Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

February 6, 2018 (Last Updated: January 1, 2020)

The best thing about Valentine’s day for me are the desserts that I make and share; Valentine’s day is a day when I share my love for desserts with a ton of my friends. This year, I made one of my most delicious, indulgent cakes yet, a vanilla malt cake with caramel cream cheese frosting!

Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Valentine’s day is one of those holidays that I am not super excited about. This year’s valentine’s day, I will be waking up at 4:30am and going to work per my usual schedule. That being said, I participate a little bit in the festivities with desserts. The best thing about valentine’s day for me is the desserts that I make and share; Valentine’s day is a day that I share my love for desserts with family and a ton of my friends. This year, I made one of my most delicious cakes yet, a vanilla malt cake with caramel cream cheese frosting. It is quite the indulgence!

Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting with m&ms sprinkled on top

Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting - A delicious slice of goodness

I am guessing that most people have endured a slew of weight loss diets in the month of January, so I decided to share some indulgent recipes for the month of February. This vanilla malt cake is a cake made with malt soda, and the frosting is a creamy whipped mixture of dulce de leche, butter and cream cheese. Malt soda is a very popular soft beverage in a lot of African and Caribbean countries; it has a taste similar to cream soda, only a little more malty and slightly bitter. Many Nigerians and Africans in diaspora will have similar memories of their favorite malt soda brands: Vita Malt, Malta guiness and Maltina (as well as their cheesy commercials and catchy jingles from back in the day on local TV!). The rich full bodied taste of the malt soda mellows in the cake, and plays a great accompaniment to the thick and creamy frosting. The bubbles in the soda add a lightness to the cake sponge and gives it a melt in your mouth texture, that is out of this world.

Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting with m&ms sprinkled on top - Close up

Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

The best thing about valentine's day for me are the desserts that I make and share; Valentine's day is a day when I share my love for desserts with a ton of my friends. This year, I made one of my most delicious, indulgent cakes yet, a vanilla malt cake with caramel cream cheese frosting!
Total Time30 minutes
Servings: 15
Calories: 740kcal

Ingredients

Malt Cake Sponge

  • cups All purpose flour (350g)
  • cups sugar
  • 1 cup malt soda (aka malta)
  • ½ cup unflavored oil (I used canola oil)
  • ¼ cup yogurt
  • tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp salt

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8oz/ 227g salted butter (room temperature) (2 sticks)
  • 8oz/ 227g cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 6.7oz/ 110g dulce de leche (¼ cup)
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

Malt Cake Sponge

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two 8 inch round pans for baking as well and set aside.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  • In another bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, yogurt and vanilla extract.
  • Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and pour in the yogurt mixture. Mix until it is just combined.
  • Pour the malt soda into the cake mixture and fold gently until the mixture is homogeneous.
  • Split the cake mixture into the two prepared pans, and bake in the preheated oven for 25-27 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  • Once the cakes are done in the oven, take them out and cool them in the pan for five minutes before turning them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

  • While the cake is cooling, whip the frosting together by beating the butter, cream cheese, dulce de leche, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and ¼ tsp salt. Works best using an electric mixer. 
  • To assemble the cake, spread some of the frosting on top of one of the cooled cake sponges and place the second layer on top of that. Smooth on more frosting to the top and sides of the cake.
  • Optional: top the frosted cake with chocolate candy.

Vanilla Malt Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting - close up slice

Don’t forget to let me know in the comments below how this vanilla malt cake recipe turned out! You will not be able to resist how moist and good this is! If you would like to check out some of my other cake recipes, why not try out my Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake or my absolutely tasty Purple Sweet Potato Cake?

21 Comments

  • Reply
    Veena Azmanov
    February 8, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    5 stars
    That looks so creamy and delicious and it looks so easy to make..! Love cream cheese frosting so this would be a real treat for me. Saving this for later.

  • Reply
    Paige
    February 9, 2018 at 12:12 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my gosh this looks SO good!!!! I love everything about it.

  • Reply
    Katie Crenshaw
    February 10, 2018 at 4:05 am

    I love malt milkshakes…. so I know I will love this cake. It looks FANTASTIC! I can’t wait to make it.

  • Reply
    Leslie Haasch
    February 10, 2018 at 9:16 am

    I LOVE malt so much, but I’ve never tried putting it in a cake before. Now I will!

  • Reply
    lauren
    February 10, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    5 stars
    The cake looks so fluffy and that frosting sounds positively wonderful! I love anything caramel, so it’s right up my alley. I’ve never used malt soda in a cake but I can imagine the flavors and I bet it’s outstanding!

  • Reply
    prasanna hede
    February 11, 2018 at 3:50 am

    Such beautiful cake!Loved the dulce de leche frosting …yum!

  • Reply
    Debbye
    February 11, 2018 at 5:14 am

    This looks so rick and decadent. And the pictures are so beautiful, I just want to reach in and grab a slice. Thanks for posting.

  • Reply
    Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
    February 11, 2018 at 11:27 am

    Ooh – dulce de leche in a cake?! This sounds like a perfectly indulgent treat! And I love how you’ve decorated it – simple and elegant!

  • Reply
    Ben Myhre
    February 11, 2018 at 12:55 pm

    That is a nice looking cake and if that is what you cook on Valentine’s day, would you be mine?

    • Reply
      Lois
      February 14, 2018 at 3:23 pm

      You are funny Ben! Sorry the spot for my Valentine is permanently taken, but you are always welcome to cake.

  • Reply
    Rachel
    February 11, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    5 stars
    This cake sounds so fabulous! Malt is one of those flavors that I wish got more attention in American cooking. I love how you paired it with vanilla and caramel. This cake just has to be SOOOO good!

    • Reply
      Lois
      March 15, 2018 at 2:16 pm

      It absolutely is!!

  • Reply
    Debs
    February 12, 2018 at 7:16 am

    Absolutely love this cake! Maltiness in one of my favourite flavours in a dessert.

  • Reply
    Nadia W
    February 12, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    This cake looks amazing! I love caramel!

  • Reply
    Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life
    February 12, 2018 at 2:44 pm

    I whole-heartedly agree with your take on Valentine’s Day. It’s usually just another day for us, too, but the dessert is my favorite part. This cake looks totally decadent! I’m sure it’ll be a show-stopper!

  • Reply
    WilsonsGuide
    February 13, 2018 at 2:04 am

    This sounds absolutely amazing!! I had my whole v-day planned out — and trust me, it didn’t include baking — but reading this recipe just put a wrench in my plans. I’m truly considering now making this instead!!

  • Reply
    Jeff Honeywood
    February 13, 2018 at 10:22 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, I’ve never had a malt cake, and trust me I’ve had a lot of cake. I’ve had cakes made with 7-UP, Coke, and Dr. Pepper, but now I have to try one with malt soda.

  • Reply
    D. Durand Worthey
    February 20, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    This cake looks like something straight out of a sweet dream! My wife is the baker so I am going to have to find a way to bribe her to make this beautiful cake. Maybe for my birthday?! This also reminds me of an astoundingly yummy caramel cake one of my aunties would make for Thanksgiving years ago. Thank you so much for sharing!

  • Reply
    Mourine
    April 3, 2018 at 6:16 pm

    Made this last night 😋 soooooo good…..cheated the mess out of my “vegan” lifestyle lol

    • Reply
      Lois. O
      April 5, 2018 at 12:32 pm

      Lol Mourine! I totally understand, I wont tell anyone dont worry.

  • Reply
    Ibukun
    May 19, 2020 at 1:49 pm

    So so good. I made this yesterday and Ive been devouring it since. My first cake ever!!! Thank you for this recipe 🙂

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