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This simple recipe only takes fifteen minutes to make, and gives you a healthier version of a popular American sweet. I love the range of textures and tastes that play on the taste buds from the firm to then creamy chocolate, the crispy cornflake and chewy peanut butter.
Taste is a complex enough sensation, but visual cues, textures and smell all go to affect the overall mouthfeel. Texture adds a further dimension in how it stimulates taste buds and impacts the release of flavours as the food breaks down. Fizzy drinks don’t taste so good when flat. Crispy food is usually more appealing than the same food mushed. This feeling of the food can be related to the water content, how sticky, grainy, smooth, rough or fatty it is. This recipe with an orchestral ensemble of textures and tastes is simple and yet seriously moreish.
Ingredients:
250g peanut butter
240g maple syrup
170g dark chocolate
120g cornflakes (gluten free)
Sea salt flakes
Method:
Grease and line a 10" x 6” baking tray.
Crush the cornflakes in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin until they are in smaller flakes. Mix the peanut butter and maple syrup until fully combined. Add the cornflakes to the peanut/maple mixture and fold in, again until all is combined. Transfer this to the prepared tray and press down with the back of a spoon.
Melt the chocolate in a bain marie, or slowly in the microwave. Once melted and smooth, pour over the cornflake mixture, spreading so it is smooth. Sprinkle over a small quantity of sea salt, place in the fridge and allow to set for an hour. Once ready cut into desired sized bars. Keep stored in the fridge.
Enjoy.
Gaby Van Clarke
None of us know what’s going to take us out. Life’s full of surprises. But we do know that the body starts to degenerate from about age 30 (more cells destroyed than created, barring excess weight gain) and also, crucially, that we can affect the speed of that ageing process.
Introduced by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century, and adapted over time to suit Japanese tastes, this light bouncy sponge is considered a traditional Japanese speciality. More delicate and airy than a regular sponge cake, castella ( カステラ, kasutera) is famous for a fine and moist crumb.
