Malted Milk Crumb Food

MALTED MILK CRUMB

Steps:

• Toss the milk crumbs with the Ovaltine malt powder in a medium bowl until all of the crumbs are a light brown.
• Pour the white chocolate over the crumbs and continue tossing until all of the clusters are enrobed. Then continue tossing them every 5 minutes until the white chocolate hardens and the clusters are no longer sticky. (The result will be just like the original milk crumb, but with a cheetah-like spotting of light brown malt powder.) The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.
• Malted milk crumbs are used in the Chocolate Malt Layer Cake (page 139).

CHOCOLATE-MALT CAKE

Steps:

• For chocolate-malt crumbs:
• Mix Milk Crumbs and Ovaltine in small bowl. Place white chocolate in small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals just until melted, stirring occasionally. Drizzle chocolate over Milk Crumb mixture; toss to coat.
• For malt-fudge sauce:
• Place first 4 ingredients in medium bowl; set aside. Combine cream, corn syrup, and sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour cream mixture over chocolate mixture in bowl. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Whisk until sauce is glossy, about 1 minute. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Cool completely. Cover and chill. Rewarm just until pourable before using.
• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottom of each pan with parchment round; coat parchment with nonstick spray. Place chocolate in small microwave-safe bowl. Melt in microwave in 15-second intervals just until melted, stirring occasionally. Set aside. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and coarse salt into medium bowl. Combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup in large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs; beat on low speed to incorporate, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add melted chocolate. Beat until blended, about 1 minute. Add buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium-high speed until pale brown, about 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients; beat on low speed just until blended, about 45 seconds. Divide batter among pans; smooth tops.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pans on racks.
• Stir milk and Ovaltine in small bowl. Invert 1 cake from pan onto flat plate or tart pan bottom; peel off parchment. Place cake, top side down, in 8-inch springform pan. Brush cake with generous 2 1/2 tablespoons Ovaltine-milk mixture. Let Ovaltine-milk mixture soak into cake. Drizzle 1/3 cup malt-fudge sauce over cake; spread evenly over top. Sprinkle 1/2 cup chocolate-malt crumbs over sauce. Drizzle 1/3 cup malt-fudge sauce over crumbs. Scatter 1 cup mini marshmallows over. Using kitchen torch, toast marshmallows. Repeat with second cake layer, Ovaltine-milk mixture, malt-fudge sauce, chocolate-malt crumbs, malt-fudge sauce, and marshmallows. Remove third cake from pan; peel off parchment. Place cake, top side down, atop marshmallows on second cake layer. Brush with remaining Ovaltine-milk mixture (assembled cake will rise well above edge of pan). Cover cake with plastic wrap; chill overnight. Cover and chill fudge sauce.
• Run thin knife around sides of pan to release cake. Remove pan sides. Place cake (still on springform pan bottom) on plate. Rewarm sauce just until pourable. Pour over top of cake, allowing sauce to drip over edges. Mound handful of marshmallows in center of cake. Using kitchen torch, toast marshmallows. Sprinkle remaining malt crumbs over cake. Let cake stand at room temperature 3 hours before serving.
• Cut cake into wedges and serve.

MALTED MILK ICE CREAM BONBONS

Steps:

• Freeze the malted milk balls for 30 minutes. Pulse them in a food processor, or crush them in a sealed plastic bag to make pieces the size of rice grains.
• Place the malted milk powder into a shallow bowl. Scoop out a ball of ice cream and roll it in the malted milk powder until well coated, then roll it in the crumbs made from the malted milk balls. Immediately put it on a plate in the freezer and repeat with remaining ingredients. Firm them up in the freezer for at least 20 minutes before serving.

MALTED MILK CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 300°F
• Using a paper towel or your fingertips, generously butter the inside of the springform pan. Use a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil to wrap tightly around the bottom of the pan. This prevents any water from the water bath seeping into the pan.
• In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the cookies, walnuts, and sugar and pulse until the cookies are finely ground, about 2 minutes. Or place the cookies in a sturdy plastic bag and seal it. Use a rolling pin to crush the cookies to a very fine crumb consistency. Finely chop the walnuts and add them with the sugar to the cookies, seal the bag, and shake to blend together evenly.
• Transfer the cookie crumb mixture to a medium bowl and add the butter. Use a rubber spatula or a spoon to toss the mixture together to moisten all of the cookie crumbs.
• Transfer the crust to the prepared springform pan and use your fingertips to press it into the bottom and partway up the sides of the pan. Chill the crust while preparing the cheesecake batter.
• Place the milk chocolate in the top of a double boiler over low heat. Stir often with a rubber spatula to help melt evenly. Remove the top pan of the double boiler and wipe the bottom and sides very dry.
• Or place the milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt on low power for 30-second bursts. Stir with a rubber spatula after each burst.
• Place the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, add the malted milk powder, and whisk to distribute evenly. Cover the pan and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes, then strain the cream.
• Place the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric stand mixer or in a large bowl. Use the flat beater attachment or a hand-held mixer to beat the cream cheese on medium speed until it's fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the sugar and cream together very well. Stop occasionally and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• One at a time, add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture, beating well after each addition. At first the eggs will sit on top of the cream cheese mixture, but stop often to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. This will help the mixture to blend. The mixture may also look curdled as the eggs are added, but as you stop and scrape down the bowl, the mixture will smooth out.
• Add the sour cream and vanilla to the cream cheese mixture and stir together to combine.
• Add the strained cream to the batter and blend thoroughly, then add the melted milk chocolate and mix together.
• Transfer the batter into the crust in the springform pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth and even the top.
• Place the springform pan in the larger cake pan or roasting pan and set the pan on the oven rack. Carefully pour the boiling water into the bottom pan until it reaches halfway up the side of the springform pan. Baking the cake in a water bath cushions it from the heat and adds extra moisture to the oven, which keeps the top of the cake from cracking.
• Bake the cake for 1 hour and 45 minutes, until the top is set, but jiggles slightly. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the cheesecake to a rack.
• Remove the foil and let the cheesecake cool completely. Cover the top of the cheesecake with waxed paper and wrap the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Refrigerate the cake for at least 6 hours before serving. To unmold the cheesecake, dip a thin-bladed knife in hot water and dry, then run it around the inner edge of the pan. Release the clip on the rim of the pan and gently lift it off the cake.
• Store the cheesecake, covered with waxed paper and tightly wrapped with aluminum foil, in the refrigerator up to 4 days. To freeze up to 2 months, wrap the cake pan tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Use a large piece of masking tape and an indelible marker to label and date the contents. If frozen, defrost overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.

MALTED MILK PIE

Steps:

• Reserve 1/4 cup malted balls for topping.
• Fold in whip topping and remaining malt balls into the ice cream.
• Pour into crust and sprinkle with remaining malted balls.
• Freeze.
• Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving.