This Cereal Milk Cake is filled with fluffy cereal milk cheesecake mousse, frosted in rich cereal milk frosting, and coated in a sweetened cornflake crunch!
A few weeks ago, I took a trip down to LA where I stuffed myself silly with allllll kinds of unique and incredibly delicious desserts. I literally spent 5 days consuming nothing but sweets. From freshly-fried doughnuts, to luscious bread pudding, to a gigantic stack of pancakes, I was definitely living my best life.
LA has always been one of my favorite cities to visit when it comes to the abundance of dessert shops and places to satisfy my sweet tooth. Nothing excites me more than discovering a new sweet spot that serves up inventive treats and confections. One place in particular is the Milk Bar. Known for baking up game-changing sweets, like Crack Pie, Compost Cookies, and Cereal Milk Ice Cream, Milk Bar is an absolute dream for dessert enthusiasts like myself.
I first discovered the Milk Bar in NYC a couple of years ago, and I instantly fell in love. So knowing that they had a location in LA, it was at the very TOP of my list of dessert spots to visit. In fact, I ended up going twice during my trip! With so many mouthwatering treats to choose from, it’s impossible to choose just one, so I ended up trying a few things–a slice of their Birthday Cake, three different cookies (Compost, Corn, and Confetti), an Apple Pie Pocket Cake, and their infamous Cereal Milk Soft Serve.
Being the cereal addict that I am, the Cereal Milk Soft Serve was the treat I was most excited to try. Needless to say, it did NOT disappoint. Infused with the deliciousness of toasty cornflakes and slightly sweetened milk, this ice cream tasted exactly like that iconically nostalgic milk we all adored sipping out of the bowl after all the cereal was gone. And if that wasn’t enough to draw you in, it was coated in the most amazing sweetened cornflake crunch.
So that got me thinking…what if I made a cake version of this ingenious little treat?
I think it’s safe to say that I absolutely NAILED it with this Cereal Milk Cake.
With moist layers of cereal milk-infused cake, fluffy cereal milk mousse filling, and velvety cereal milk frosting, there’s definitely no shortage of cereal milk madness in this cake.
I actually adapted this recipe from my Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cake. The cake recipe is pretty standard when it comes to vanilla cakes with the exception of a couple of crucial ingredients. The cereal milk, of course, being one of them. To heighten the flavor of the cereal milk, I toasted the cornflakes before soaking them in the milk. Thirty to forty minutes is enough time to flavor the milk, which is then strained and separated from the soggy cornflakes. To double up on that classic cornflake flavor, finely-crushed toasted cornflakes are also added to the batter.
The filling and frosting start with the same base. I started by making a simple vanilla frosting by combining some butter, salt, powered sugar, and vanilla. Cereal milk is then added to complete the frosting for the cake.
The filling begins with one cup of the cereal milk frosting. To create the tangy cheesecake-like filling, I combined the one cup of frosting with some cream cheese. And to lighten it up, I folded in some freshly-whipped heavy cream. Super simple to make, yet UNBELIEVABLY addictive…
Of course, I can’t forget to mention the stunningly sweet cornflake crunch coating. It’s the perfect combo of sweet and salty, and it has the most satisfying crunch! It comes together rather quickly by combining coarsely-crushed cornflakes, powdered milk, melted butter, a little brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. This heavenly mixture is then baked in the oven until nice and toasty! Warning: One taste of this stuff, and you’ll be HOOKED. Luckily, there should be plenty leftover for you to devour/inhale once you’ve finished coating the cake with it 😉
With the amount of steps involved in making this cake, it might seem a little intimidating, but I assure you, it’s 100% WORTH IT. Plus, being that it contains all of the elements of a bowl of cereal, you can easily justify eating a slice (or three) for breakfast…
Cereal Milk Cake
Ingredients
Cornflake Crunch:
- 3 cups cornflakes
- ⅓ cup dry milk powder
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cereal Milk:
- 2 cups cornflakes toasted*
- 1 ¾ cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Cake:
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup cornflakes, finely crushed**
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¾ cereal milk (from recipe above)
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
Filling/Frosting:
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Remaining cereal milk (about 1/3 cup)
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ¾ cup heavy cream, whipped
Instructions
Make the Cornflake Crunch:
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF. In a large bowl, combine the cornflakes, milk powder, sugar, and salt by hand, squeezing and crushing the cornflakes at the same time until coarsely crushed. Stir in the melted butter until small clusters form. Transfer mixture to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Make the Cereal Milk:
- Add the cereal to the milk, and stir until fully soaked; let steep for 30-40 minutes.
- Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and strain out the milk. Using the back of a spoon, wring the milk out of the cereal, but don’t force the cereal through the sieve. Discard the soaked cereal. Stir the sugar into the milk and set aside.
Make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees. Line three 6-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, crushed cereal, and both sugars until well combined. Add the oil, yogurt, and 3/4 cup cereal milk and continue stirring with a whisk. Stir in the egg, followed by the vanilla.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pans and bake in the oven for 28-32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Filling/Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt on high until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until fully incorporated. Mix on high for 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, followed by the cereal milk, a Tablespoon at a time, beating until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Remove 1 cup of the frosting and set aside for the filling. Transfer the rest of the buttercream to a separate bowl, then return bowl to mixer.
- In the mixer, beat the cream cheese and reserved frosting until smooth and combined. Add half of the whipped cream, and continue beating until combined. Remove bowl from mixer, and fold in the rest of the whipped cream.
To Assemble:
- Place a cake layer on a cake plate or pedestal. Spread 1/3 of the filling on top, and repeat with the remaining cake layers and filling, ending with a layer of filling on the top. Chill cake in the freezer for 1 hour.
- Once chilled and solid, frost the cake with the frosting. Coat the sides and top of the cake with the cornflake crunch. Pipe a border of frosting around the top, if desired.