Golden Syrup Cornflake Cakes with peanuts and sprinkles are a delightful treat! These kid friendly party treats use easy to find ingredients and also work as honey crackles!
Recipes like the Chocolate Chip Cookies With Cornflakes, Cornflake Biscuits, Tim Tam Slice and Chocolate Caramel Slice are sweet treats we know and love.
My Air Fryer Biscuits, Mars Bar Cakes and Rocky Road Cakes mean you don't even need to turn the oven on to bake!
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
Here is a few reasons why I think you will LOVE this recipe and want to make it time and time again!
- Quick and easy
- Simple, easy to find ingredients
- Kid friendly and family friendly
- Option to add nuts and sprinkles or omit
- Fast recipe that gets a 'baked treat' done in no time
- Fuss free, minimal clean up and quick cook time
- Make ahead (get organised the day before the party)
- Economical recipe that cuts costs
- Sweet, crunchy and SO delicious!
- Vary the recipe with honey and caster sugar
- There is nothing like an audible crunch when biting into a treat!
Top Tip 1: If you have work the next day, it is easier to make a simple sweet treat than be elbow deep in flour at 10pm.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below shows you what you need to grab from the shops. The recipe card at the bottom of the post gives you measured amounts and detailed instructions.
As you can see, the recipe calls for:
- corn flakes or cornflakes: this delightfully crunchy breakfast cereal is made from toasting flakes of corn (maize). They are ideal to use in baking as their keep their crunchy texture, are reasonably inexpensive and have a variety of uses (both sweet and savory).
- golden syrup: this thick sweet, sticky syrup is brilliant to bake with. It provides flavour and texture and is an ideal substitute for honey.
- brown sugar: this soft brown sugar is a nice change from caster or white sugar in recipes. It gives a lovely golden colour and sweet refined sugar taste.
- butter: this gets combined with the golden syrup and brown sugar to form the 'glue' that sticks our cakes together.
- peanuts: these are optional but are used as a way to pack more flavour and texture into the cakes. I recommend using roasted unsalted peanuts.
- sprinkles: hundreds and thousands (sprinkles) add some colour and texture to the cakes. They are an easy addition to bring a bit of decoration to the cakes with minimal effort!
Top Tip 2: You can work along traditional lines, by using honey instead of the golden syrup and caster sugar instead of the brown sugar. These are known as honey joys or honey crackles!
🍳Instructions
Here are the instructions to make the recipe. You will need 2 x 12 hole muffin tins and paper liners to start.
- Line the 1st muffin tin with the patty papers and repeat (Photo 1)
- Add cornflakes to large mixing bowl (Photo 2)
- Add golden syrup, butter and sugar to heat proof jug (Photo 3)
- Melt for 2 minutes and whisk to combine (Photo 4)
Top Tip 3: The microwave melt method saves time, energy and effort. press the buttons and go!
- Pour the melted butter, sugar mix into the cornflakes (Photo 5)
- Stir to combine and add peanuts and sprinkles (Photo 6)
- Spoon the mix evenly into the 12 muffin liners (Photo 7)
- Bake the cornflake cakes for 10 mins (Photo 8)
Top Tip 4: The cornflake cakes will be done in 10 - 12 mins, however, they will still be soft if you squeeze the edges together, ie not set. Rather than overcook, remove from the oven as they will harden as they set.
- Place the muffin tins in oven (middle rack) and cook for 10 mins (Photo 9)
- Use oven mits to remove tray from oven and let cook (Photo 10)
Top Tip 5: If you have left the honey crackles in the oven for a bit long and the tops are looking a little brown, sprinkle some more hundreds and thousands over the individual cakes. They will stick naturally and distract from any overcooked cornflakes.
👍 How to Guide
How to store
The cornflake cakes can be stored in a sealed air tight container for 7 days. They will loose their crunch the longer they are stored.
How to freeze
I don't recommend freezing this recipe. The cakes are best consumed fresh within 1 within of cooking.
How to reheat
It is not advisable to reheat cornflake cakes after they have been cooked.
An alternative to oven baking them is to cook them in the air fryer. Use the same temperature as oven baking and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
It's party time! What's your favorite, sweet, savory or both?
Do you like hot food, no bake slices, cupcakes, muffins or brownies.
Getting your bake on means there is a wide variety of choices and ideas to explore!
I recommend serving these fresh from the oven when they have cooled enough to eat. They also work well the next day at a morning tea or bake sale.
Plate up further sweet options with a healthy twist like my Air Fryer Zucchini Bread or the Chocolate Zucchini Brownies.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
If you make the recipe as is, you will get golden crunchy cornflake cakes that are delightfully tasty!
If you want to experiment or seek traditional roots, try the following:
- use honey in place of the golden syrup (equivalent amount)
- or maple syrup (equivalent amount)
- for a vegan option use rice malt syrup and nuttlex
- replace the brown sugar with caster sugar or white sugar (same amount)
- add mini marshmallows instead of the peanuts
- use gluten free cornflakes for a gluten free version of the recipe
- use bran flakes instead of corn flakes
- omit the nuts and sprinkles and drizzle melted chocolate over the cakes
- use a small saucepan and melt the honey mix if you don't have a microwave
- use coloured paper patties or go with a silver or gold theme!
💡 Expert Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks so you can have fun making the recipe and know it will 'work':
- Have this recipe up your sleeve when you need something for the bake sale but you have work the next day!
- Ensure the oven is preheated before placing the muffin tin in to cook
- Make a double batch if you have plenty of mouths to feed.
- Switch it up and make traditional honey crackles with honey and caster sugar instead of the golden syrup and brown sugar.
- Add sprinkles and or nuts for fun and decoration!
- Use coloured sprinkles after baking (before they set) to hide any 'too cooked' cornflakes.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
Is honey the same as golden syrup?
Honey and golden syrup are 2 different ingredients.
They are both sweeteners and are commonly used in baking.
Can you substitute honey for golden syrup?
You can substitute honey for golden syrup however, it may affect the taste of the dish.
For a recipe like this, the difference is barely noticeable, however in some recipes, the flavour of the honey can over power other ingredients and become the dominant flavour.
How long do honey crackles last?
If stored in a sealed, air tight container, honey crackles will last up to one week in the fridge.
Do honey joys go in the fridge?
Honey joys/honey crackles/golden syrup cornflake cakes refrigerate very well!
It is recommended once baked to store the honey joys in the fridge in a sealed air tight container.
😍 More Easy Party Food Recipes
If you are party prepping, you have come to the right place!
Here are some recipes to get the party started:
- Air Fryer Party Pies
- Easy Air Fryer Sausage Rolls
- Microwave Chocolate Fudge
- Air Fryer Frozen Samosa
- Slow Cooker Cheese And Bacon Bread
- Coco Pop Crackles (Coco Pop Cakes)
- Smarties Cookies
- Mars Bar Cookies
- Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls
- Snickers Cookies
Let's party my friend!
Adrianne xx
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📖 Recipe
Golden Syrup Cornflake Cakes (Honey Crackles)
Equipment
- 2 Muffin tins
- 24 Patty pans (cupcake liners)
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Heat proof jug
- 1 Mini whisk
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 2 Dessert spoons
Ingredients
- 4 cups cornflakes
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon golden syrup
- 120 grams butter unsalted, Note 1
Optional add ins
- ½ cup peanuts optional
- ¼ cup sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160°C / 325°F / Gas Mark 3.
- Line 2 x 12 hole muffin tins with patty papers. Note 2
- Add cornflakes to large mixing bowl.
- Add brown sugar, golden syrup and butter to heatproof jug. Microwave for 2 minutes and use a mini whisk to combine.
- Pour melted butter, sugar mixture over cornflakes and use wooden spoon to stir and combine.
- Add peanuts and sprinkles and stir again to combine.
- Use 2 dessert spoons portion the mixture evenly across the 2 x 12 lined muffin holes.
- Place the cornflake cakes into the oven on the lower and middle rack and bake for 10 mins.
- Use oven mits to remove when cooked, place on wire rack and allow to cool for 2- 3 mins. Note 3
Video
Notes
- Note 1 You will find the butter easier to work with if you chop it into small cubes before melting. It will also melt faster this way.
- Note 2 You will find both patty papers (cupcake liners) with a standard size and 1-2 inch height. You will also find muffin tin liners with high points which are not a standard height all around. It is recommended to use the standard patty papers (cupcake liners) as the mixture is sticky and needs to be spooned in without obstruction. It is not recommended to not use liners as the cakes would stick to the tin.
- Note 3 You may notice if you squeeze the sides of the cornflake cakes together once they are baked, that they are not firm and crispy. They will firm up once removed from the oven and set (hard) as they cool.
Nutrition
Recipe video added in November 2024, also reduced the oven temperature slightly as my testing showed they worked better in a slow oven.
Mandy says
Going to make these on the weekend. Love the idea peanuts and sprinkles they sound awesome.
Tara says
Made these with my nephews they loved them. So crunchy and delicious.
Adrianne says
Thanks Tara, I enjoyed reading your feedback.
Ella Brown says
My kids and I made these for my daughters birthday party. Everyone enjoyed them, so crunchy, thanks.
Adrianne says
Thanks Ella!! I loved reading your comment.