epicurious5.0
Malted Chocolate Cake With Namelaka and Cherries
Fill your malted chocolate cake layers with silky chocolate cream and a quick homemade cherry jam. This malted chocolate dessert makes a great birthday cake.
👥 8 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 2h 30m🔥 Cook: 1h 45m👤 Stephanie Loo📖 epicurious
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●pan
- ●bowl
- ●whisk
- ●oven
- ●spatula
- ●saucepan
- ●knife
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Cake
2
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Lightly coat two 8"-diameter cake pans with nonstick vegetable oil spray and line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Whisk 1¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar, 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup (70 g) malted milk powder (if using), 2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, and ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl to combine. Whisk 2 large eggs, room temperature, 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, and ½ tsp. almond extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually add to dry ingredients, whisking until incorporated. Slowly add 1 cup hot coffee, whisking until smooth.
Nonstick vegetable oil spray(84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder1 cup¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar1¾ cups chilled heavy cream1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour1½ cup (70 g) malted milk powder (optional). baking soda2 tsp. baking powder1 tsplarge eggs, room temperature2buttermilk, room temperature1 cup. vanilla extract1 tsphot coffee1 cup
3
Divide batter between prepared pans (650 g with malt/620 g without malt). Bake cakes on middle rack, rotating front to back halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–⏱️ 45 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cakes cool in pans ⏱️ 30 minutes. Run an offset spatula around edges to loosen cakes, then turn out onto rack and carefully remove parchment paper; discard. Let cakes cool completely. Do ahead: Cakes can be baked 3 days ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill, or freeze up to 3 weeks.
4
Jam
5
Bring 1 lb. pitted fresh or frozen sweet dark cherries, ⅓ cup (67 g) sugar, 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. cornstarch, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, about ⏱️ 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often and smashing cherries to break up slightly (you want jam to be chunky), until jam is uniformly bubbling, glossy, slightly darkened in color, and coats a spoon, 15–⏱️ 25 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and ¼ tsp. almond extract; let cool. (You should have about 1 cup jam.) Do ahead: Jam can be made 3 weeks ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill, or freeze up to 6 months.
(84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder1 cup. pitted fresh or frozen sweet dark cherries1 lb. fresh lemon juice1 Tbsp. cornstarch1 tsp. unsalted butter1 Tbsp. vanilla extract1 tsp
6
Namelaka and assembly
7
Pour 2 Tbsp. cold water (from the tap is fine) into a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 envelope unflavored powdered gelatin (about 2½ tsp.) evenly over. Let sit ⏱️ 10 minutes.
(84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder1 cupenvelope unflavored powdered gelatin (about 2½ tsp.)1
8
Meanwhile, place 9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, in a large bowl. Whisk 1 cup whole milk, ⅓ cup (47 g) malted milk powder (if using), and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt in a medium saucepan to combine, then bring just to a steaming boil (not rolling) over medium heat, about ⏱️ 4 minutes.
(84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder1 cup. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped9 ozwhole milk1 cup
9
Remove from heat, add gelatin mixture, and whisk until dissolved. Immediately pour through a fine-mesh sieve over chocolate and let sit ⏱️ 2 minutes, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk in 1¾ cups chilled heavy cream. Cover namelaka with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface, and chill until set (it will be thickened and slightly jiggly, like chocolate pudding, at least ⏱️ 4 hours. (You should have about 4 cups.)
¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar1(84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder1 cup¾ cups chilled heavy cream1
10
Using a serrated knife, trim off any domes on tops of cakes. Stir namelaka with a rubber spatula to loosen. Spread 1 Tbsp. namelaka in center of a cake stand or large plate (this will prevent cake from sliding around). Place 1 cake layer, right side up, on cake stand. Scoop 1 (heaping) cup namelaka on top and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Dollop two thirds of jam (about ⅔ cup) over namelaka and spread evenly (you can go all the way to the edges or leave a small border). Place second cake layer, cut side down, on top. Scoop 1 (heaping) cup namelaka on top and spread to edges, leaving smooth or swirling decoratively. Frost sides of cake with a thin layer of remaining namelaka (like a “naked cake”) or as thickly as you’d like; or reserve leftover namelaka for another use. Dot top of cake with more jam, swirling if desired. Chill cake uncovered until namelaka is set, at least ⏱️ 30 minutes. Do ahead: Namelaka can be made 3 days ahead; keep chilled. Cake can be assembled 2 days ahead. Keep chilled (uncovered).
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