Today an old acquaintance from high school mentioned cupcakes, and I immediately perked up. Not just at the mere mention of cupcakes, but she went on to tell me about a store that’s about 30 minutes from here that is a “sprinkle selection paradise.” A store specializing in everything a baker or candymaker would need? Dangerous waters for me indeed. Every time I go to a food store, I always take a quick peek at their baking aisle to see if there are any special sprinkles or odd items I might not find elsewhere. And now to find out that there’s an entire store dedicated to such things? Mark my words, I’ll be making a trip there very soon.
Now speaking of cupcakes, I’ve got another one to introduce you to … Malted Milk Ball Cupcakes. This is the second recipe I’ve tried from Anne Byrn’s book, Cupcakes!, and although I loved the Orange Marmalade Ricotta cupcakes I made a few weeks back, one bite into this one, and those memories were quickly erased. OMG good. Know this: I’m very careful with deeming a finished recipe OMG-worthy. If there’s too many, you might not trust me, you know? And I want you to trust me. At least when it comes to food. Out of the nearly thousand recipes I’ve written about here, the list of OMG recipes is still quite short, so you know I take it seriously.
I had to ration myself one of these little malted milk ball babies a day, and quickly gave away half the batch to resist any further temptation. Like Anne’s other recipes, this one is quick and easy and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already. The addition of the sour cream makes these cupcakes crazymoist, and I daresay this might be my new go-to recipe when it comes to needing to make cupcakes.
Her recipes tend to be a bit lengthy, but only in the wordy sense, not in time expended. She just goes into a little more detail than most when it comes to the recipes’ instructions, so while it may look long, I promise you, it’s worth it to jump in. Honestly, it didn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to get the cupcakes in the oven, and that seems about perfect when the results are this good. I mean, seriously, did you see that picture? Dig in!
Malted Milk Ball Cupcakes
Recipe courtesy of Cupcakes!
24 cupcake liners
1 package (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix
1 box (3.8 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I totally forgot to add these, and would forget on purpose next time)
Malted Mill Buttercream (see recipe below)
40 malted milk balls, coarsely crushed, for garnish
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
Place cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, water, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds until the ingredients are well blended, then stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look smooth and thickened. Fold in the chocolate chips, making sure they are well distributed throughout the batter. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22-24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.
Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18-20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners. Lift the cupcakes from the bottoms of the cups using the end of a knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. (I left mine in their cups). Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Meanwhile, prepare the Malted Milk Buttercream. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. Garnish with crushed malted milk balls.
Malted Milk Buttercream
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons malted milk powder (I used chocolate syrup … shhh; no sense in buying a whole container of Ovaltine when the recipe only needs five tablespoons and the chocolate syrup worked well)
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioner’s sugar, malted milk powder, milk and vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more.
That picture is absolutely mouthwatering! Mmm. And what an interesting ingredients list. I’d never think to put sour cream in cupcakes.
Sarah Carons last blog post..Caramelized Bananas for French Toast
Seriously? I am drooling!! That looks and sounds so good. I love malt!
Lovely picture :)
Kristens last blog post..A Bit of History (Recipe: Grandmother’s Lemon Pound Cake)
I wish I had one of these right now; I’m having an obscene craving for chocolate (what else is new) and none in the house (That IS new!)
Sarah – sour cream adds great texture to cake – it makes it super moist and a little denser than most cakes. I’d never heard of it either until I noticed it in one of my grandmother’s old recipes – apparently, she swore by it!
mariss last blog post..Mom’s Banana Muffins (Low-Fat)
These are certainly omg worthy! I love malt balls, but this is just so much better.
sharons last blog post..Good Ol’ Tuna Noodle Casserole
Yum! Looks great. The recipe for the cupcakes reminds me of my mom’s chocolate chip pound cake recipe minus the chocolate chips and some oil. I bet they are good and moist.
Claires last blog post..Stuffed to the Gills! :-)
These cupcakes totally look OMG-worthy. Wow, talk about a stunning picture. I would like nothing more than to have one of these amazing-looking cupcakes right now. Delicious!
Elyses last blog post..Eureka! And other synonymous exclamations…
They look great! They’d go over big in my house. Thanks for the recipe!
Debbies last blog post..Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
Wow, those sure do sound wonderful! I would love love love to have some right now!
Natasha – 5 Star Foodies last blog post..Exploring Ancient England and Traditional Indian Cuisine
I don’t know how you were able to eat just one a day. They look amazing!
Barbaras last blog post..Pumped Up Krispy Treats
These look delicious! And, malted milk buttercream? Sounds so great.
lisaiscookings last blog post..Soup of Wild Greens with Gnocchi and Prosciutto or Pesto
Man! Those do look and sound OMG worthy. Thanks for sharing!
Wendys last blog post..Cherry Almond Granola
I can’t stop thinking about this…I’m on my way to the store right now…..GREAT! I’ll gain 5 pounds by Monday.
I can totally see why these are OMG worthy. I will be making these for the family this summer!
Joannes last blog post..Curry Pumpkin Hummus
Ya know, I came here thinking I was going to see updated pics of your little one that is growing up so fast, and you give me Malted Milk Cupcakes!! You know what happens now? …I’m gonna have to make ’em. I made Malted Milk Ball Cookies several weeks ago that were soooo good (Malt fan here), and these cupcakes are just callin’ my name!!
RecipeGirls last blog post..How to Make Homemade Cannoli
wow! those look amazing!
Heathers last blog post..Miracle Fruit Tasting Party
These look absolutely delicious. I can not wait to go look at your OMG list. I am relatively new to your blog, so I am glad you mentioned it!
Donnas last blog post..Grilled Sausage Ring with Parsley and Provolone over Pepperonata
I made these this morning. They are not only OMG worthy…for me, being a huge malt lover, they are OMFG (freaking, of course) worthy. In the frosting I used Carnation Malted milk..no chocolate like ovaltime and I did use the chips. I had to hand these out to neighbors to get rid of them. Yep, that good. So good, I had to get rid of them. OMFG
These look so yummy! I love malted milk balls! Thanks for stopping by my blog last week!
southern hostesss last blog post..Hope Springs
Oh wow, these look amazing!! They definitely would not last long in my home.
Bridgetts last blog post..Mustard Roasted Sole
holy moly, i’ll take one :) Hope maddie is feeling better soon!!!
ttfn300s last blog post..PB Crackers
I just made these again for my son’s 6th birthday. What a hit they are…again! Thanks for posting these incredible cupcakes!!
Hello. These look super wonderful. I was wondering what you did to the malted milk balls, they look melted almost.
Cheers
Cheese – they *do* look a bit melted, don’t they? But did nothing except for a rough chop. :)
Oh thank you! Hehe I’m very excited to try the recipe now. I think I’ll use the powdered carnation malted milk stuff for the frosting because it’s so good, and then I can make malts :) win win!