Honey-butter cornflake clusters
The popcorn stand-in
Makes about 8 clusters. Store in an airtight tin for up to three days once completely cool.
Popcorn is one of the first things most low-fibre leaflets rule out, and it is also one of the foods people miss most, the small crunchy handful eaten without thinking while watching something. This is the closest replacement in the book: cornflakes crushed slightly smaller than they come out of the box, bound in melted butter and honey, then baked until they hold together in loose clusters. They have the same crunch and the same lack of ceremony, without the husk that makes popcorn risky for a narrowed bowel or a stoma. Store them in a tin once they are completely cool. They lose their crunch quickly in a warm kitchen.
Ingredients
Contains: Milk
- 50 gunsalted butter
- 3 tbsphoney
- 80 gcornflakes
Method
Heat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C) and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
Melt the butter and honey together in a small pan over a low heat, stirring until smooth and runny.
Tip the cornflakes into a large bowl and crush them lightly between your hands into smaller pieces, not dust.
Pour the butter and honey over the cornflakes and fold gently until every flake is coated.
Spoon the mixture into small mounds, about the size of a golf ball, on the baking sheet, pressing each one gently so it holds together, spaced well apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and firm at the edges. Leave to cool completely on the sheet. They crisp up fully only once cold.
They will feel soft coming out of the oven. That is normal. The crunch arrives as they cool.
Watch-points
- Cornflakes or Rice Krispies only. Bran flakes, muesli and granola are off the list.
- Eat them slowly and chew them well. They are the crunchiest thing in this book, and a mouthful swallowed in a hurry is a mouthful that has not been broken down.
Make it more nourishing
- Melt 20 g of plain chocolate and drizzle it over the cooled clusters.
- Use an extra 10 g of butter in the mixture for a richer bite.
- Crumble a cluster over 100 g of ice cream and eat it as a pudding. It turns a small snack into something that carries real energy.
Swaps
- Instead of honey, use golden syrup
- binds equally well and is milder