Batter:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 9-inch round layer cake pans; lightly grease the pans with shortening and dust with flour. Tip: to make baked cake easier to remove from pan, lightly grease the pan, line with parchment paper, and then lightly grease the top of the parchment paper and dust with flour. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to mix. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, vegetable oil, and eggs to flour mixture; use an electric mixer or wooden spoon and beat until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat just until mixture is combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a long toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake testerinserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place pans on a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then remove cake from the pans and place the cake on the wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
 

Chocolate Malt Frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder until creamy. In a small bowl, combine whipping cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, use an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon and beat until combined. Gradually beat in confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Use an offset spatula to spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake.