloss.” Without that water the buttercream sets matte and stiff, but the boiling water loosens it just enough to spread into smooth swirls with a palette knife. It’s a small step that makes the cake look polished.
Mary Berry Malted Chocolate Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy8-10
servings20
minutes20
minutes620
kcal45
minutesBerry freezes the cake and icing separately, then defrosts and assembles when ready to serve. The icing stays soft and spreadable in a covered bowl for 2 to 3 days, so you can bake the sponge midweek and ice it at the weekend.
Ingredients
- For the sponge:
30g (1 oz) malted chocolate drink powder
30g (1 oz) cocoa powder
225g (8 oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
225g (8 oz) caster sugar
225g (8 oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
- For the icing:
3 tbsp malted chocolate drink powder
1½ tbsp hot milk
125g (4½ oz) butter, softened
250g (9 oz) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
50g (2 oz) dark chocolate (at least 50 per cent cocoa solids), melted
1 tbsp boiling water
About 20 Maltesers, to decorate
Directions
- Preheat: Set the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 (350°F). You will need two 20cm (8 in) round sandwich tins. Grease the tins with butter and line the bases with baking paper.
- Mix the sponge: Measure the malted chocolate drink powder and cocoa powder into a large bowl, pour over 2 tablespoons of water and mix to a paste. Add the remaining cake ingredients and beat until smooth.
- Bake: Divide evenly between the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes. Set aside in the tins to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing: Measure the malted chocolate drink powder into a bowl, add the hot milk and mix until smooth. Add the butter, icing sugar and melted chocolate and mix again until smooth, then add the boiling water to give a gloss to the icing.
- Assemble: Place one cake on a plate and spread over half the icing. Sandwich with the other cake and spread or pipe the remaining icing on top, using the tip of a rounded palette knife to create a swirled effect from the centre to the edge of the cake. Arrange the Maltesers over the top and dust with icing sugar before serving.
Notes
- Calories: Sponge: malt powder (114) + cocoa (68) + 225g butter (1,613) + 225g sugar (871) + 225g SR flour (776) + 4 eggs (312). Icing: malt powder (80) + milk (14) + 125g butter (896) + 250g icing sugar (973) + 50g dark chocolate (273) + 20 Maltesers (200) = 6,190 ÷ 10 = 620 kcal per slice
FAQs
What is malted chocolate drink powder and which brand should I use?
Berry calls for “malted chocolate drink powder,” which means products like Ovaltine or Horlicks chocolate malt. These are powdered malt extract blended with cocoa and sugar, sold in the hot drinks aisle of any supermarket. Berry doesn’t name a specific brand, but any malted chocolate drink powder works because the malt flavour is what she’s after.
Don’t confuse it with plain cocoa powder or drinking chocolate, which are different products. Cocoa is bitter and unsweetened, drinking chocolate is sweet but not malted, and malted chocolate drink powder has that distinctive creamy, biscuity maltiness that defines this cake. Berry uses both cocoa and malt powder together in the sponge, so each one does a different job.
Why does Berry add boiling water to the icing at the end?
The boiling water loosens the buttercream just enough to give it a glossy, smooth finish when you spread it. Without it, the icing is stiffer and sets matte, which makes it harder to swirl with a palette knife. Berry uses the same trick in several of her buttercream recipes, including her Coffee Butterfly Cakes in the Baking Bible where she adds hot water “to give a spreadable consistency.”
Only add one tablespoon though. Too much water thins the icing to a pouring consistency and it slides off the cake instead of holding its shape. The single tablespoon is enough to change the texture without weakening the structure. I’ve accidentally added two tablespoons before and had to beat in extra icing sugar to rescue it.
Can I use milk chocolate instead of dark in the icing?
Berry specifies “dark chocolate at least 50 per cent cocoa solids” for the icing, which is a deliberate choice. The malt powder and icing sugar are already very sweet, so the dark chocolate cuts through and stops the icing tasting one-note. Milk chocolate would push it further into sugary territory and the malt flavour would get lost.
Berry uses the same principle in her Rich Chocolate Tray Bake from Mary Berry Cooks (2014), where she offers dark chocolate as the “more sophisticated” option alongside milk. For this cake, I’d stick with her recommendation. The 50% cocoa solids is mild enough not to taste bitter but strong enough to balance the malt and sugar.
How do I get the swirled icing effect Berry describes?
Berry says to use “the tip of a rounded palette knife to create a swirled effect from the centre to the edge of the cake.” Start in the middle of the cake with the flat side of the palette knife pressed lightly into the icing, then drag it outward to the edge in a curved motion. Rotate the plate slightly and repeat, working your way around the cake until the whole surface is covered in spiralling swirls.
The icing needs to be freshly made and still soft for this to work cleanly. If it’s been sitting for more than 10 minutes, the surface starts to set and the palette knife drags through it rather than smoothing it. Work quickly after adding the boiling water, and if the icing firms up, a few seconds with an electric beater loosens it again.
How do I store this cake?
Berry gives specific notes. The finished cake keeps in an airtight container for up to a day, which is shorter than her other chocolate cakes because the malted buttercream softens over time. The filling on its own “will remain soft and ready to use in a bowl covered with cling film for 2 to 3 days,” so you can bake ahead and ice later.
For freezing, Berry says to “freeze the cake and icing separately, then defrost at room temperature and assemble when ready to serve.” This is smart because the Maltesers go soft if they sit on the icing for more than a day. I freeze the sponge layers wrapped in cling film and the icing in a sealed container, then assemble and add the Maltesers just before serving.
What’s the difference between this and Berry’s other chocolate cakes?
Her Iced Chocolate Traybake from the Ultimate Cake Book (2003) is a single-layer traybake with a poured chocolate and icing sugar glaze, designed for lunchboxes. Her Rich Chocolate Tray Bake from Mary Berry Cooks (2014) uses a milk chocolate ganache with white chocolate feathering. Neither has the malt flavour that defines this cake.
This is the only chocolate cake in all 28 of Berry’s books that uses malted chocolate drink powder. The malt adds a creamy, biscuity warmth underneath the cocoa that’s completely different from a straight chocolate cake. It tastes like childhood in a way that pure dark chocolate doesn’t, which is probably why Berry calls it “the perfect family treat” and puts Maltesers on top.
