Crispy Cornflake Crunch (the perfect dessert topper)

Cornflake Crunch is milky, buttery, (deliciously crunchy), and just plain good.  It takes all your baked goods up a notch and it's also a perfect topper for your favorite ice cream, gelato, or breakfast yogurt. Plus, you probably already have a box of Cornflakes in your pantry just waiting to be used. This treat is sweet, slightly salty, with a milky buttery crunch.  It's ready in just 20 minutes and it's a great recipe for kiddos to help make. This Momofuku Milk Bar-inspired treat is something to make when you need a little extra flavor and texture on things you already love.

Where Does Cornflake Crunch Come From? (Milk Bar & My Neighborhood)

If you read this ulimate brownie with cornflake crunch post, then you already know how I came across Christina Tosi's Cornflake Crunch.  If you haven't read that post just know it all started with Momofuku (David Chang's restaurant) which was a few blocks from my old apartment in the East Village, NYC.  It's a place we frequented often for its pork buns and other delicious food. Milk Bar is a dessert spin-off from Momofuku and it's also located in the East Village just a few blocks away.

This dessert destination is a mecca of Willy Wonka'ish desserts developed by the talented pastry chef, Christina Tosi. If you've never had a dessert from Milk Bar (or tasted the Cornflake Crunch) once you do, you'll understand why the whole world knows about this little shop. It takes everyday ingredients and combines them in creative, comforting, and delicious new ways. It's recipes like this that take the ordinary to the extraordinary just by thinking outside the box.

It's as Easy as 1, 2, 3!

How to make Cornflake Crunch

1. Preheat the oven. Turn the oven to 275°F/°135C and allow it to fully preheat.
2. Crush the Cornflakes. Using your hand, crush the Cornflakes to about ⅓ of their size (or even smaller if desired).
3. Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl combine sugar, milk powder, and salt; whisk well to combine and add them to the Cornflakes.
4. Add the butter. Using a fork or your hand, combine the Cornflake and butter mixtures being sure to coat the cereal well.
5. Bake. Spread out the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes until the Cornflake Crunch is golden brown and you can smell it wafting from the oven. Enjoy!

Cornflake Crunch recipe step-by-step instructions & photos

Delicious Ways to Use Cornflake Crunch

By now, you've probably seen the Super Fudgy Biscoff Brownies w/Cornflake Crunch that are plastered all over this post, so you know this recipe is great for chocolatey things, but you can also add it to lots of other recipes to add some milky, sweet and salty crunch.

• Easy Classic Cheesecake w/Biscoff Cookie Crust (with Mini Cheesecake Option)
• Easy Double Biscoff Cheesecake
• Bakery Style Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Velvety White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta (w/Lemon Zest and Poppy Seeds)

Let's get started!

📖 Recipe

Milky Crispy Cornflake Crunch (a perfect dessert topper)

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5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Kelly
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 2 ½ Cups
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

It's crunchy, milky, buttery, and just plain good! Cornflake Crunch takes all your baked goods up a notch! But this easy little treat is just as delicious when used as a topper for your favorite ice cream, gelato, or breakfast yogurt. Plus, we know you have that box of Corn Flakes in your cupboard just waiting!

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 2.5 cups Cornflakes (100g)
• ¼ cup milk powder (32g)
• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar (20g)
• 4 ½ tablespoons butter, melted (63g)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

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Instructions

How to make Cornflake Crunch

1. Preheat the oven. Turn the oven to 275°F/°135C and allow it to fully preheat.
2. Crush the Cornflakes. Using your hand, crush the Cornflakes to about ⅓ of their size (or even smaller if desired).
3. Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl combine sugar, milk powder, and salt; whisk well to combine and add them to the Cornflakes.
4. Add the butter. Using a fork or your hand, combine the Cornflake and butter mixtures being sure to coat the cereal well.
5. Bake. Spread out the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes until the Cornflake Crunch is golden brown and you can smell it wafting from the oven. Enjoy!

Notes

• Store Cornflake Crunch in a sealed, air-tight container at room temperature for up to one week and refrigerated or frozen for up to 1 month.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Desserts
• Method: Oven Bake
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 tablespoons

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Corn Flakes Cereal FAQ's

• Who invented corn flakes? The full name of the man who invented corn flakes or cornflakes is John Harvey Kellog (a physician and nutritionist at Battle Creek Sanitorium) and his brother, Will Keith Kellog (who was the superintendent at the sanitorium and who later went on to build the Kellog Company.) These brothers eventually had a falling out over, you guessed it, this cereal.
• When were corn flakes invented? Kellog's Corn Flakes were invented by total accident on April 14th, 1894! 
• Why are corn flakes made invented? Dr. John Kellogg and his younger brother, Will Keith Kellogg, happened to leave some cooked wheat sitting out while they took care of other important issues at the sanatarium where they both worked.  Will was the superintendent at the sanitarium and John Harvey Kellog was the physician. Upon returning to the wheat (which is what was originally used), they found it had already turned stale. They didn't have money to throw away, so they went ahead and decided to repurpose it.  They forced it through the rollers, thinking they might get lucky and end up with sheets of dough. Instead, they found flakes which they called "Granose".  The Granose was toasted and served to the institution's patients which they really loved. The brothers filed for a patent for "Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same" on May 31, 1895, and it was issued on April 14, 1896.
• Why did John Harvey Kellog and William Kellog have a falling out? John Kellog was a physician who believed that a healthy diet would keep people from sin (specifically to curb men from masturbation (yes, really).  His brother William Kellog wanted to bring this cereal to the masses but needed to make it more appealing.  So, when he opened his Kellog Company and started producing the cereal, he coated the flakes with sugar to make it more appealing.  John H. Kellog abhorred this idea and knew that it negated the health benefits of the cereal as it was originally intended. But at this time, William knew that there were tons of new cereal manufacturers popping up all over Michigan around the sanitorium including the one founded by C.W. Post (of Post Cereal Company).  C.W. Post had been a patient at the Battle Creek Sanitorium where he'd first eaten the toasted cereal. He used the brother's idea of toasting cereal and developed his own, Grape Nuts and to this day is still the biggest competitor to the Kellog's Company.
• What are corn flakes made from? Corn flakes are a commercially produced cereal product made from small toasted flakes of corn but were originally made with wheat. Today, they are very different from the first iteration of this healthy cereal and include sugar and other ingredients. They're usually served cold with milk and sugar and are used in all kinds of recipes like Cornflake Crunch, and even to replace bread crumbs. The list of ingredients in the USA produced Kellog's Corn Flakes is: milled corn, sugar, malt flavor, contains 2% or less of salt, Vitamins and Minerals: Iron (ferric phosphate), niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), folic acid, vitamin D3, vitamin B12. 
• How are corn flakes made?  According to Kellog's, here's how Corn Flakes are made. "Seeds are planted in April and the soil is given three nutrients to grow-nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. About two months later, the corn enters a growth spurt, shooting up to five feet, before flowering. In October and November, the corn is ready to be harvested and taken to a mill, where it's cleaned, sifted and rolled, before being shipped to a Kellogg's factory. At the factory, the corn grits are rolled out into flakes. Those flakes are then cooked, dried, and toasted to become Kellogg's Corn Flakes ready for you to enjoy."
• What is the Kellog's Corn Flakes mascot? A green rooster named Cornelius "Corny" Rooster has been the cereal's mascot since first appearing. A friend of the family, Nansi Richards who was a harpist from Wales and who avidly supported the use of the Welsh language provided the concept of a rooster for the mascot. She rationalized the Welsh word for "rooster" was similarly pronounced in Welsh dialect as "kaylog" which sounded like "Kellog".  And this is how Cornelius "Corny" Rooster was born.