Brands like Kelloggs Cornflakes, with milk, still my secret indulgence, my hug-in-a-bowl, my go-to treat when I need comfort. I am often asked in interviews what my favourite foods are and I giggle at the expressions I get when I tell people: cornflakes, milk and sugar - and remember to put the milk on first, otherwise the sugar falls to the bottom of the bowl.
Cornflakes, however, have been with us since 1898 when in a fortunately failed attempt at making granola, WK Kellogg and his brother, Dr John Harvey Kellogg, changed breakfast forever when they accidentally flaked wheat berry. WK experimented until he flaked corn and created the delicious recipe for Kellogg's Corn Flakes. Today Kellogg's Cornflakes brightens breakfast in over 180 countries around the world.
Other iconic brands that to me as a cook/baker have been around forever are brand like Moir's and Safari. My mum's fruitcakes and biscuits were all baked with these age-old brands and still today I trust them to give me fuss-free and flop-free baking, every time.
For almost 100 years Moir's has been a favourite in South African households, offering scrumptious treats for the whole family. Moir's rich history of delicious desserts and bakes started back in the 19th century when Scotsman John Moir founded a business making fruit-flavoured jellies, which proved immensely popular. In fact, so successful were his jellies that the Moir's name was acclaimed in a dozen different countries and languages around the world.
Cornflakes came in handy when I wanted to find an easier and cheaper Florentine recipe. I love Florentines, after all with nuts, caramel and chocolate as key ingredients, what is there not to like? For the uninformed, Florentines are Italian biscuits made by setting nuts and cherries in a caramel base and then coat the base with chocolate. See, told you, very hard not to like!
The problem is that nuts are not cheap and if I have to make a batch big enough to sustain my nibbling family, I have to make another plan. Another problem with making Florentines is that you have to make a caramel and, for many people, that will be a pitfall. You have to have a candy thermometer and, quite frankly, it sounds way to complicated already.
So, my search started on the Internet and I found loads of recipes using cornflakes and condensed milk, and taking my secret indulgence into consideration, these recipes appealed to me even more than the authentic Florentine recipes. Sadly, the recipes were so different and I could not find two that used the same quantities in their ingredients, so I just did my own thing, writing down as I added so that you could all have the benefit thereof.
Cornflakes Florentines (Makes 24)
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 180C.Place all cornflakes, nuts, cherries and raisins in a big bowl and add the condensed milk. Stir through and make sure that everything has a light coating of condensed milk. To make the Florentines is a bit messy, but here is my easy way. Spray two baking sheets with Spray 'n Cook and get hold of a cookie cutter or food stacking ring(7cm in diameter) as well as a small glass with a bottom that fits in the ring or cookie cutter. Oil the cookie cutter or stacking ring on the inside as well as the bottom of the glass. Place the stacking ring on the baking sheet and spoon a big spoonful of the mixture in the ring and flatten with the oiled bottom of the glass, pushing it through the ring onto the baking sheet. Repeat until you have used up all of the mixture. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until cookies have turned a light caramel colour. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water and spread on the bottoms of the Florentines. When completely cooled down, pack in a beautiful tin and tie a bow around it - and share it with your hero!
