Hi folks.
I had a cake kick my ass.
Seriously!
Totally knocked me out...
Down for the count...
Then I redeemed myself and made this cheesecake!
Finally, I found redemption. I was seriously worried. This process had been a long one and just about had me questioning my sanity, well, more than usual. So first I'll share the star of today's post then I'll share the caketastrophe story with you. I think sometimes the best recipes come from the ones that didn't work. You just have to pull up your boot straps and move on when failure happens. No point crying over spilled milk if you ask me. Â And what goes better with milk, than cereal. Cake made with cereal no less. Yup, this one totally rocks. Thanks to Christina Tosi for the inspiration.
Ingredients
- FOR THE COCOA PEBBLES CRUNCH make ahead of time:
- 4 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ¾ cups Cocoa Pebbles cereal lightly crushed
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons nonfat milk powder
- FOR THE CRUST:
- 1 cup oreo flavoured crumbs
- 2 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
- 3 250 gpackages of cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup vanilla sugar
- 3 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cocoa pebbles crunch ½ cup less if you want it more cheesecakey and less cocoa pebble crunchy
- FOR THE TOPPING:
- 2 cups whipped cream homemade or store bought
- 2 cups cocoa pebbles crunch recipe listed above
Instructions
- FOR THE COCOA PEBBLES CRUNCH:
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.
- Toss dry ingredients together to mix.
- Melt butter in microwave for about 30-45 seconds.
- Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Spread the mixture on a parchment lined cookie sheet in an even layer.
- Place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until browned lightly.
- Remove and let cool.
- Break into clusters.
- FOR THE CRUST:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Melt butter in microwave for about 20-30 seconds.
- Mix butter,sugar and crumbs together.
- Press into the bottom of mini springform pans that have been sprayed with non stick spray.
- Place in a 325 preheated oven for about 8 minutes.
- Remove and let cool.
- FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
- In a stand mixer (or bowl with hand mixer) mix together the cream cheese and sugar until well combined.
- Add your eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix again briefly.
- Add cocoa pebbles crunch. Mix by hand.
- Pour over top the crust in your springform pans. Place in oven and cook for about 40 to 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- Place in fridge for about 4 to 6 hours to set.
- FOR THE TOPPING:
- Once the cheesecake is set, you can begin the topping.
- Mix your whipped cream and cocoa pebbles crunch together in a bowl, a spoon works well.
- Cover the top of cheesecakes with the topping and smooth out.
- Place in fridge for about 30 to 60 minutes
- Serve with a big old cocoa pebbley smile!
This was so good. It's just fun to play around with cereal. So odd that I do not eat the stuff but, man oh man, I love baking with it. This turned out great. I would quite likely do the topping a bit differently next time. Maybe just plain whipped topping with chocolate curls or something. But all in all this was a win for me. Especially after how long it took me to get it right.
This caketastrophe story started weeks again. I came across a recipe by Christina Tosi who is the genius behind Momofuku Milk Bar. I've never been there nor do I have her cookbook. I'd love to get it, I just have not had much money to spend on cookbooks recently. I had found a recipe for her Cocoa Pebbles Crunch Cake in an old InStyle magazine. I pulled it out eons ago and forgot about it. Then during my cereal obsession, where I made Trix Krispies, Cocoa Pebble Krispies with Nutella Frosting and Cocoa Pebbles Ice Cream and Cocoa Pebbles Ice Cream Bites, I knew I had to find it and make it. I dug it up and got all the ingredients ready and was so excited to make it. Then it flopped. I mean big old bomb. The cake did not rise properly. I have no clue what I did wrong. It was horribly flat and not going to work for a giant layer cake. So I took the cake and made it into Rolo Parfaits. I hate to waste ingredients so I figured it was a good way to use cake. So for round two I decided to make brownies and use that as a base for the cake. Brilliant right! It really was. Yet the topping for the recipe was now an epic fail. The original recipe uses Fluff which I am a huge fan of. But let's just say it doesn't hold up well when icing a cake. I think it needed to be cold to get the stiff peaks you see in Christina's cake. I had no stiff peaks. I had no peaks of any kind. I had marshmallow fluff sliding down my cake. Big old bummer and epic cake fail #2. This really knocked the wind of out of my cake sails. Now I had to rethink this recipe again. I decided to make it a cheesecake. I used a basic cheesecake recipe I use for most of my baked cheesecake needs and tweaked the bejesus out of it. I put cocoa pebbles crunch inside the cheesecake and inside the topping. Huge hit! It really tastes great. If you eat it immediately the cereal still has that crunchy bite to it. If you wait it gets soft and tastes like cake bits. So there's my story of my Caketastrophe. I'm sure we all have these kinds of stories. I am quite certain it was my error as we all know Christina is a rock star. I am sadly not a rock star. I make mistakes, I screw up, I have epic baking fails. But I move on and try to make the best of them. I do have to say as far as taste goes the brownie version kicked ass in a big way. It tastes amazing. It was just ugly. I'll try making it again the right way and post the recipe when I do. Here's some photos just to prove even Lunatic's have horrendous Caketastrophes.
See, told you it was a fail. Pretty, yummy cake up front. Ugly but still tasty cake behind. I honestly thought I would never be able to turn this one around. But I'm stubborn like a mule so I just kept at it.
So the moral of the story is never give up...eat lots of cake...use cereal for everything but breakfast...take pictures of your fails...and buy bigger pants. You're going to need them.
Toodles and smoochies! xx
DB-The Foodie Stuntman
This is why I prefer to cook savory than bake. If I am off by a little bit, you can adjust for it. Not so in baking, but I'm glad you were able to make lemonade from lemons!
Kim Bee
I am the same way. I can recover savory more easily. Sadly if this is how much I bake and I'm not a baker just think about how much I must cook. It's crazy how much I post sweets. I need to start posting more dinners.
Cathy
Oh my goodness--I was just thinking about what I could do with some Fruity Pebbles, when I saw this! Cheesecake is perfect. Great idea. Your pics are beautiful! Now, for me to come up with something original. 🙂
Kim Bee
You must try it with them. It would look super awesome with all that colour. Thank you so much. Foodgawker hates them. Lol. Original is hard to come by in recipe land. Just make what you love and don't worry if it's been done before. Putting your own spin on it is enough. xx
Anna
I would totally eat your caketastrophy too! Especially that it has cocoa pebbles in it! Yum! The cheesecake - seriously divine! I need to try Christina's cereal crunch. Sounds like a life-changing stuff 🙂
Kim Bee
So good. You gotta try it. You can do it with other cereals I guess. I have the pullout from a magazine if you want the other recipes. I can pull it out for you and email it to you.
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry
I want to roll around in that oozy marshmallowy goodness! It looks delicious actually! But then so does the cheesecake! Man I have a serious sweet tooth today! Thanks a lot! 🙂
Kim Bee
You are most welcome. I aim to ruin carb diets one at a time here at the asylum. Lol. xx
Emily @ Life on Food
I don't know the fail looks pretty good to me.
Kim Bee
Lol thanks. It was tasty.
Colleen, The Smart Cookie Cook
Caketastrophes are quite discouraging (I know from experience), but it's all the more satisfying when things do turn out. You've been on a cereal kick lately and I freakin' LOVE it. The fact that this has cocoa pebbles could almost convince me to eat it, despite the fact that I don't really like cheesecake.
Kim Bee
Ha, thanks. I am having so much freakin' fun. Which is odd cuz I don't even eat cereal. But man I love baking with it. You would love this. It would make a cheesecake fan outta anyone.
Happy When Not Hungry
This cheesecake looks fantastic! What a creative recipe. Love it!
Kim Bee
Thank you so much. I had so much fun doing this one. It tested my patience but that is half the fun if you ask me.
Dara
I would demolish both of these cakes! I haven't had cheesecake in ages and now I'm craving it.
Kim Bee
You're welcome. Make one now miss Dara. I bet you could healthy up a cheesecake. xx
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
So glad you are stubborn! This cake looks incredible! Her recipes sound very complicated, but in the end delicious!
Kim Bee
Ha, I bet my kids would laugh at that. They'd be all "no don't encourage her". They do seem a bit step intensive. I want to get her book. But I found a magazine that had her krispies, her cookies, her crunch and this cake. They take recipes and then build on them with other recipes. It's an interesting concept.
Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels
I think I'm in love....Seriously it's my dream cheesecake. *drool*
Kim Bee
Lol, you must try it out. I bet you could amp this up big time. It was so good. I had no idea cereal was so versatile.
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love.
My husband just saw this and his face lit up with joy. Then I showed him the cocoa pebbles krispie treats and I think he died and went to heaven! He's a Cocoa Pebbles fiend!
Kim Bee
Lol, there's also a cocoa pebbles ice cream and cocoa pebbles ice cream bites. I have a sickness I swear. I get obsessed easily.
Carolyn
I dunnno about a caketastrophe...that "ugly" one still looks mighty tasty. They both do!
Suzi
Looking good and did I see oreo crust. Damn delicious. So glad I am learning to bake, learning is the word. Oven is still in good shape so far. Wish me luck. I may need some spring form pans.
kitchenriffs
Loving all the cereal recipes! Makes me want to actually buy some! But - isn't cheesecake normal breakfast fare? Just wondering. I really like how you handled the light in your photos, the top 3 in particular. Really nice texture in the topping. And the choice of plate is just perfect for the subject! Really good stuff - thanks.
Joanne @ Fifteen Spatulas
Christina Tosi is a badass. I totally dig her recipes, and this one is no different!
Janet@FCTC
I'm glad you qualified that "questioning your sanity" part with the more than usual part. I was gonna HAVE to giggle otherwise.
On other topics, I want that cheesecake. What a neat idea! I'll even take the caketastrophe one...it looks pretty darn tasty to me!
Kim Bee
Lol, I had to clarify to avoid mass hysterical laughter everywhere.
Thanks. It was so good.
Peggy
Okay, yeah... this looks amazing. The caketastrophe doesn't even look like a caketastrophe to me - I'd eat both of them in a heartbeat =)
Debra Kapellakis
Right on girlie, don't give up!
Vicky
I love your attitude of turning things around and I think the caketastrophe looks pretty tasty anyway. I haven't had cocoa pebbles in years! I will definitely be on the lookout the next time I'm at the grocery.
Ginger
Hi, maybe I'm the only one thinking of making this recipe? But you do not specify an amount of the crunch to use inside the cheesecake. Looks wonderful and I was thinking of trying it. Thanks!
Kim Bee
Hi Ginger. Thanks for alerting me to that. I must have missed adding it to the recipe when typing it up. I've adjusted it. I suggest 1 1/2 cups if you want a nice chocolatey crunch, 1 cup if you want less crunch and more cheesecake texture. Also if I were to make it again I'd probably leave out the crunch from the whipped topping and just have plain topping on it. Just a personal preference thing. Let me know how it turns out. Kim