Chocolate Malt Texas Sheet Cake

You have important work to do this week. Yes, in the midst of end-of-the-school-year parties, making teacher gifts, planning summer vacation...you're going to make this cake. You are.
(Really though, make this cake.)

I was literally walking down the peanut butter aisle in the grocery store when the idea for this version of a Texas sheet cake came to me. Why? I have no idea. I do know that I'll be walking down that aisle more often, hoping for more divine cake intervention.

Texas sheet cake is traditionally a moist chocolate cake with a chocolate pecan icing. This one, however, is a CHOCOLATE MALT Texas sheet cake. Both the cake and the icing are flavored with malt powder.

Instead of pecans, the icing is topped with Whoppers.
[Note: do NOT open the Whoppers before making the cake...unless you want to have to run to the store for more Whoppers because you've inadvertently eaten the entire container. *ahem*]

There's something so nostalgic about malt. Whenever I have a chocolate malt or malt-flavored anything, I'm transported to the 1950's.

I blame the movie Grease for these malt associations... "to you from me, Pinky Lee!" Can we please make malt shops a thing again?

The cake is super moist and the icing is silky and shiny. Cut it in big pieces. Have two. Maybe with a chocolate malt.

Chocolate Malt Texas Sheet Cake
{adapted from Ree's Chocolate Sheet Cake, make one 18"x12" cake}

for the cake:
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup malted milk powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup salted butter
4 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
1 cup boiling water

for the icing:
14 TBSP salted butter
1/3 cup malted milk powder
4 heaping TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
6 TBSP milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped Whoppers

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, malt powder, and salt together. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda together. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Once melted, stir in the cocoa powder. Pour in the boiling water and stir together for a minute. Remove from heat.

Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until incorporated. Stir in the buttermilk mixture. Continue stirring until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 18"x12" half sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the icing. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the malt and cocoa powder until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar, stirring over low heat until smooth and most of the lumps from the sugar have dissolved. Keep warm while the cake bakes.

Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven, pour the icing over the cake as evenly as possible. Let the cake cool for about 20 minutes, then scatter the Whoppers over the top, pressing in slightly. Cool the cake in the pan, then cut into large pieces for serving.

Chocolate Malt Texas Sheet Cake..."to you from me, Pinky Lee!"