School Recipe

If you remember these chocolatey cornflake mounds from school, this recipe is going to give you a throwback!I have seen people call these ‘chocolate hedgehogs’ and ‘Chocolate cracknell’ but I have always known them as chocolate hedgehogs.

I have seen these chocolate hedgehogs and other old school bakes rise in popularity, especially over on social media. People have been posting asking for recipes and I’ve even seen people start making these from home and selling them, which is great but some of them are a bit hit and miss, if I’m honest. If you remember these, this will sure take you back to your school days.

Anyway, if you’re not sure exactly what these are, I’ll tell you. They are a really simple, no bake dessert that use to be served in schools in and around England. As always with these old school recipes, I’m never sure if they are local or national, I know they can have several names for the same bake. So basically they are cornflakes coated with a chocolatey syrupy mixture which is then scooped up into a large ice cream scoop, compressed, then placed in the fridge to chill for a short while, easy enough right? This is the perfect recipe if you’re looking for something chocolatey, crunch and sweet this might just hit the spot.

There isn’t really a whole lot to do when making these, so these would be ideal to make with kids. Anyway, melt the butter and syrup together, either in a microwave or in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, allow to cool for a few minutes while you mix together your cornflakes, sugar and cocoa powder, then pour over your liquid mixture on top of the cornflake mixture and mix very well until its all well combined. You will notice a change in the colour of the cornflakes, this is due to the cocoa powder. Once it’s all well combined, get your ice cream scooped scoop up a good amount and then compress them down using either a spoon or a smaller cup measurement, either will work well.You will then want to transfer each your compressed mounds of the chocolate cornflakes onto a lined baking tray and once you’ve filled your tray, place in the fridge for around 30-45 minutes, then enjoy. These are quick and easy and best of all are no-bake and don’t require any baking (which is ideal as the UK is currently experiencing a heatwave and just the thought of being in a warm kitchen makes me not want to bake). These are best enjoyed on the day you make them but can be enjoyed the following day if you have left overs or are making them in advance.

Ingredients:

180g Cornflakes.

65g Granulated sugar.

25g Cocoa powder.

128g Butter.

110g Golden syrup.

Method:

Start by weighing up all your ingredients and lining your baking tray with grease proof/parchment.
Melt your butter and golden syrup together, you can do this one of two ways. Either in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted or in the saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until melted. Allow to cool slightly before using it.
Place your cornflakes, sugar and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and stir them until well combined.
Next you’ll want to pour over the syrup mixture and give it a really good mix, you’ll want all of the cornflakes to be coated roughly the same, take your time and get them well covered.
Once it’s all well combined, using your ice cream scoop you’ll want to scoop up a generous amount and then compress that using either the back of a spoon or a smaller cup measurement will work well. Apply enough pressure so it holds its shape once out of the ice cream scoop.
Transfer the mounds onto your prepared baking tray and once you’ve got a tray full, place it into the fridge and allow them to chill until they are firm. I find that around 30-45 minute works perfectly but remember yours may need more or less time, it all depends on your fridge.
After they’ve done chilling in the fridge, remove them and enjoy them on their own. They are perfect chocolatey, crispy and can be made in under an hour… What’s not to like about these?

Don’t forget, if you make anything using my recipes, feel free to share your creations with me over on Twitter and Instagram!

If you remember having this cake at school, you must make this as soon as possible. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Now I’m not sure if this is a local thing or national but if you went to school in the UK, you might recognise this. This recipe has been around for quite some time, a lot of people who went to school in the 70s, 80s, 90s or 00s should remember this! It’s super simple to make and doesn’t take that long either – what’s not to like?

This cake is just one of the few old school favourites I remember being offered when I was back in primary school – others include chocolate concrete & pink custard, cornflake tart and chocolate hedgehogs.

This recipe is my take on the traditional version of the old school traybake, it’s a really quick, easy and cheap recipe to make and will go down well with many who get to try it. If you’re not sure what this cake is, I’ll give you a quick run down. This cake is a basic sponge cake which is topped with a even simpler glacé icing and best of all, it can be made and finished within 60 minutes – what’s not to love?

For the cake, I used the all in one method (which isn’t as preferred as the creaming method), this is where you place all of your ingredients into a bowl and mix them until a cake batter has formed compared to the creaming method, which starts with you creaming the butter and sugar together, then gradually adding the egg then the dry ingredients. You can use either method, they will both work well and usually I would use the creaming method for cakes.

The icing is a simple glacé icing or water icing, which is just icing sugar and water. It makes for a sweet and crisp icing the works remarkably well with this cake in particular. You pour this in the centre of your fully baked and cooled cake, then spread it out using a cranked/offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread and level the icing as best you can and finish it with the sprinkles – this cake is so simple, you don’t need to be a master baker or anything.

At school this cake would be served with custard, which is a welcome addition.

Ingredients:

220g Plain flour

1 tsp Baking powder

Pinch of salt.

220g Granulated sugar.

4 Eggs.

220g Butter.

2 tbsp Milk.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Icing:

400g Icing sugar.

Water (work a teaspoon at a time, until its perfectly spreadable).

Rainbow sprinkles.

Method:

Cake:

Start by doing some prep work. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weighing up all your ingredients and preparing your tray with butter and flour, which is either 8×12 inches or 9×13 inches would work well (if you’re not using a disposable tray which is roughly 8×12″. These can be found in the supermarket 6 trays for £3 or so).
Start by placing all your ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix together on a low-medium speed to start with, then working your way up to a medium-high speed until everything is combined and a clear dough has formed (there shouldn’t be a trace of a single ingredient).

If you find that your cake batter is a little too thick, add in your milk, a little a time until the cake batter is slightly more spreadable.

Give the bowl a good scraping down, then mix in any ingredients that haven’t been fully worked in – trying your best not to over-mix the mixture (otherwise the cake will be tougher in texture).
Add the cake batter into the tray and level it out as best you possibly can using a small offset/cranked palette knife and then place into the oven and allow to bake for around 25-30 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).
Once out the oven, allow to cool completely before finishing.

Icing:

Into a medium size bowl, place in the icing sugar and a teaspoon of water, mixing well. Keep adding a teaspoon at a time until you get to a thick but loose enough to spread.

Finishing:

Take your cooled down cake and place the icing into the middle of the cake then spread it out as evenly as possible using a offset/cranked palette knife. Try to give the cake as level coating as possible.