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Chocolate Malt Cupcakes with Malt Buttercream Frosting.. The Perfect Malteser Cupcakes for any occasion!
One of my favourite bakes (or rather.. Non-Bakes) has been my No-Bake Chocolate Malteser Cheesecake. I have been craving doing a Malt type cupcake or cake for SO LONG NOW I can’t cope, but it finally happened.
I had a random craving for Horlicks and got bored of it after one drink, so what should I do next? Bake with it. Always always always bake with leftover stuff!
I decided to go more for a Chocolatey type cupcake, but with the Malt Powder in as well so it was a bit of both flavours.. I wasn’t personally too keen on the idea of Normal Malt Cupcakes with Malt buttercream.. more chocoaltey/malt as then its a bit more Malteser like anyway!
I used my standard style chocolatey cupcake that I use on many bakes such as my Honeycomb Crunchie Cupcakes and my Rolo Cupcakes as its just so delicious. The addition of the Malt powder worked better than expected – I used less Cocoa Powder so that I had 40g total of Cocoa Powder + Malt Powder as I thought this would be best, and it so worked! The Cupcakes stayed nice and light, and weren’t heavy at all!
I use a standard normal buttercream frosting to base my Malt Buttercream on, and it couldn’t have been more simple. You don’t want to add tooooo much Malt powder as it might go a bit funny, so I limit it to 25g for a batch of 12 cupcakes.
It brings the flavour through, but enough that you still get the sweetness from the Icing Sugar, and so that it isn’t overpowering. OHMYDAYS Seriously these cupcakes are delicious.
You can easily use any sort of Malt sweet/biscuit/anything to top the cupcakes with, such as Malted Milk Biscuits, but I just love Maltesers. I’m slightly shocked at myself that I didn’t drizzle these in chocolate, but I had actually run out… but I like them either way!
I honestly think that if you love Maltesers then you will also love these because they’re damn delicious. You can easily not have Malt Buttercream frosting, or not have Malt flavoured Cupcakes, but thats up to you. I love them. Enjoy!
You can buy the utterly gorgeous Cupcake Cases from Iced Jems – Here!

Malteser Cupcakes

Malteser Cupcakes!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 150 g Unsalted Butter/Stork
- 150 g Light Brown Sugar
- 3 Medium Eggs
- 140 g Self Raising Flour
- 15 g Cocoa Powder
- 25 g Malt Powder (Horlicks/Ovaltine)
- 1-3 tbsp Whole Milk
Nutella Buttercream
- 150 g Unsalted Butter (not stork)
- 375 g Icing Sugar
- 25 g Malt Powder (Horlicks/Ovaltine)
- 1-3 tbsp Whole Milk
Decoration
- Maltesers
- Crushed Maltesers
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan, and prep your 12 cupcake cases. I used Iced Jems Baking Cups so just put them on a flat tray.
- Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and then add in the self raising flour, cocoa powder, malt powder and eggs.
- Beat again until smooth, if needed, add the milk to smooth the mixture.
- Split the mix evenly between the cases. I use an ice cream/cookie scoop to get them all equal.
- Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes, or until baked. Cool Completely.
- Beat the unsalted butter (best at room temp), for a couple of minutes until smooth.
- Add in half of the icing sugar and beat, and then the other half and beat.
- Add in the malt powder again, and beat!
- If its too thick, add in 1tbsp of whole milk at a time till it becomes pipeable.
- Pipe on the buttercream – Add some maltesers, and then sprinkle on some crushed maltesers as well! Enjoy!
Notes
- You can buy the utterly gorgeous Cupcake Cases from Iced Jems – Here!
- I used Horlicks powder as thats what I had in my cupboard – most Malt powders (which need Milk added to them) will work fine such as Ovaltine!
- If you want an extra chocolatey fix, you can add in 100g of chocolate chips to the cupcake mix!
- If you are loosening the cupcake mixture or the buttercream with Milk, its important to use Whole Milk because of the fat content, using Semi-Skimmed might make it split.
- These cupcakes will last in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature!
ENJOY!
Find my other Cupcake Recipes on my Recipes Page!
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J x
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78 Comments
Amanda Nelson
January 26, 2021 at 11:23 pmHi, thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Me and my children made these last week and they are delicious. I wonder how can I make it as a cake please? I’ve also done your Malteser bunny cake…husbands birthday next week, I want to make a cake and he loves this one. I hope that you can help?
Jane's Patisserie
January 28, 2021 at 7:25 pmI have my Malteser drip cake which is very similar! X
Kirsty
January 18, 2021 at 9:32 amMade these for a bbq with friends and they went down a treat. Who doesn’t love maltesers!!
Leigh
November 28, 2020 at 9:43 amHi Jane,
Can I use almond molk? X
Jane's Patisserie
November 28, 2020 at 11:14 amYou can but you can also just leave it out x
Nadia
October 5, 2020 at 4:03 pmI’m having trouble finding Malt, is it the Horlicks drinking malt?
Jane's Patisserie
October 5, 2020 at 6:43 pmYes – horlicks or Ovaltine! x
Gillian
October 3, 2020 at 1:51 pmHi Jane!
Can’t wait to try these. Just want to know if I can use semi-skimmed milk in place of the whole milk? I don’t have whole milk.
Thanks
Jane's Patisserie
October 3, 2020 at 8:22 pmI would just leave the milk out x
Claire
September 16, 2020 at 8:34 amNice easy bake. Didn’t make the malt buttercream this time as was short on time so covered the top with malteser choc spread. Firm favourite with my 3 year old. Lovely soft and light cakes. Will make again and try with your malt buttercream. Thank you.
Mawdda
June 23, 2020 at 2:59 pmHii
Can I use corn oil instead of 175 g butter in the cupcake?
Emaan
June 15, 2020 at 1:52 amHi Jane! Can I use normal cupcake tins not as big as these. But the ones that are easily available and are of standard size.
Jane's Patisserie
June 15, 2020 at 10:04 amHiya! I’m not 100% sure what you mean but cupcake tins? Do you mean cases? For me, these are the same size as cupcake cases.
Ms Shirley Shine
June 11, 2020 at 3:00 pmHi Jane, love your recipes. Can I ask if it is ok to use cooled boiled water instead of milk?
Jane's Patisserie
June 12, 2020 at 10:11 amYes you can!
Holly
June 10, 2020 at 9:20 amHi Jane,
Do you reckon these would work if I copied the dairy milk idea by cutting out the middle and adding in some Malteser spread?!
Thanks, xx
Jane's Patisserie
June 10, 2020 at 10:26 amHey! Yes definitely!! x
Holly
June 10, 2020 at 10:59 amPerfect thank you Jane! I’m making these for my little nephew on Sunday as it’s the first time I’m seeing him since lock down … going to make his day lol xx
Sophie
May 22, 2020 at 10:21 amHi, I dont have any malt powder, can i just leave it out? Will they still be nice? TIA
Jane's Patisserie
May 22, 2020 at 7:58 pmThe Malteser flavour comes from the horlicks/ovaltine so they won’t be as Malteser like! But it would work without!
SC
May 20, 2020 at 2:11 pmCan you use dark brown sugar instead of light? Is there a difference? Thanks
Jane's Patisserie
May 20, 2020 at 9:00 pmThe only real difference is the taste – dark brown is a darker more toffee/caramel flavour!
Bethan
May 17, 2020 at 5:59 pmAhh thank you for replying. I took the plunge and they turned out perfect anyway 🙂
Bethan
May 14, 2020 at 11:40 amHi Jane
Discovered your blog during lock down and making all the cakes has kept me sane, Absolutely love this site. I’ve made a few batches of cupcakes and these quantities seem larger than the others one. I’m worried the recipe will be overflowing in my cakes as all the others seem to fit perfect. Would it work if I was using 150g mixtures of the cake ingredients? or is there a reason some cupcakes are 175g of the ingredients?
Jane's Patisserie
May 14, 2020 at 1:59 pmThe differences are based on egg sizes – large egg recipes are 175g, medium egg recipes are 150g! The 175g mixes still fit my cupcake cases well!
Chloe
May 7, 2020 at 6:10 pmI can’t wait to try these cupcakes! I made your Malteser drip cake previously and it was delicious. One question, I can’t get hold of any light brown sugar, would golden caster sugar work as a substitute?
Thanks! x
Jane's Patisserie
May 7, 2020 at 7:03 pmYes it would!! x
Emily
May 4, 2020 at 7:43 pmI just made these and they’re lovely. I couldn’t get hold of cocoa powder (the world has gone mad for baking at the moment!) So had to use hot chocolate powder which I wouldn’t recommend as you couldn’t taste it at all. Would have referred the cake a little more chocolatey which I presume they would have been if I’d had the right ingredients! Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes xx
Jane's Patisserie
May 4, 2020 at 8:04 pmYes unfortunately hot chocolate powders rarely work in baking, so annoying! They definitely would have been chocolatey if you’d managed to used cocoa powder! X
Sarah
May 3, 2020 at 9:23 amHi Jane, can I just check the butter you used for this please? Was it the foil wrapped block of butter for both the mixture & the buttercream? Or stork for the mixture?
Thanks
Jane's Patisserie
May 3, 2020 at 12:27 pmHey! I only ever use block foiled butter for the buttercreams, as any spreads are too soft. But you can use either for the sponge!
Lily
April 17, 2020 at 11:51 pmHi Jane,
Will regular sized cupcake cases work okay with these? That’s all I have in at the moment.
Thanks!
Jane's Patisserie
April 18, 2020 at 9:16 amYes – these are regular sized!
Vanessa
November 26, 2019 at 12:38 amLoved these cupcakes, easy to make and tasted yum!!!!!!!
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Daniela G
May 17, 2019 at 1:40 pmHow many calories would each cupcake be ?
Jean Fewtrell
February 10, 2019 at 8:21 pmThey all look fantastic and yummy.
Going to try this when my Gt Grandkids come.
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December 11, 2018 at 4:30 am[…] Malteser Cupcakes Cupcakes are amazing for any event, but I bet you’ve never tried a Malteser cupcake with Malt buttercream icing! […]
Amanda W.
July 23, 2018 at 2:52 pmHi Jane, this is not my first time baking your Maltesers Cupcake recipe – however, this time it came out of oven and one minute later it shrinked and peeled away from the cupcake case on cooling rack. The only difference is, i changed to use the Regular Baking Cups from Icedjemshop and other 65gsm greaseproof cupcake cases which should be “better” quality but it seems that it failed. Previously, it went well with supermarket cupcake cases such as those from Morrissons. I baked at 160c fan 20mins as i know every oven is different and cake tester came out clean. But would you be able to offer some advise about this? Do you reckon i have underbaked which resulted them shrink and peel away from paper case? Thanks xx
Jane's Patisserie
July 23, 2018 at 3:41 pmHiya! Yes often its literally just because they’re ever so slightly underbaked so there is more moisture in there! Also, if using the iced jems cups, try cooling the cupcakes on the flat tray you’ve baked them in so that they take longer to cool so there is less chance! X
Gillian
April 25, 2018 at 8:50 pmHi could I make these as gluten free cupcakes and if so would I just use the same quantity as for self raising flour?
Jane's Patisserie
April 25, 2018 at 8:57 pmMaltesers aren’t gluten free so I would advise to not bake them if you or someone has an allergy.
Gillian
April 25, 2018 at 9:00 pmThank you for the quick response. There is an alternative to Horlicks called barley cup that could be used but without the Maltessers on the top. Which I think would defeat the object. Thank you though for letting me know
Gillian
Kylie
April 2, 2018 at 8:55 pmHi! I was just wandering could i make the buttercream ahead of time? And if so, how long?
Thnx!
Jane's Patisserie
April 3, 2018 at 10:21 amButtercream can last two weeks in the fridge, you just need to bring it back to room temp and re-mix to then use. x
Grace
January 17, 2018 at 6:34 pmHiya
Is it ok to know we’re you get your malt powder from? I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find any xx
Jane's Patisserie
January 20, 2018 at 8:06 pmSupermarkets – we have Ovaltine, or others like horlicks!
kitty
November 29, 2017 at 6:24 pmCan I add small chunks of of Malteaser to the icing mix?
Jane's Patisserie
November 30, 2017 at 8:14 amYou can do! They will just go soggy though.
Georgina
September 26, 2017 at 9:41 pmHello! LOVING the recipes on here. Your rolo tart goes down a treat with guests every time I cook it!
Just wondered-I assume the malt powder/Horlicks you used is the plain malt flavour rather than the chocolate malt variety?
Jane's Patisserie
September 26, 2017 at 9:42 pmYes I just use the original plain flavour so it’s stronger ☺️
Mary
May 25, 2017 at 10:46 pmI have just finished making these to sell tomorrow in a hope to raise money for the families of the Manchester attack this week.
I hope they go down well. ? Thanks for sharing.
Paula Donoghue
March 31, 2017 at 12:09 amHi there..Have been looking for a malteasers cupcake recipe for so long and this one sounds delish! Im a newbie to instagram and stumbled across your account, your page is what dreams are made of!! Absolutely fabulous cakes/cupcakes that I can’t wait to try out sometime! Keep up the good work ?
Paula x
Jane's Patisserie
March 31, 2017 at 1:52 pmHiya Paula! Oh thats amazing! I am so happy you found your way to my page, and I hope you like anything you try!! xx
karen
March 30, 2017 at 1:22 amI tried your recipe for my son’s cake sale tomorrow.I made some extra for my family to try,its so delicious.Thank you for sharing your recipe xxx
Jane's Patisserie
March 30, 2017 at 10:35 amAwh yay! I am so happy!! xx
madz
March 23, 2017 at 9:30 amhi jane, this recipe looks delicious. i would like to try it out as a cake, can you pls. tell me what tin size and how long should i bake it?
Jane's Patisserie
March 23, 2017 at 11:32 amYou would need to double the recipe, and split between two 8″ tins. Baking times can vary, but I would start off at about 20 minutes of baking time at 160C Fan.
madz
March 24, 2017 at 8:02 pmok thank you for your quick reply. will try it out and let you know. ?
Faye
March 9, 2017 at 9:53 pmCould you add crushed malteasers to the cake mix you mentioned you could add chocolate chips for extra chocolate fix.
Going to try these for a works birthday.
Thanks very much
Jane's Patisserie
March 9, 2017 at 9:55 pmBecause of the way Maltesers are, they’d probably dissolve or burn? I wouldn’t put them in the mixture myself personally as I know some people have failed with it, but you could try?!
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Jo
March 1, 2017 at 10:55 amLook delicious – going to make some for Comic Relief! What size are the baking cups from Iced Gems – mini or regular?
Jane's Patisserie
March 1, 2017 at 11:34 amThey’re regular ?
Jo
March 1, 2017 at 11:35 amThank you
Hafsa
November 11, 2016 at 6:12 pmWow, just recently discovered you! I love all your recipes and creations. Can you make a rainbow cake next time? X
Zee
October 24, 2016 at 8:36 amHi
What cocoa powder would you recommend?Green and blacks or bourneville?
Thanks.
Jane's Patisserie
October 24, 2016 at 8:40 pmEither will work fine – I use a 100% cocoa powder from a chocolate company so I don’t use either that you suggested, but both would work the same!
Emily
August 2, 2016 at 12:02 amHow much ingredients would I use for a two layer cake using this recipe? X
Jane's Patisserie
August 2, 2016 at 8:12 amDouble it and split between two tins 🙂 x
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Mrs Cookie
July 15, 2016 at 6:29 pmThey are beautiful ! I love it !
Jane's Patisserie
July 16, 2016 at 12:15 pmThank you!! ☺️
Suzanne
July 11, 2016 at 11:02 pmLove the cupcakes and the polka dot liners. So pretty and the malted candies are delicious.
Jane's Patisserie
July 12, 2016 at 8:47 pmThank you so much, Suzanne!
Doreen Harrison
March 11, 2017 at 3:42 pmHave just discovered you and really looking forward to trying out the Malteser cupcakes, they sound absolutely delicious ….in fact all the recipes I have looked at makes me want to try them NOW!!!!!
Jane's Patisserie
March 11, 2017 at 7:46 pmHahaha oh thank you, Doreen! That’s so kind of you! x