Make Chocolate Rice Crispy Cakes

Rice crispy treats are not only popular among kids, but also teens and adults! Not only are they fast and easy to make, but they are delicious too! Instead of making the regular kind of rice crispy treats for your next gathering, why not make a chocolate version as well? You can even make it as a rich, decadent rice crispy chocolate cake to really wow your guests.

Ingredients

Basic Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

• 6 ounces (150 grams) milk chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons (50 grams) unsalted butter (about ½ stick)
• ¼ cup (60 milliliters) light corn syrup or golden syrup
• 4 heaping cups (100 grams) rice crispy cereal

Makes 16 to 24 servings

Deluxe Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

• 4 tablespoons (50 grams) unsalted butter (about ½ stick)
• ¼ cup (25 grams) cocoa powder
• 1 package (10 ounces/283 grams) marshmallows
• 5 cups (125 grams) rice crispy cereal
• ⅔ cup (115 grams) mini chocolate chips, divided
• 3 ounces (75 grams) chocolate, for drizzling (optional)

Makes 16 to 24 servings

Rice Crispy Layer Cake

Sponge Layer

• ¾ cup (130 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup (100 grams) cocoa powder
• 1½ cups (350 milliliters) boiling water
• 2½ cups + 2 tablespoons (265 grams) flour
• 3 cups (675 grams) sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1½ cups (350 milliliters) buttermilk
• ¾ cup (180 milliliters) vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Rice Crispy Layer

• 3 cups (75 grams) rice crispy cereal
• 2½ cups (440 grams) milk chocolate chips, melted

Chocolate Frosting

• 1 cup (225 grams) butter, softened (about 2 sticks)
• 8 ounces (235 grams) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 6 cups (750 grams) icing/confectioner's sugar
• ¾ cup (180 milliliters) whole milk

Serves 10 to 12

Steps

Making Basic Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

1. Assemble a double boiler. Fill a saucepan with 1 to 2 inches (2.54 to 5.08 centimeters) of water, and place a heat-safe bowl on top. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the surface of the water.
2. Melt the chocolate over low heat in the double boiler. Turn the heat on to low, and bring the water to a simmer. Add the chocolate and wait for it to melt. This will take about 4 minutes. Do not stir the chocolate as it melts.
3. Add the butter and syrup into the chocolate. Let the butter and syrup sit in the chocolate for about a minute or two before folding it in with a rubber spatula.
4. Remove the bowl from the saucepan, then fold in the rice crispy cereal. Keep folding with your rubber spatula until everything is evenly combined. You can use plain rice crispy cereal for this, or cocoa-flavored rice crispy cereal.
5. Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan. The best size to work with is something around 9 by 13 inches (22.86 by 33.02 centimeters) although a 9-inch (22.86 centimeters) square-shaped pan will also work.
6. Chill the rice crispy treats in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours. If you are in a hurry, you can chill them in the freezer for about 20 minutes, or until they turn firm.
7. Cut the rice crispy treats into squares, then serve them. Cut them in the pan first, then scoop them out using a spatula. If you try to remove the entire rice crispy out of the pan, it may break. You have enough to make 16 to 24 servings.

Making Deluxe Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Place a large saucepan on the stove and set the heat to medium-high. Cut the butter into smaller cubes, then add it to the skillet. Gently stir the butter as it melts.
2. Add the marshmallows. Keep stirring the mixture with a rubber spatula until the marshmallows melt.
3. Stir in the cocoa powder with a whisk. Keep stirring until the cocoa powder is evenly mixed into the butter and marshmallows.
4. Remove the skillet from heat, then add the rice crispy cereal and ⅓ cup (60 grams) of the chocolate chips. Gently fold the cereal and chocolate chips into the mixture using a rubber spatula. Save the rest of the chocolate chips for later.
5. Spread the mixture across the bottom of a greased baking pan. The best pan to work with would be a square-shaped, 8-inch (20.32 centimeters) pan, but you can also use anything that is similar in size.
6. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top, then drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. You can stop at the chocolate chips, but you can give your rice crispies a nice touch with some chocolate drizzle. Simply melt 3 ounces (75 grams) of chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler, then drizzle it over the rice crispy cake. You can do this using a spoon or a squeeze bottle.
   • If you wish to use a microwave: place the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on medium-high for 1 minute. Give the chocolate a stir, then microwave it at 15 to 20-second intervals until it is smooth. Stir the chocolate between each interval.
   • If you wish to use a double boiler: fill a saucepan with 1 to 2 inches (2.54 to 5.08 centimeters) of water, and place a heat-safe bowl on top. Add the chocolate into the bowl, and let it melt over low heat.
7. Put the pan into the fridge for 1 to 2 hours. This will help harden the chocolate, and prevent the rice crispies from getting too gooey. If you are in a hurry, stick the pan in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
8. Cut the rice crispy treats into squares or rectangles, then serve them. The rice crispies will be fragile, so cut them in the pan first, then serve them using a spatula. If you try to take the entire thing out of the pan, you risk breaking it. You have enough to make about 16 to 24 servings.

Making a Rice Crispy Layer Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and prepare your baking pans. Lightly grease the inside of three, round, 9-inch (22.86 centimeters) cake pans, then dust them with flour. Shake out any excess flour.
2. Whisk together the semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and boiling water a medium-sized mixing bowl. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure that everything gets mixed evenly. Keep whisking until everything is completely smooth, then set aside.
3. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Make sure that the bowl is big enough to fit the rest of your ingredients. You will be mixing the final cake batter in this.
4. Stir together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a third bowl. Beat the ingredients together with a whisk until the egg yolks break, and everything is evenly combined. There should be no streaks of unmixed egg yolk.
5. Combine the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture first, then stir in the chocolate mixture. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture first, and stir with a whisk until evenly combined. Pour the chocolate mixture in next. Keep whisking until everything is smooth and evenly combined.
6. Distribute the batter evenly between the three cake pans, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cakes are ready when a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Set the cakes aside when they are finished baking to cool.
7. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 to 20 minutes first, then take them out of the pans. Don't let them cool completely, however, or you'll run into the chances of them sticking. If you used spring-form pans, you can simply open up the pans and take the cakes out. If you used basic pans, run a knife along the inner edges of the pan, then invert the cakes onto a plate.
8. Combine the rice crispy cereal and melted chocolate. Melt the chocolate first, either in the microwave or over a double boiler, then fold in the rice crispy cereal using a rubber spatula. Keep mixing until the cereal is evenly coated with the melted chocolate.
9. Pour the rice crispy mixture into a greased pan, and let it chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. You can do this in two, 9-inch (22.86 centimeters) cake pans, or you can do it in a square or rectangular baking pan. If you use the round cake pans, the rice crispy cakes will match your sponge cakes perfectly. If you choose to use a large pastry pan, you will need to chop it into smaller pieces in order to get it to fit on the round sponge cakes.
   • If you are using two cake pans, consider setting some of the rice crispy mixture aside on some wax paper, and then chopping it up. You can use it as a garnish later on.
10. Take the rice crispies out of the pans once they are set. If you used the round pans, simply dump them out, and set them aside on wax paper. If you used a square or rectangular pan, dump the rice crispy out, then chop it up with a knife.
    • If you set some rice crispy mixture aside for the garnish, be sure to chop it up as well.
11. Prepare the frosting. In an electric mixer, combine the butter, melted chocolate, icing sugar, and milk. Start on a low speed, then gradually increase to a medium speed setting until the frosting turns light and fluffy.
    • If the frosting is too dry, add more milk. If the frosting is too wet, add more sugar. Beat the frosting well after each addition.
12. Assemble the layers. Place the first cake down on a plate, and spread ¾ cup (45 grams) of frosting on top using an off-set cake decorating spatula. Top it off with the chocolate rice crispy. Repeat the cake, frosting, and rice crispy layer. Finish off with a final cake layer.
    • If you chopped the rice crispy into chunks, you will need 1 cup (225 grams) per layer.
    • Trim the tops off of the cakes to make them flat, if desire. Save the excess cake to make cake pops, or eat them.
13. Frost the sides and top of the cake an off-set cake decorating spatula. When you get to doing the sides, consider spreading just a thin layer first, letting the cake sit in the freezer for about 15 minutes, and then spreading on the rest of the frosting. This thin, "frozen" layer is known as the "crumb coat," and will help keep any loose crumbs in place.
    • If you have any leftover rice crispy mixture, use it to garnish your cake.

Tips

• When pressing the rice crispy mixture into the pan, you want to press firm enough so that it fits into the corners, but not so firmly that you crush the cereal.
• Worried about the rice crispies sticking to your pan? Line your pan with parchment paper first, then spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
• The baking pans must be greased, or the rice crispies will stick.
• For the ultimate chocolate-y goodness, try it with cocoa flavored rice crispy cereal.
• Instead of spreading the rice crispy mixture into a baking pan, put it into a muffin pan instead and make individual servings.
• You do not have to use the Rice Krispie brand cereal; any type of puffed rice cereal will work.
• Instead of plain chocolate, try it with a chocolate candy bar, such as 3 Musketeers or Mars.
• Because you aren't baking the rice crispy treats, the exact size of the baking pan does not matter. Keep in mind, however, that the bigger your pan is, the thinner the treats will become. The pan size does matter for the layered cake method, however.
• If you don't have an electric mixer, you can use a handheld mixer or a food processor fitted with whisks. You can also do it by hand with a whisk, but it will take a lot longer.

Warnings

• When making the layered rice crispy cake, make sure that the cakes are completely cool before you frost them, or the frosting will melt.

Things You'll Need

Making Basic Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

• Large saucepan
• Heat-safe bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Square or rectangular baking pan

Making Deluxe Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

• Large saucepan
• Rubber spatula
• Square or rectangular baking pan

Making a Rice Crispy Layer Cake

• 3 9-inch (22.86 centimeters) cake pans
• 3 mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Square or rectangular baking pan (optional)
• Electric mixer
• Off-set cake decorating spatula

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Sources and Citations

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