Speckled Egg Malted Milk Cake

Wow guests at your Easter get-together with this impressive cake inspired by malted milk candy eggs.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1        box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ white cake mix

1/2     cup malted milk powder

1 1/4  cups water

1/3     cup vegetable oil

3        eggs

Frosting:

1 1/2  cups unsalted butter, softened

4        cups powdered sugar

1        teaspoon vanilla

          Dash salt

          Liquid blue food color

Speckling Chocolate:

1        tablespoon unsweetened baking cocoa

4 1/2  teaspoons vanilla

Phyllo Nest:

1/3     cup kataifi (shredded phyllo dough)

1        tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

3        speckled candy-coated malted milk egg candies 

Directions:

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; set aside.
• 2 In large bowl, stir together cake mix and malted milk powder with whisk. Add remaining Cake ingredients; beat with electric mixer on low speed until well combined. Divide batter evenly among pans.
• 3 Bake 22 to 28 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool cakes in pans on cooling racks 5 minutes. Turn cakes out onto cooling racks; cool completely, about 30 minutes. Level cakes using large serrated knife or cake leveler, if needed.
• 4 To make Frosting, in large bowl, beat softened butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer on low speed until incorporated; beat on high speed 3 minutes. Add vanilla and salt; beat 1 minute longer. Add blue food color 1 drop at a time, beating until a light blue color is achieved.
• 5 Fill and frost cooled cake. Refrigerate frosted cake 1 hour or until frosting is dry to the touch.
• 6 In small condiment bowl, mix baking cocoa and vanilla. Load unused (new) stiff-bristle paint brush with cocoa mixture. Using fingers, flick loaded brush bristles toward cake creating a splatter pattern. Re-load brush; cover entire cake with chocolate speckles. Refrigerate cake 30 minutes.
• 7 To make Phyllo Nest, heat oven to 375°F. Butter 1 muffin cup in regular-size muffin pan. Tear off 1/3 cup portion of kataifi; place in muffin cup in a circular nest shape. Gently brush phyllo nest with melted butter. Bake 15 minutes or until phyllo is golden brown around edge. Gently remove nest with fork; cool on cooling rack. Attach cooled nest to cake with dot of frosting. Place 3 speckled egg candies inside nest.
• 8 Before serving, bring cake to room temperature. Store cake loosely covered with plastic wrap.

Source:  Heather Baird