Malted Milk Powder

Malted milk powder—a blend of malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated milk—adds a toasty, nutty, and butterscotch-like sweetness to various sweet and savory creations.

King Authur Flour has many recipes using Malted Milk Powder, as does Modern Mountain Baking Compnay. Recipes include not only milkshakes, hot chocolate and other drinks, but recipes for pancakes, brownies and blondies, cakes, cookies, crispy rice treats, ice cream, and more.

What's the difference between malted milk powder and diastatic malt powder?

They're different tools. Malted milk powder is non-diastatic - its enzymes are deactivated, so it's purely a flavor ingredient for cookies, cakes, frostings, and shakes. Diastatic malt powder has active enzymes that feed yeast, improving rise, browning, and crust in bread baking. Use malted milk powder when you want that toasty malt flavor; use Diastatic Malt Powder when you want your bread to perform. They're teammates, not substitutes.

How much malted milk powder should I add?

Milkshakes: 2-3 tablespoons per shake for classic diner flavor. Cookies and brownies: 1/3 to 1/2 cup added to your dry ingredients - start low and add more if malt is the star. Cakes and frostings: mix 1/4 cup into batter, or sift 1/4 to 1/2 cup into buttercream. The flavor builds, so taste as you go.

Should you make adjustments to your recipes:

• For small amounts (1 to 2 tablespoons), you can usually add malted milk powder to a recipe without making major changes.
• If you are using a larger or more generous amount (like 1/3 to 1/2 cup), you will need to adjust a few key ingredients to keep your texture and sweetness balanced:
• Reduce the sugar: Malted milk powder naturally contains milk sugars and a sweet flavor. For a heavy-handed swap, you can replace about 25% of the granulated sugar in a recipe with roughly twice that amount of malted milk powder by volume.
• Adjust the salt: Malted milk powder contains added sodium, so you may want to slightly decrease the added salt in your dough or batter.
• Watch the browning and bake time: The milk sugars and proteins in the powder cause baked goods to brown much faster. You may need to lower your oven temperature slightly or keep a close eye on the bake time to prevent burning.
• Texture changes: Malted milk powder tends to make cookies and bars a bit softer, chewier, and give them a richer crumb.

Beverages

• Classic Milkshakes: Blend it into ice cream and milk for an old-fashioned soda-fountain malt.
• Hot Chocolate & Coffee: Stir a tablespoon into hot cocoa, coffee, or a latte for a deeper, caramel-like richness.
• Cold Foam & Cocktails: Mix it into chocolate cold foam for cold brew, or blend it into drinks like white Russians and chocolate martinis.

Baking & Breakfast

• Pancakes & Waffles: Swap part of the sugar in your batter for malted milk powder to get a classic, diner-style flavor.
• Cookies, Cakes & Brownies: Mix it directly into doughs, batters, or fudge mixes (such as in a King Arthur Baking Recipe Guide) to amplify chocolate and add a tender crumb.
• Frostings & Whipped Cream: Sift it into buttercream frostings, cream cheese frostings, or whip it into heavy cream for pie and sundae toppings.

Snacks & Toppings

• Popcorn: Toss it with freshly popped popcorn for an easy sweet-and-savory contrast.
• Ice Cream Topping: Dust or mix it directly over vanilla or chocolate ice cream.