Peanut Cornflake Cakes - Jo Wheatley

I've pretty much stopped buying recipe books - well, unless it's one I really want or 'need'!  I just don't have the space to store them, and it seems profligate to have too many.  Of course I make delighted exceptions to this rule for gifts, and also for irresistable bargains...  So when I found Great British Bake Off winner Jo Wheatley's 'A Passion for Baking' in a local charity shop for only a pound, I figured I had nothing to lose in buying it.  It's full of appealing recipes, mainly sweet, and has a nice section on Baking with Children.  Ted is just beginning to show an interest in helping in the kitchen; although 'helping' in the loosest sense of the word, as only a toddler can!  However, I love to include him when he wants to help out.  Here he is starting off our chilli con carne earlier this week (eating the raw onion pieces!):

I decided to make my first Jo Wheatley recipe a seasonal one, and make her Peanut Cornflake Cakes, but substitute Mini Eggs for the Peanut M&Ms she suggests.  There's something that appeals to everyone, adults and children alike, about those mini nest-like cakes at this time of year...  And I have to say that this is the best recipe for them that I have ever found!  The addition of peanut butter to the mix makes them really special and completely more-ish.  Initially I loved the fact that the recipe only made a small amount, I didn't want to end up making 24 of them if they didn't turn out to be that tasty, but now I'm wishing I had more as this little batch disappeared within 24 hours!

A visiting friend asked for the recipe having tasted them (er, eaten two!), but I couldn't find it anywhere online.  So I thought it was a perfect recipe to blog.

Peanut Cornflake Cakes - from A Passion for Baking by Jo Wheatley

40g unsalted butter
2 tsp golden syrup
100g milk chocolate, chopped
2 tsp peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
80g cornflakes (although I used bran flakes which worked brilliantly)
1 small bag of peanut M&Ms (or Mini Eggs, which I used)

You will also need 6 paper muffin cases or 10 fairy cake cases.

Combine the butter, golden syrup and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat; stir until melted.  Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth.

Tip the cornflakes into a large mixing bowl, pour over the chocolate mixture and stir until all of the cornflakes are coated.

Spoon the sticky mixture into the paper cases and top with an M&M or Mini Egg.

Chill in the fridge until set.

If these are anything to go by, that was a pound well-spent, and I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from this book.

Happy Easter!