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Fluffy and perfectly griddled, diner-style pancakes are a breakfast wonder. The flavorful, beautifully browned rounds are ideal for stacking, bejeweling with blueberries or chocolate chips, or slathering with bourbon caramel sauce. If you struggle to make them at home, we’re here to help. Let’s talk about a game-changing ingredient that gives pancakes a diner-style boost: malted milk powder.
The Retro Ingredient That Improves Pancakes
Malted milk powder is made from a blend of malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated whole milk. The humble ingredient, originally developed in the 19th century as a nutrition supplement to address the needs of armed forces in Europe, became a staple in diner drinks and desserts by the mid-1950s (think: malted milkshakes). Today, malted milk powder is having a resurgence, thanks to the rising popularity of vintage recipes and its ability to add depth and sweetness to baked goods and breakfast dishes—like pancakes.
Adding malted milk powder to your pancake batter helps the exteriors brown evenly on the skillet and gives them a rich, slightly nutty flavor. In fact, it’s a common component in a lot of popular pancake mixes used by restaurants and hotels: Sagra and Robby’s by Golden Malted.
Cook’s Note
You can buy Carnation brand malted milk powder from retailers such as Safeway, Walmart, and Amazon. While Ovaltine contains malt extract (from malted barley), it also contains a lot of other ingredients, including sugar and cocoa. So the chocolate drink is not a proper substitute for malted milk powder.
‘’When it comes to malted milk powder, it’s such an underrated secret weapon in baking,” says chef Dennis Littley, a recipe developer and chef with more than four decades of cooking experience. “It adds this subtle, toasty, almost creamy richness that enhances both flavor and browning. In pancakes or waffles, it gives you that slight diner-style sweetness and a deeper golden color, kind of like the flavor you’d expect from a really great milkshake crossed with a caramelized crust. It doesn’t overwhelm the batter; it just makes everything taste better.’’
How to Use Malted Milk Powder in Pancakes
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King Arthur Baking Company has a diner-style pancake recipe that features 1/4 cup malted milk powder. But you can easily incorporate it into your favorite pancake recipe by adjusting or eliminating the amount of sugar in the ingredient list. For example, the King Arthur pancake recipe notes to use 1/4 cup malted milk powder or 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Keep in mind: Just a few tablespoons of malted milk powder go a long way, according to Littley. ”My tip is to whisk it into your dry ingredients so it’s evenly distributed, and if you're using it in something like pancakes, dial back your sugar slightly,” he says. “The malt brings some sweetness on its own.”
Malted milk powder also works magic on waffles—lending them a crispy, golden crust—and is also a worthy addition to many baked goods, ‘’You can also use malted milk powder in cookies, muffins, or even chocolate chip banana bread,” Littley says. “Once you get a feel for how these kinds of ingredients work, they become easy, go-to additions you’ll start reaching for again and again.’’
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