Peek into most pantries, or kitchen shelves, and you'll find a box of cereal. I'm not a big cereal eater in general, but even I usually have a box of some simple kind of cereal stashed away. Cereal seems like the culinary equivalent of an umbrella: Even if you don't remember buying it, there's usually one in the closet.
Whether or not you eat a morning bowl of it, I'd like you to consider a new use for cereal. Today's recipe is a mash-up from a few sources of inspiration: The base is a riff on a killer muffin recipe from Vermont Creamery, which I've transformed into a tender, vanilla bean-flecked dessert that resembles a pound cake in its meltingly dense texture. The topping is inspired by the Ovenly blueberry cornflake muffins that my local coffee shop carries.
The idea of using cereal to make a streusel isn't strange, considering many streusels already call for a breakfast staple: rolled oats. Making a cereal streusel is faster and easier than most though. Just crunch up cereal with some sugar, flaky salt, and softened butter. Spread it over your batter and ta-da!, you've got an addictively crunchy golden topping.
Corn Chex is my cereal of choice for streusel toppings. I love the nutty flavor the corn adds, plus the waffled texture of Chex gives extra crunch to the streusel, especially if you don't fully crush the cereal. That being said, you can certainly try this technique with anything from crisped rice cereal to any sort of flaked cereal to even Shredded Wheat.
While I highly recommend trying this vanilla-crème fraîche cake recipe, you can also use this streusel recipe on top of muffins (I like it on chocolate muffins!), other simple cakes, or quick breads (a banana bread would be a good partner). You can also opt to spread the streusel on a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake it until golden, and then use it to top anything from a bowl of yogurt to vanilla ice cream.
| FOR STREUSEL: | |
| 1 | cup corn Chex cereal |
| 4 | tablespoons unsalted butter, softened |
| 2 | tablespoons raw sugar or brown sugar |
| 2 | tablespoons granulated sugar |
| 1/4 | teaspoon flaky sea salt |
| FOR CAKE: | |
| 8 | ounces crème fraîche |
| 4 | eggs |
| 1 1/2 | cups granulated sugar |
| 2 1/2 | cups all-purpose flour |
| 1 | teaspoon baking powder |
| 2 | tablespoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) -- this seems like A LOT and you can use less, but trust me! |
| FOR STREUSEL: | |
| 1 | cup corn Chex cereal |
| 4 | tablespoons unsalted butter, softened |
| 2 | tablespoons raw sugar or brown sugar |
| 2 | tablespoons granulated sugar |
| 1/4 | teaspoon flaky sea salt |
| FOR CAKE: |
| 8 | ounces crème fraîche |
| 4 | eggs |
| 1 1/2 | cups granulated sugar |
| 2 1/2 | cups all-purpose flour |
| 1 | teaspoon baking powder |
| 2 | tablespoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) -- this seems like A LOT and you can use less, but trust me! |
Try swapping the streusel in the chocolate muffin recipe below (or any chocolate muffin recipe) for Chex streusel above.
| 1/2 | cup (60 g) all purpose flour |
| 1/3 | cup (33 g) old fashioned oats |
| 1/4 | cup (53 g) dark brown sugar |
| pinch salt | |
| 5 | tablespoons (70 g) cold unsalted butter, but into 1/2 inch cubes |
| 1/2 | cup (60 g) all purpose flour |
| 1/3 | cup (33 g) old fashioned oats |
| 1/4 | cup (53 g) dark brown sugar |
| pinch salt | |
| 5 | tablespoons (70 g) cold unsalted butter, but into 1/2 inch cubes |
| 2 | cups (340 g) raspberries |
| 2 1/4 | cups (269 g) all purpose flour, divided |
| 1/4 | cup (22 g) good qaulity cocoa powder (such as Valrhona) |
| 1 | tablespoon (12 g) baking powder |
| 1/2 | teaspoon (3 g) baking soda |
| 1/2 | teaspoon (2 g) fine sea salt |
| 1/2 | cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly |
| 1 | cup (198 g) granulated sugar |
| 2 | large (113 g) eggs, at room temperature |
| 1 1/2 | teaspoons vanilla extract |
| 1 | cup (226 g) buttermilk, at room temperature |
| 2 | cups (340 g) raspberries |
| 2 1/4 | cups (269 g) all purpose flour, divided |
| 1/4 | cup (22 g) good qaulity cocoa powder (such as Valrhona) |
| 1 | tablespoon (12 g) baking powder |
| 1/2 | teaspoon (3 g) baking soda |
| 1/2 | teaspoon (2 g) fine sea salt |
| 1/2 | cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly |
| 1 | cup (198 g) granulated sugar |
| 2 | large (113 g) eggs, at room temperature |
| 1 1/2 | teaspoons vanilla extract |
| 1 | cup (226 g) buttermilk, at room temperature |
How do you like to repurpose cereal? Did you know our Baking Club is too? Let us know in the comments! For more info on our Baking Club, head here.
Written by: Posie (Harwood) Brien
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1 Comment
Thanks to everyone that is sharing their recipes and tips etcetera, for the sheet-pan muffins, cakes and etc! My eyes and sweet tooth are
going crazy! (not to mention my imagination! I'm imagining a 1/2 sheet "full-dress" German Chocolate Cake with the coconut, brown sugar & pecan frosting and filling! :-) Not to mention, A carrot cake with the cream cheese frosting, and having nuts and raisins in it! (Those two are my favorites!)
One last thing, has any other person tried or seen this yummy recipe:
https://cafedelites.com/creamy-roasted-tomato-basil-soup/
I needed two 1/2 sheet pans to roast the 2 & 1/2 pounds of plum tomatoes and 1 & 1/4 pounds of cherry tomatoes...this recipe took me quite and while and forever to clean up...but man oh man was it worth it!
Chris
See what other Food52 readers are saying.