Our Vegan Chocolate Cornflake Cakes are dairy-free and a delicious chocolaty crunchy Easter treat. For many British families cornflake cakes are an Easter tradition especially having the kids to help prepare the easy no-bake cakes during the Easter break. They are also a great way to use up any leftover Easter chocolate if that's even a thing! For gluten-free chocolate cornflake cakes simply use gluten-free cornflakes.
Cornflake cakes are also popular in Scotland at Christmas time, just add a nice festive chocolate or some festive cake sprinkles to the top of each cake.
A chocolate cornflake cake is simply chocolate melted with syrup and margarine or butter before being mixed through cornflake breakfast cereal. They do not require baking as they are a refrigerator bake so only need a few hours to chill and set firm.
We love chocolate cornflake cakes year round and Instead of topping with a vegan chocolate mini egg, you can top the little cakes with a different candy or sweetie - such as one of the Candy Kitten sweets for cute little Mother's Day cornflake cakes or a Halloween or Christmas themed sweet.
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📜 Origin Of Chocolate Cornflake Cakes
No one knows for sure where the first chocolate cornflake cakes originated, but a recipe for Chocolate Crackle appeared in the Australian Woman's Weekly magazine in December 1937. The recipe was part of an advertisement and was supplied by COPHA to promote their hydrogenated coconut oil product.
However, chocolate crackle slices are not prepared with cornflakes; rather, rice bubble cereal, or what we know as Rice Krispies in the UK and US, is the main ingredient.
Additionally, the original chocolate crackle recipe was prepared with cocoa powder, not melted chocolate pieces, which modern-day cornflake cakes tend to use. Another difference is that icing or powdered sugar is used for chocolate crackles, whereas chocolate cornflake cakes feature golden syrup.
If preferred, this recipe for chocolate cornflake cakes can also be prepared with Rice Krispies or a similar cereal, as Rice Krispie chocolate cakes are also very popular in the UK during Easter. Or have a look at our Vegan Rice Crispy Cakes recipe which uses vegan marshmallows.
Chocolate cornflake cakes and Krispie cakes were very common during my Scottish childhood in the 80s and 90s. They were also a popular option for school dinners and sold for a few pennies at our school and youth club tuck shops. Additionally, they were almost guaranteed to make an appearance at children's birthday parties and were always prepared without fail during Easter!
We also had lots of fun making another variation - Chocolate Easter Nests. These nests were prepared by mixing melted chocolate through crushed Shredded Wheat breakfast cereal, forming little nests with the mix, before nestling little mini eggs in the nest and finishing with a little toy bird.
We like to top our dairy-free chocolate cornflake cakes with little vegan chocolate eggs but have you ever wondered why we eat chocolate eggs at Easter?
These vegan mini eggs are the Doisy & Dam dark chocolate eggs and can be found in many UK supermarkets, whole-food stores, and online at their website or Amazon.
🍫 Why do people eat chocolate eggs at Easter? 🥚
Gifting eggs during springtime predates Christian Easter celebrations. Eggs were originally given as gifts to celebrate the arrival of spring. When Christianity became popular, these traditions were merged into Christian rituals.
During Medieval times, eggs were not permitted to be consumed during the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter, as Lent was a period of restricted eating and fasting for the Christian church. However, on Easter Sunday, eggs were permitted and were often decorated and given as gifts.
It wasn't until 1873 that Fry's, a British manufacturing company, introduced the first-ever chocolate Easter egg, with Cadbury's chocolate bringing out their own chocolate Easter egg versions a few years later.
Nowadays, especially in the UK, chocolate Easter eggs and small sweet/candy eggs are very popular during Easter. And there are also many vegan, plant-based Easter egg versions available to enjoy!
🥣 How To Prepare
For our cornflake cakes the ingredients you will need are - dairy-free or vegan dark or semi-sweet chocolate, golden syrup [although you can use any type of syrup], vegan margarine or butter, and a cornflakes breakfast cereal that is suitable for vegans.
- Step 1: Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and margarine together in a small saucepan.
- Step 2: Stir until nice and smooth.
- Step 3: Add the cornflakes to a mixing bowl and pour in the chocolate mixture.
- Step 4: Stir the chocolate mixture into the cornflakes until well mixed.
- Step 5: Divide the cornflake mixture between 12 cup cake or fairy cake cases.
- Step 6: Pop one or two or three vegan mini eggs on top or your chosen sweetie or candy.
- Step 7: Place the cornflake cakes into the refrigerator for a few hours until completely set and firm.
📖 Recipe Notes
Storing
Cornflake cakes can be stored in the refrigerator or somewhere cool for 5 days, possibly a few days longer, within a covered container or covered plate.
Yes, although do choose a gluten-free brand of cornflake breakfast cereal or a suitable gluten-free cereal replacement. And ensure that all the other ingredients are also suitable for gluten-free diets.
Yes, you can use any flaked breakfast cereal, such as bran flakes or a rice- or oat-based flaked breakfast cereal. Rice Krispies, All-Bran, and Shreddies-type cereals (crushed a little, as these are often quite large), as well as crushed Shredded Wheat cereal, can all be used. However, do check the ingredients, as some breakfast cereals are not suitable for vegans. Often, supermarkets' own versions of popular branded cereals are suitable for vegans, even if the branded one is not.
Any chocolate that is suitable for vegans and for baking and cooking can be used. Many supermarket own-brand dark chocolates are actually suitable for vegans, despite not being labeled as such.
It is worth checking, as these types of chocolate are often inexpensive and work perfectly well for melting and baking.
This recipe uses dark chocolate, but if you have a vegan white or milk chocolate that you know melts well, you can substitute it in and enjoy white or milk chocolate cornflake cakes.
We used the Daisy & Dam brand of chocolate eggs and sourced them on Amazon UK as we live in a rural location so couldn't find them locally. However, many supermarkets and whole-food stores also stock this brand.
Yes they are, they are also known as - chocolate cracknell, chocolate hedgehogs, chocolate cornflake clusters, and many more names! However, there are also many recipe variations.
👩👧 More British Old-School Recipes Made Vegan
These British old-school favourites have long been a popular choice at children's birthday parties, picnics, pack-ups, and special buffets and spreads.
If you love peanut butter, cornflake cakes, and Reese peanut butter cups your sure to love this Peanut Butter Cornflake Cakes recipe.
***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Cornflake Cakes
Equipment
- Small saucepan for melting chocolate
- Mixing bowl
- mixing spoon
- 12 Cup cake/fairy cake/or small muffin cases
- Large plate [can use a fairy cake or cup cake baking tray]
Ingredients
- 200 grams dark chocolate [semi-sweet] [or any vegan, vegan-friendly, or dairy-free chocolate]
- 50 grams golden syrup [or your choice of syrup]
- 50 grams vegan margarine or butter
- 100 grams cornflakes [or bran flakes, flaked rice or oat cereal, etc]
Topping:
- vegan mini eggs [or other vegan sweetie/candy/chocolate buttons/drops etc]
Instructions
- Add 12 fairy cake cases onto a plate.Or if using a cupcake baking tray pop a cake case into each cup - this can make it easier to fill each case with the filling.
- Place the cornflakes into a mixing bowl.100 grams cornflakes
- Break the dark chocolate into equal size chunks and place into a small saucepan along with the margarine and golden syrup.200 grams dark chocolate [semi-sweet], 50 grams golden syrup, 50 grams vegan margarine or butter
- Over a low heat melt the chocolate, margarine and syrup together. Stir frequently until the ingredients are smoothly combined. Don't allow the mix to start boiling.
- Pour the melted mixture over the cornflakes making sure to scrape all the mixture out. A plastic spatula is perfect for ensuring all the mixture is removed.
- Stir the melted chocolate into the cornflakes until everything is well combined. It doesn't matter if some of the cornflakes are crushed whilst mixing.
- Divide the cornflake mix between the paper cases and top with the sweets or candy.vegan mini eggs
- Place the cakes into the refrigerator for at least a few hours (preferably overnight but only if your family has the patience which mine does not!) until completely hardened and set.
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
- Nutritional data does not include the sweetie/candy topping.
- Store chocolate cornflake cakes within a covered container or on a covered plate within the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
- Instead of vegan mini-eggs replace with any other vegan sweetie/chocolate/candy. Or simply omit.
- We used Daisy & Dam dark chocolate mini eggs.
- For gluten-free chocolate cornflake cakes ensure that your breakfast cereal is free from gluten ingredients. Many cornflake brands are free from gluten.
- Prepare a large cornflake cake by pressing the mixture into a lined cake or brownie pan and pressing firm. Chill and then once firm remove from the pan and use a sharp knife to slice cornflake cake bars.
Nutrition
💬 Comments
Prepared our Vegan Chocolate Cornflake Cakes recipe? We always love hearing how you got on with our recipes. So it would be wonderful if you could pop back and let us know how you got on by dropping us a comment and clicking the star ratings. Thanks so much, Love Jacq x
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