High Altitude Vanilla Malted Milk Cake for Easter

A soft and moist high altitude vanilla malted milk cake with malted milk buttercream, decorated with a chocolate bird’s nest filled with Cadbury mini eggs. This adorable Easter cake is fun and easy to create, and makes a beautiful centerpiece for a holiday celebration.

You might also like these high altitude Easter recipes for carrot cake sheet cake with buttercream flowers, Cadbury mini egg fudge brownies, and flower shaped strawberry lemon sandwich cookies.

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What is malted milk powder?

Malted milk powder is a type of dry powdered milk that’s made of malted barley, wheat, milk, wheat gluten, baking soda and salt. It adds a distinctive malt flavor to baked goods, reminiscent of chocolate malt balls or old fashioned malted milk shakes. The amount of baking soda and salt is negligible, so no adjustments for either of these ingredients is necessary when adding it to a recipe. However, I suggest adding a little more liquid, which I’ve adjusted accordingly in today’s malted milk cake recipe.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

So Cute for Easter. With the flavors of malted milk, the speckled blue buttercream, and the adorable chocolate bird’s nest, this Easter cake with mini eggs will look so beautiful for your holiday celebration.

Easy to Make. While there are a few different components to this cake, you’ll find each step to be simple enough that you’ll have your cake finished in no time.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Cake

For today’s malted milk cake, I started with my trusty high altitude vanilla cake recipe. The only changes I made were to add several tablespoons of malted milk powder, and a little extra oil for moisture.

Buttercream

To make the buttercream, I started with my recipe for American buttercream. Just like with the cake, I added some malted milk powder for more of that yummy malt flavor. For the robin’s egg blue color, I used Americolor gel food coloring in “turquoise” and “navy blue”.

Speckles

The speckles are so simple to make. Simply stir together vanilla extract and cocoa powder to make an edible “paint”. Then use a small craft brush to spatter the paint onto the frosted cake. With the blue buttercream and the speckles, it’s reminiscent of a bird’s egg.

Bird’s Nest

The bird’s nest couldn’t be easier to put together. You only need chocolate chips and dry vermicelli rice noodles. You can find the noodles on the ethnic food aisle of most major grocery stores, or at your local Asian grocery store. The noodles get coated in melted chocolate, then pressed between two bowls to form a nest shape. When the chocolate has hardened again, you can fill the nest with Cadbury mini eggs and place it on your cake. This birds nest cake makes a beautiful centerpiece for an Easter table.

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
• In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt.
• In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, egg white, buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until combined, about 10-15 seconds. A few lumps in the batter are okay; take care not to over mix. Divide the batter between the cake pans.  Tap a few times against the counter to pop any large air bubbles.

• Bake the cakes for about 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester or a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
• Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover them loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. To keep the cakes moist, let them cool in the pans until warm, wrap the warm cakes individually in plastic wrap, then let them cool completely.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
• With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the malted milk powder, meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined.
• Add the vanilla; increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Add the milk only if needed for desired consistency. Note that in warmer weather, when the butter is softer, you’ll rarely need to add the milk.For the blue color, add 1 drop of “turquoise” and 3-4 drops “navy blue” while you’re whipping the buttercream.
• If needed, use a sharp non-serrated knife to level off the domed tops on the cakes. Fill and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream.

Speckles

• To spatter the cake with speckles, like a speckled egg, stir together the cocoa powder and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth, to make an edible “paint”.
• Dip a small craft brush into the paint, and dab the excess off on the side of the bowl. Use your finger to pull the bristles back, so that the paint spatters tiny drops against the cake. Practice this a few times on a plate first, to get the hang of how wet the brush should be, and how hard to pull back on the bristles. You don’t want the brush to be too wet, or you’ll get large splotches instead of tiny speckles.
• Cover the frosted cake with speckles. The speckles will dry to the touch within a few minutes.
• For a finishing touch, I used some of the leftover buttercream to pipe a small beaded border around the base of the cake using tip #7.

Bird’s Nest

• To make the chocolate bird’s nest, melt the chocolate chips in a large microwave-safe bowl for 2-3 minutes on 50% power, then stir until smooth.
• Break a few handfuls of dry rice noodles off the bundle of noodles and add them to the chocolate. You won’t need to use the whole package. Use your hands to rub the noodles into the melted chocolate, until they’re fully coated in chocolate.
• Now you’ll need two different-sized bowls to mold the nest. I used a shallow cereal bowl and a small prep bowl. Arrange the chocolate covered noodles in the larger bowl, and then gently press the smaller bowl into the middle.
• Let the nest sit until the chocolate has hardened again. This might take a few hours at room temperature, or you can speed it up by putting it in the refrigerator. Note that it’s easier to remove the nest from the bowl before the chocolate has fully hardened, otherwise it may stick to the sides of the bowl. If this happens, simply warm the sides of the bowl with a hair dryer to loosen the nest so it slides right out. You can also line the bowl with wax paper to ensure easy release.
• I recommend making the nest no more than 2 days in advance. Longer than that, and the chocolate may “bloom”, developing a whitish appearance.

• Use a silicone spatula to loosen the nest from the bowl.
• Fill the nest with Cadbury mini eggs, and place it on top of your cake. The candy eggs weren’t very speckled, so I spattered them with some of my edible speckle paint, too.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I buy malted milk powder?

You can usually find malted milk powder on the baking aisle of most grocery stores, near the sweetened condensed milk and powdered milk. My store didn’t have any in stock, so I bought King Arthur Baking Malted Milk Powder on Amazon.

How should I increase the recipe for an 8 inch malted milk cake?

Today’s 6-inch layer cake serves 8 people. You can double the recipe and divide the batter between three 8-inch cake pans for a cake that serves 16 people. You do not need to double the buttercream.

Is the bird’s nest edible?

Since the bird’s nest is made of chocolate and dry rice noodles, yes, it is edible. However, the uncooked noodles are not that pleasant to eat.

How should I store the leftover cake?

Store your cake in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.

Can this cake be made in advance and frozen?

You can bake the cake layers in advance, wrap them individually in plastic wrap while warm, and freeze until needed. Let the cakes thaw before assembling and frosting your cake.

Buttercream can also be frozen in a freezer bag for several months.

The assembled and frosted cake can be frozen (without the birds nest) in a cake carrier for up to 2 weeks. Let thaw in the refrigerator for 12 hours, then bring to room temperature for 5-6 hours before serving.

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