Cornflake Crunch

Get ready to make the Cornflake Crunch of your dreams. This simple recipe turns regular breakfast cereal of Cornflakes into a crispy, crunchy, sweet and salty dessert all on it’s own.

I love to use Cornflakes in my baking, specifically in Honey Joys and Cornflake Cookies. But now, there’s only one thing I want to do with them.

Soaked in honey, butter and brown sugar, these little flakes are then caramelised in the oven until they smell toasty. Leave them to cool and firm up and you’ll be met with fistfuls of crunchy morsels.

You can enjoy them on their own, throw them into your favourite cookie dough, use them to decorate cakes or cupcakes, or scatter them over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe testing

This recipe was inspired by two things: America’s Milk Bar Bakery and the delicious treats I grew up with in Australia, Honey Joys.

I’ve long been a fan of Christina Tosi and her unique sweet creations. I’ve attended a cooking class at Milk Bar Bakery in Los Angeles and sampled every single one of her cookie creations. She inspired recipes like my Milk Bar Birthday Cake, Blueberry Cookies, Cornflake Marshmallow Cookies and my Birthday Cake Truffles.

I’ve also had the pleasure of visiting Milk Bar Store in New York (the og) and trying their famous soft serve which is served with – you guessed it – sweet, crunchy caramelised Cornflakes around the outside.

The Cornflake Crunch on her soft serve reminded me of a classic Honey Joy. Last year, I tested an elevated Honey Joy Slice recipe which can be found on page 145 of my new cookbook, Something Sweet.

From that recipe, I discovered just how good Cornflakes are when they’re caramelised. So I’ve create my own easy recipe for a Cornflake Crunch that can used any way you like! Sprinkle it on ice cream, add it to cookie dough or use it to decorate cakes or cupcakes.

I’ve added milk powder to mine after discovering with my Honey Joy recipe that it really bumps up the flavour and contributes to that malty, nuttiness. I tested this recipe using brown sugar and caster sugar, but found brown sugar added to the caramel notes – which was a big win in my books.

Honestly, you’l love this simple copycat recipe – and if you’re like me, you’ll be snacking on fistfuls of these crumbs for days.

One of the best things about this recipe is that it only requires five core ingredients. Here’s a quick breakdown on what I use to make these, including any substitutions you can make:

• Cornflakes: I have tested this recipe using regular Kelloggs Cornflakes. If you want to make these gluten free, you can absolutely use Gluten Free Cornflakes.
• Milk powder: I have used a malted milk powder in this recipe. If you have milk powder in your pantry, it’s worth throwing in as it really bumps up the flavour and gives these crunchies a little umami flavour. However, if you don’t have any milk powder on hand, simply leave it out.
• Butter: Butter is a core ingredient in this caramel. I use unsalted butter, but salted butter is fine too.
• Honey: The honey butter caramel in this recipe is outrageously good. You can use any honey you have in the cupboard. Golden syrup or maple syrup will work too, but I recommend sticking with honey if you can. It’s a magical combination.
• Brown sugar: I tested this recipe using both brown sugar and caster sugar. Brown sugar definitely won as it contributes to the nutty, caramel flavour. However, you can absolutely make these using caster sugar or white sugar if that’s all you have. Still a 10/10, I promise.

See the recipe card below for the full list and quantities of ingredients.

Step 7: Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until Cornflakes are turned golden brown and smell nutty. You will see they are still soft – this is fine. They will firm up as they cool.

Storage: Store cooled Cornflake Crunch in an airtight container at room temperature. The crumbs will keep well for one week.

More Cornflake recipes to try

• Cornflake Cookies
• Honey Joys
• Cornflake Marshmallow Cookies