Malteser Cupcakes

If you follow me on Facebook you will have seen a picture I posted of some delicious looking cupcakes that I made recently, not once, but twice.  They were that good!

You know I have a love of all things “malt” so when these Malteser Cupcakes appeared in my YouTube feed it was only a matter of weeks before they were whipped up in my kitchen.

Yes, this is yet another post that has stemmed from a YouTube video so I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought I spent all day watching YouTube (if I am honest, some days I do).  The creator of this one is Cupcake Jemma who is in the UK and has a gorgeous looking shop by the name of Crumbs & Doilies in London which is on my list should I ever be lucky enough to get over there.

For these cupcakes you will need cocoa powder, malted milk powder, self-raising flour, caster sugar, bicarb soda, salt, unsalted butter, eggs, vanilla extract and milk.

The thing I really love about this batter is that pretty much everything goes into the bowl at once, you do not have to cream the butter and sugar then add everything afterwards.  Super simple!  So to start, sift all of the dry ingredients into your bowl, either that of a stand mixer or a normal bowl if you are using a hand mixer, then add the softened butter and eggs.

Mix these ingredients together, starting on a low-speed then increasing it to medium until it is well combined.  Add the vanilla extract and milk, and stir until everything is well incorporated.

Now don’t be fooled by the amount of batter in your bowl.  I was a little bit skeptical at first, but obviously Jemma knows what she is doing (hence why she has a shop and I don’t) as when the batter was divided among the 12 cupcake cases, lo and behold they came out as the perfect size.

When baked, set them aside to cool on a wire rack and move onto the icing – the divine, sweet, malty, amazing buttercream that could easily be eaten by the spoonful… and has been.

I found the first time I made these cupcakes, the recipe for the buttercream icing made a lot of buttercream and even for me, I found it a little too much on each cupcake if I used it all.  For the second batch I adjusted the quantities to just over half (0.6 to be exact) and found it to be the perfect amount so that none was wasted.  You will need unsalted butter, icing sugar, milk, vanilla extract and Maltesers, both crushed and whole.

The crushed Maltesers will go in the icing itself and you can crush them in a food processor or by placing them in a ziplock bag and bashing them with a rolling-pin.  Great for when you have some frustration to work out!  I also found with the adjusted recipe, once I removed 36 Maltesers from a 155g bag (3 for atop each of the 12 cupcakes), it left 60-70g of Maltesers which is just the right amount to be mixed through the icing itself.

As with any buttercream, make sure that you sift that icing sugar so there are no lumps in the icing as it can take a while to beat them out.

Start by beating the butter until light, fluffy and pale.  Add the icing sugar in two stages, beating well in between, before adding the milk and vanilla.  Once these ingredients are well combined, fold through your crushed Maltesers and set the icing aside if your cupcakes still need time too cool.

You have a few options for getting the icing onto your cupcake:

1. Scoop the buttercream into a piping bag with a large round tip (or hole cut in the piping bag) so that the Malteser pieces can get through.  You can then pipe a nice round mound on each cupcake;
2. Use a small ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the icing across the 12 cupcakes and then use a spatula to spread it out; or
3. Spread it on with a spatula.

For the first batch of cupcakes I went with option 1 but found I did not like the look as much so I went with option 2 for the second batch and was much happier.  Each cupcake took two scoops from my smallest ice cream scoop and I then spread the icing out with my spatula so it was as even as possible.

Once your cupcakes are iced, place three of your whole Maltesers on top.

If you think there is enough malt flavour in there, you are able to skip this step, but to be honest I think they look much better with them.

These Malteser Cupcakes are now on my list of go-to cupcakes as they are sooooooooo good and pretty quick to make.  You will not be disappointed with the flavour of these and their look will impress everyone you serve them too so give them a try and let me know how you go.

Print Recipe

Malteser Cupcakes

Adapted from Cupcake Jemma.

Course

Cupcakes

Servings

cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 5 g cocoa powder
• 25 g malted milk powder e.g. Horlicks
• 95 g self-raising flour
• 125 g caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp bicarb/baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 135 g unsalted butter softened
• 2 large egg(s)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tbsp whole milk

For the icing

• 120 g unsalted butter softened
• 270 g icing sugar sifted
• 2 1/2 tbsp whole milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 60 g Maltesers crushed
• 36 Maltesers additional for top (3 per cupcake)

Course Cupcakes Servings cupcakes Ingredients For the cupcakes 5 g cocoa powder 25 g malted milk powder e.g. Horlicks 95 g self-raising flour 125 g caster sugar 1/4 tsp bicarb/baking soda Pinch salt 135 g unsalted butter softened 2 large egg(s) 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 tbsp whole milk For the icing 120 g unsalted butter softened 270 g icing sugar sifted 2 1/2 tbsp whole milk 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 60 g Maltesers crushed 36 Maltesers additional for top (3 per cupcake)

Instructions

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C and place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake tray.
2. Sift the cocoa powder, malted milk powder, self raising flour, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3. Add the butter and eggs.
4. Mix together, starting on a low speed then increasing to medium.
5. Add the vanilla extract and milk.
6. Mix until well combined.
7. Divide the batter among the 12 cupcake liners then bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
8. Remove from the tin and allow to cool completely before icing.

For the icing

1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add the icing sugar in two stages, beating well in between so that it is thoroughly incorporated.
3. Add the milk and vanilla, mixing until combined.
4. Fold through the crushed Maltesers.

Assembly

1. Pipe or scoop the icing on top of each cupcake, ensuring there is an even amount of icing among the 12 cupcakes.
2. Top with three whole Maltesers.
3. Best served at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

If you do not have Maltesers in your country, you can use Whoppers instead.