Mini Malt Chocolate Cake For Two Recipes

MINI MALT CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR TWO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray and line the bottom of two 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, baking soda, and baking powder.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, water, vegetable oil.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour the wet ingredients into the well and gently fold and stir the dry and wet ingredients together until a batter forms. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure there's no remaining flour.
• Once the batter is just mixed, divide evenly amongst the prepared cake pans.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean.
• Let cool for 10 minutes then invert and transfer onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.
• Beat together all the ingredients for the frosting. The consistency should be thick but spreadable.
• Once the cakes are done cooling, place one layer onto a cake stand or whatever you will be serving it on. Put some frosting in the center of the cake then place the other layer on top. Gently press down.
• Use the rest of the frosting to frost the cake.
• Serve and enjoy!

MINI CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the cake: Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 6-inch round cake pan with 2-inch sides with oil then line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together the egg, sugar, oil, sour cream, coffee and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake starts to pull away from the sides, 29 to 32 minutes. If you under bake the cake, it will slightly sink, so check it!
• Remove the cake from the pan by carefully running a paring knife along the edge to loosen, then tilting it into one hand and peeling off the parchment from the bottom; place it on a small cake stand.
• For the ganache: Combine the chocolate, cream and corn syrup if using, in a double boiler or a heat-proof bowl fitted over a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and cream in the microwave on low in 25-second intervals, stirring between each.)
• Pour the ganache over the cake, and garnish with the pomegranate arils.

CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR TWO

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
• Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla in a measuring cup. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and beat with a wooden spoon until well combined, scraping the side and bottom of the bowl once or twice with a rubber spatula. Stir in the hot water until it is all absorbed and the batter is smooth (it will be thin).
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until the top is shiny, the cake is just beginning to pull away from the side of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a crumb or 2 attached, about 20 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper and let the cake completely cool on the rack, right-side up, about 1 hour. (The cake will be thin, but don't worry-it will magically be OK once it's stacked with frosting.)
• For the frosting: Pulse the butter, cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor 10 times, stopping halfway through to scrape the bottom and side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the corn syrup and vanilla, and pulse 5 times. Scrape the bottom and side of the bowl, drizzle in the chocolate and pulse 5 more times to combine. Transfer the frosting to a small bowl.
• To assemble: Cut the cooled cake into 4 even quarters. Frost the top of each quarter with about 2 tablespoons of the frosting (an offset spatula helps spread the frosting evenly). Stack the frosted quarters directly on top of each other on a serving plate, resulting in a 4-layer wedge of cake with frosting between layers and on top. Frost all 3 sides of the cake with the remaining frosting until completely covered. Let sit for 30 minutes. Halve and serve.

MALTED CHOCOLATE & STOUT LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and flour three 9-in. round baking pans; set aside., In a large saucepan, combine beer, butter and chocolate. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until butter and chocolate are melted. Remove from heat; whisk in milk powder and cocoa. Transfer to a large bowl. Let stand 15 minutes. , Preheat oven to 350°. Add sour cream and eggs to chocolate mixture; beat until well blended. Combine sugar, flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into chocolate mixture until blended. Pour batter into prepared pans., Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 32-36 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large heavy saucepan, bring sugar and liqueur to a gentle boil over medium heat; cook until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add a small amount of hot mixture to egg yolks; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature., In a large bowl with a whisk attachment, cream butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar mixture. Add milk powder; beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. If necessary, refrigerate until frosting reaches spreading consistency., Place bottom cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 2/3 cup frosting. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. If desired, top with chopped malted milk balls.