Thinking outside the (cereal) box: Recipes you can make with the breakfast favourite

It didn't take long for a stream of messages to appear, confirming that when it comes to working from home, cereal had become the snack of choice during coronavirus. A couple of months on and not a lot has changed, for us here in the newsroom and, it seems, elsewhere.

Social media site Tik Tok has all but named cereal the official food of COVID-19. The platform has viral videos featuring everything from how to close your box to ensure your Froot Loops stay as fresh as possible, while others simply show the internet the creative vessels you can eat cereal from.

It may not sound like the most creative content but collectively the videos have almost 400 million views.

So the question is, how can you get creative with cereal?

This week I challenged myself to think outside of the (cereal) box and test out recipes using the breakfast favourite in different ways.

There was only one, albeit self-imposed, rule - no slices. Whether it's rice crispy treats, Florentines or the classic Australian party food, the honey joy, it just seemed like the obvious choice when going into the kitchen with the intention of making something with cereal and I wanted this to be a challenge.

Here's what I came up with.

Serves: 4

4 medium potatoes

Olive oil

Rosemary and salt to season chips

2 cups of corn flakes

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup flour

600g boneless white fish fillets

Tartare sauce and lemon to serve (optional)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Step 2 : Slice the potatoes into wedges and cook in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes or until almost tender. Drain well. Set aside to cool enough to handle.

Step 3: Place on the lined tray and lightly coat with oil, salt and rosemary.

Step 4: Place the corn flakes into a large plastic bag and crush either with a rolling pin or just press down on the bag using your hands. Place in a shallow bowl. Place the egg and flour in separate bowls.

Step 5: Dip one fish fillet in the flour to lightly coat then dip in egg and corn flake crumbs to coat. Place on the lined tray with the potato. Repeat with remaining fish, flour, egg and crumbs.

Step 6: Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through

Step 7: Serve with tartare sauce and a slice of lemon.

On the whole, corn flakes are a great option for getting that crispy coating on your fish and it's a really simple and easy dish to put together.

This recipe was a combination of about five that I found on my hunt for fish and chip inspiration and what I found was all of them did not have any seasoning on the fish itself. This is great if you get a good quality piece of fish because you get that delicious fishy taste that makes you feel like you're by the beach.

If you don't get a good, fresh piece of fish then I would recommend adding something extra to the flour as the corn flakes do not have too much of a taste once it comes out of the oven. Cajun seasoning is always a good option for this.

Serves: 4

4 slices of bread

6 eggs

2 cups milk

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups of crushed corn flakes

Golden syrup and strawberries to serve (optional)

Step one: Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Cut each piece of bread into thirds and place in an ungreased pan.

Step two: Whisk eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a large bowl and then pour over the bread. Let soak for two minutes, turning once.

Step three: Coat all sides with the corn flake crumbs, return them to the pan and put in the oven for eight minutes. Turn each piece and return to the oven for another 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Step four: Serve with syrup and strawberries.

What I really like about this recipe was that it is one which could quite easily be frozen instead of putting it straight in the oven. This means that for those who only want a single serve don't have to do the math to divide the ingredients by four, resulting in French toast sticks on hand any time you want.

As for the addition of the corn flakes, they don't add a whole lot to the recipe. I'm a big fan of French toast as it is and the crunch of the cereal does add a little something but I wouldn't say that it elevated it to another level (and could just as easy be frozen without them if that is what you wanted). That being said, if you like crunchy textures, go for it.

Makes: 12

Shells:

2 cups plain flour

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup of canola oil

Filling:

1 bag of white melting chocolate (225g)

250g mascarpone cheese

250g ricotta cheese, drained

1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp heavy cream

1 cup of Froot Loops, crushed, plus more for decorating

Step one: Start with the shell dough. In a medium bowl, sift flour, and add the sugar and salt. Work the butter pieces into the flour with your fingers until the mixture becomes coarse and sandy. Add the egg yolk and the white wine and mix until it becomes a smooth dough.

Step two: Spread a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface and place the dough in the center. Wrap the plastic loosely around it and flatten the dough which will mean less rolling later. Let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Step three: On a floured surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough until it is about 2cm thick. Cut the dough into fourths and work in small batches to roll again until it's about (about 5 millimetres).

Step four: Use any glass or small bowl to cut rounds, tracing around each one to assure the dough has been fully cut. You should have about 12 circles.

Step five: Wrap each circle around the handle of a ladle (or the like) or simply your fingers. Use a little of the egg wash on the edge of each round to seal the two opposite edges shut to ensure it won't come unstuck.

Step six: Heat the canola oil in a medium pot with a heavy bottom to 180 degrees. The oil should be about 3cm deep.

Step seven: Use a pair of tongs to hold the edge of the mold as you move the shell around in the pan to fry the shell in the oil until crispy. Remove from the oil, and set aside to cool. Repeat with all of the circles.

Step eight: Start on the filling. In a large bowl, mix the cheeses, sugar, vanilla, lemon, and salt together thoroughly. Add the cream and crushed Froot Loops and stir once again.

Step nine: Melt the white chocolate. Dip the ends of cannolis into the chocolate and put in the fridge until set.

Step ten: Fill a piping bag with the cheese mixture and pipe the mixture into the cannoli shells. Add the remaining Froot Loops to either end for decoration. Serve immediately.

Note: If you wanted to make these ahead, you want to save adding the decoration Froot Loops just before serving as they can go soggy.

This was my favourite of all the recipes I tried. I loved how bright and colourful it was and it was the only one which really screamed "cereal".

The whole idea of this one was that I wanted to recreate that mixture of the crunchy and soft textures of cereal when you have it with milk. By mixing the crushed Froot Loops into the filling, as well as having them on the outside was a perfect replica of this.

I also enjoyed how the cheeses are used for the basis of the filling because it meant that it counteracted the sweetness of the white chocolate and the Froot Loops. And although I haven't tried it, I'm sure this would work for other sweet cereals such as Coco Pops and Milo cereal.

Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup of muesli of your choice

1 tsp honey

3 cups of bread flour

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 packet yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 beaten egg, for brushing

rolled oats, for sprinkling on the surface

Other fillings of your choice. I used:

1/2 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

1/2 cup sultanas

1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Step one: Put the milk, the 1/4 cup of water, the honey, and the muesli in the bowl of a stand mixer, or a regular bowl if mixing by hand. Let it soak for about 15 minutes.

Step two: Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm tap water.

Step three: Add the yeast, salt, and flour to the bowl with the muesli and mix on low for three minutes or until the dough comes away from the bowl. The dough should still be sticky.

Step four: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and form it into a rectangle. Spread half of the fruit and nuts over the surface and fold the dough in from each side to work it in to the dough. Repeat with the remaining part and then knead to incorporate all of the bits evenly.

Step five: Put the dough into oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm spot for an hour.

Step six: Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Turn the dough out onto a baking tray, lined with baking paper and gently form into a circle loaf. Push in any large bits of nuts or fruit. This is particularly important for the sultanas as they can burn on top of the loaf.

Step seven: Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with oats. If you would like a little design on top of your loaf, use a knife to mark a cross into the bread.

Step eight: Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool on a rack before slicing. The bread is best served toasted, with butter.

This is the only recipe in this experiment which genuinely needs the cereal. While the others added the cereal for a texture or a flavour option, I feel like this bread wouldn't have worked without the muesli.

The result is dense so it's filling but also I found that it needed a little extra toasting because of this. It also keeps fairly well (in a sealed container).

I also like how customisable it is. Not only with the extra fillings that you add but with the muesli that you use. I used one with raspberries and macadamias in it, and combining that with the walnuts, sultanas and apricots meant I ended up with was unlike any other fruit and nut bread that I can buy.