Chocolate Cornflake Cakes

Chocolate cornflake cakes are a quick and easy no bake treat, and like chocolate crispy cakes, they are fun to make with the kids, and perfect for parties! Crunchy cornflakes are coated in a soft and slightly chewy chocolate mixture before being spooned into cupcake cases and left to set in the fridge.

Jump to:

• Why we love this recipe
• Ingredient notes and substitutions
• How to make cornflake cakes
• FAQ
• My recipe tips
• Serving Ideas
• Make ahead/storage
• Variations
• Why not try…
• Chocolate Cornflake Cakes

Why we love this recipe

• It’s a no bake recipe, saving electricity not having to put the oven on, and less hassle – melt, mix, and let the fridge do the work!
• Making cornflake cakes with cocoa powder and golden syrup is a more budget friendly way of making the chocolate go further, especially here in Australia where good chocolate that doesn’t become grainy when melted is expensive. The golden syrup also adds a chewiness to the cakes and makes them slightly gooey – like they were at school (it was a good day when it was cornflake cakes for pudding at school, as with the school sponge cake!)
• These chocolate cornflake clusters are loved by young and old.
• This is a great recipe for using up the ends of packets of cereal.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Cornflakes – Kellogg’s cornflakes or supermarket own brand both work just as well. You can also use bran flakes or Special K.
• Butter – or margarine. This not only helps the chocolate go further, but adding butter makes the chocolate shiny.
• Cocoa powder – use any cocoa powder you like, I do like the cheaper one for the old school vibe 😉
• Golden syrup – This British inverted sugar syrup is the ingredient that provides the ‘chew’ to these cornflake cakes. You can use Tate and Lyle Golden Syrup if you are in the UK, CSR Golden Syrup if you are in Australia, Chelsea Golden Syrup in NZ, or use supermarket own brands. If you want to use honey or maple syrup instead, keep in mind the cornflake cakes may not stick together quite as well.
• Chocolate – I like to use a mixture of milk chocolate and dark chocolate to get the right sweet-bitter balance, but feel free to use all milk or all dark if you prefer! Use a good quality chocolate for the best flavour and, especially here in Australia, a good chocolate is less likely to be grainy.

How to make cornflake cakes

1. Roughly break up the chocolate into chunks and place in a heatproof bowl with the butter, cocoa powder and golden syrup. Place the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. (You can also melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, using a microwave safe bowl and heating in 20 second bursts, stirring in between, until melted.)
2. Tip the cornflakes in to a large bowl.

3. Stir the chocolate and butter occasionally, and when the mixture is smooth and glossy take off the heat. It should look like the image on the left below. If it’s a bit separated give it a good stir to combine the ingredinets.
4. Pour the melted chocolate over the cornflakes.

5. Mix the cornflakes and chocolate together until all the cornflakes are thoroughly coated.
6. Using 2 spoons, divide the mixture between 12 paper cupcake cases. Then place in the fridge to set.

FAQ

My recipe tips

• Adding butter to the chocolate not only helps the chocolate go further, but adding butter makes the chocolate shiny (see picture below!).
• Don’t heat the chocolate and butter over too high a heat otherwise the chocolate can split and become grainy.
• When the chocolate has melted, you need to stir it thoroughly to mix all the cocoa powder and butter together before adding to the cornflakes.
• When stirring the chocolate mixture into the cornflakes, scrape down to the bottom of the bowl with your spoon each time as this is where the chocolate pools.

Serving Ideas

• These cakes are made for kids parties! Serve alongside mini sausage rolls or cheese and onion rolls, veggie sticks and avocado dip, and ham and cheese pinwheels.
• They are a popular addition at bake sales too.

Make ahead/storage

These will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge or, if you are not in a warm climate, at room temperature for 3 days.

Variations

• Gluten free cornflake cakes – use gluten free cornflakes.
• Marshmallows – once you have mixed the chocolate into the cornflakes, carefully fold in a handful of mini marshmallows. Don’t stir too much if you don’t want them to melt in to the mixture.
• Easter nests – you can easily make this recipe into Easter cornflake nests by pressing the back of a teaspoon into each chocolate cake to create a nest before filling with mini chocolate eggs or mini eggs.  Or check out these 2 ingredient shredded wheat Easter nests.

Why not try…

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