The Betty Crocker Boxed Cake Fans Miss With A Passion

Ah, the 1950s. The era of sock hops, drive-in movies, and the slowly dimming flicker of neon signs as malt shops made way for chains like Mickey D's and Taco Bell. The era of convenience food (and liberated housewives) was upon us, and as part of that trend, Betty Crocker popularized boxed cake mixes, including a flavorful ode to the declining malt shops of the era and a boxed cake mix fans wish would come back: The chocolate malt cake mix.

In addition to being symbolic of the era's venerated but decreasingly patronized malt shops, malted milk powder, a derivative of grain mixed with powdered milk, added a creamy, nutty flavor while contributing to tenderness. Sadly, the flavor, along with the malt shops, was past its heyday by the 1960s, becoming increasingly difficult to find in either cake or ice cream form.

It's most commonly enjoyed these days in the chocolate-covered malted milk candies known as Whoppers in the United States and Maltesers in other English-speaking countries. But trends are cyclical, so it's possible the flavor will resurface in the modern consciousness any time now, hopefully resulting in Betty Crocker rereleasing the nostalgic boxed cake mix flavor. In the meantime, you have to figure out how to make it yourself by doctoring a boxed cake mix.

All you need to change any chocolate cake into a chocolate malted cake is some malted milk powder, which is surprisingly easy to find, either at any decently sized grocery store or on Amazon. You can buy Nestlé Malted Milk powder in both chocolate and vanilla. There's also classic Ovaltine Chocolate Malt Mix, a Swiss-origin malted milk powder that was all the rage during the first half of the 20th century. And then there's King Arthur Baking Company's Malted Milk Powder, which is pricier, but it's also specially designed for baked goods like chocolate chip cookies and waffles.

If you really want to make it from scratch, search the internet for a suitable recipe. Malted milk powder absorbs liquid differently than cocoa powder or flour, so substituting it in your favorite cake, while totally doable, may require several attempts to get the liquid amount right.

It's much easier to DIY using a doctored chocolate boxed cake mix. Just add roughly half to three-quarters cup (50 to 75 grams) of any flavor of malted milk powder to your favorite chocolate boxed cake. You might want to pull back on the oil by a couple of tablespoons since malted milk powder enhances the moisture, but otherwise, make it according to package directions. When you're done, you can top it with a chocolate cream cheese frosting that's also spiked with malted milk powder and some Whoppers before digging in.