Cadbury Mini Egg Cake with Malted Milk Chocolate Buttercream

The SOFTEST buttery vanilla cake layers speckled with bits of milk chocolate, filled with fudgy ganache and satisfying hunks of mini Cadbury eggs, and coated in fluffy malted milk chocolate buttercream as spoonable as a milkshake. Aka the dreamiest cake for Easter.Everything about Easter makes it my favorite holiday–spring, pastels, flowers and eggs and bunnies and chocolate and Jesus. This might be debatable, but I also think Easter food beats that of all the other holidays. You get sweet and savory brunchy dishes, bright spring produce, sweet glazed meats, and plenty of chocolate. 

Take Cadbury mini eggs. Perhaps the prettiest seasonal candy, the little pastel candy-coated chocolates are just begging to be incorporated into any and all Easter treats–brownies, blondies, cookies, chocolate nests, and cake, of course. This Easter-inspired layer cake combines the whimsical candies with the most luscious and moist vanilla cake, a rich chocolatey filling, and spoonable malted milk chocolate buttercream. It’s a show-stopper, a crowd-pleaser, and it’s the dessert that nobody will be able to stop eating.

The Softest Vanilla (Cadbury Egg) Cake Batter

Dare I say that this vanilla cake is one of the softest, moistest, most luscious vanilla sponges that I’ve ever had? There are a few key principles that make it so special:

• Butter + oil. Butter makes the batter extra creamy and fluffy, and it adds loads of flavor including the nutty browning effect as the edges turn golden. Meanwhile, oil keeps the sponge extremely moist, even when cooled.
• Buttermilk. It enhances both flavor and texture, as the acidity breaks down gluten to make a more tender, delicate, and moist crumb. The acid also reacts with baking soda to enhance the rise and fluffiness
• Cake flour. Lower protein content means less gluten formation, which translates to a lighter, softer crumb. Finer cake flour also means more moisture is locked in, and you can sure taste it in the end.
• Temperature matters. As tempting as it may be to speed things along with cold butter, eggs, and buttermilk straight from the fridge (who’s watching, anyway?), using room-temperature ingredients allows for maximal incorporation of the batter and yields a noticeably fluffier cake in the end.
• Sift, sift, sift. Make sure at least your flour is sifted before mixing it into the batter. One method is to whisk all the dry ingredients together first, then sift the mixture into the batter with each incorporation.

Finely chopped Cadbury mini eggs are folded into the batter before baking, creating an epic cross between funfetti and chocolate chip.

It’s very important to watch your cakes near the end of baking to judge doneness. Baking times can vary significantly depending on how you divide the batter (into three 6-inch or two 8-inch pans), how high you fill the pans, the color and material of the pans, your oven itself, and how many times you open the oven to test the cakes. Here, I made three pretty tall layers which needed to bake on the longer end. I ended up trimming them down quite a bit for stability and for the softest texture possible all throughout. Alternatively, you could fill the pans a little less than 2/3 (you may have some batter leftover) and cut back on baking time.

Chocolate Ganache Filling

A simple, 2-ingredient chocolate ganache adds a layer of richness and irresistible fudgy texture, balanced against the tender cake layers and light fluffy buttercream. 

1. Heat heavy cream just until it starts to boil.
2. Pour cream into a bowl over chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. (I use semi-sweet chips.)
3. Cover with foil and let it rest about 5 minutes, then gradually stir in enlarging circles until it’s silky smooth.
4. When cooled to room temperature, this will go inside a well of buttercream between the cake layers.

The second component is coarsely chopped Cadbury mini eggs. They add the most satisfying secret chocolatey crunch and bring the whole thing over-the-top. 

Malted Milk Chocolate Buttercream

When I call this “spoonable,” I mean you can literally eat this frosting by the spoonful, just like eating a milkshake. It’s fluffy and delicious without being overly sweet like a typical chocolate buttercream. It’s made with pure melted chocolate, Dutch process cocoa, and malted milk powder for a balanced flavor profile with hints of toasty maltiness. 

Building the Cake

As a general rule for all layer cakes, bake the cakes far enough in advance to chill them completely before working with them. This allows you to easily trim, level, and stack without the super soft crumb falling apart on you. 

I trimmed the golden crust from both the top and bottom of each cake with a large serrated knife, leaving just the most tender interior to absorb the moisture of the filling. Save the yummy scraps for snacking, or use them to make cute cake pops.

The golden edges are buttery and toasty and delicious, though, and would taste wonderful if enjoying this as a single layer cake.

Layer up:

1. Cake
2. Rim of buttercream around the edge
3. Half of the chocolate ganache
4. Generous handful of mini eggs chopped into quarters or thirds
5. Next cake layer
6. Repeat
7. Last cake layer
8. Crumb coat of buttercream
9. Chill at least 15 minutes
10. Final coat of buttercream and decor

Cadbury Mini Egg Cake with Malted Milk Chocolate Buttercream

April 5, 2026

by Margaret Ann

Category Baked Goods Dessert

The SOFTEST buttery vanilla cake layers speckled with bits of milk chocolate, filled with fudgy ganache and satisfying hunks of mini Cadbury eggs, and coated in fluffy malted milk chocolate buttercream as spoonable as a milkshake. Aka the dreamiest cake for Easter.

Persons

10

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1.5 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (114 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1/3 cup neutral oil (such as refined almond oil, canola oil, or vegetablee oil)
• 1.25 cups full-fat buttermilk, room temperature
• 300 g (2.5 cups) cake flour
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 120g Cadbury Mini Eggs, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup chopped)

For the filling:

• 3 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• about 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Cadbury mini eggs for filling (thirds or quarters)

For the buttercream:

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened to slightly cooler than room temp
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 6 Tbsp malt powder (I use King Arthur Malted Milk Powder), sifted
• 2 Tbsp Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
• 5-6 Tbsp cold heavy whipping cream
• Pinch salt, to taste

Instructions

Make the cakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch cake pans or threee 6-inch with parchment paper and spray with baking spray or grease with butter.
2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream sugar and softened butter 3-5 minutes or until fluffy, scraping the bowl down intermittently.
3. Mix in oil, vanilla, then each egg one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Sift 1/3 of the dry mixture into the batter and mix until just combined. Alternate mixing in half of the buttermilk, another 1/3 sifted dry mixture, remaining buttermilk, then remaining sifted dry mixture. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and finish mixing until smooth.
6. In a separate bowl, stir finely chopped mini eggs with 1 tsp flour to coat. Add coated mini eggs to the batter and fold gently until just combined.
7. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans, filling about 2/3 of each pan. (Depending on the number and size of your pans, you may have some excess batter). Bake in preheated oven for about 28-35 minutes (time will vary depending on the size of the cakes), or until the cakes are set in the center (not jiggly or wet), golden on top, starting to pull away from the sides, and a toothpick entered into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
8. Allow cakes to cool in pan for at least 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling to room temperature.
9. Wrap each cake layer tightly in plastic food wrap and chill in the refrigerator prior to decorating. (I typically bake the cakes the day prior and chill overnight.)

Make the ganache:

1. Place chocolate chips in a heat-safe bowl. Heat heavy cream in a microwave-safe measuring cup or in a small saucepan until it just starts to bowl. Pour hot cream over the chocolate chips, cover with foil, and allow it to rest about 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula or spoon, start mixing in small circles in the center of the bowl, and gradually work outward until the cream and chocolate are thoroughly combined and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Make the frosting:

1. Add the chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 20-30 seconds, stir, then heat in 10-15-second increments, stirring in between each, until melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
3. Sift in the cocoa and malt powder and mix on low speed until evenly combined.
4. Gradually add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
5. Add cooled melted chocolate and mix until evenly combined.
6. Add salt, vanilla, and 4 Tbsp of the heavy whipping cream and mix until combined.
7. Gradually add remaining powdered sugar and additional 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream as needed. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Assemble:

1. After the cakes are chilled, remove the plastic wrap and use a large serrated knife to trim the toasted crust from the top and bottom.
2. Place one cake down on a cake plate over a smudge of buttercream.
3. Pipe a rim of buttercream around the edge.
4. Pour half of the cooled ganache inside the rim of buttercream and gently smooth it over.
5. Sprinkle a generous handful of chopped mini eggs evenly over the ganache.
6. Stack the 2nd cake layer and repeat.
7. Add the final cake layer then a crumb coat of buttercream.
8. Chill about 15 minutes, then finish with a final coat of buttercream and decorations as desired.

Tags

Baked,

Cake,

Chocolate,

Dessert,

Featured,

Featured Spring,

Holiday,

Spring,

Vanilla

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