Skip to content

Chocolate crackles

Kids' party puffed rice and cocoa treats in patty cases

No Australian child's birthday party is complete without chocolate crackles, served in paper patty cases alongside fairy bread at backyard parties from Adelaide to Cairns. Puffed rice cereal is bound with melted solid coconut fat, icing sugar, cocoa and desiccated coconut, then set in the fridge. Kids can make them almost entirely on their own. A common mistake is using hot fat, which makes the mixture greasy; let it cool a few minutes. Chef's tip: use solid white hydrogenated coconut fat sold in blocks, not jarred coconut oil, which won't set firm at room temperature.
Total time
20 min
Difficulty
easy
Serves
24
One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves24

Shop this recipe on Amazon

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/5 done
  1. Step 1: Line two 12-hole patty tins with paper cases.

    2 min
  2. Step 2: Mix 4 oz puffed rice cereal, 5 ½ oz icing sugar, 3 tbsp cocoa powder and 2 ⅞ oz desiccated coconut in a large bowl.

    3 min
  3. Step 3: Melt 9 oz solid white coconut fat (shortening) slowly over a low heat, then leave to cool for 3–4 minutes.

    5 min
  4. Step 4: Pour the fat over the dry mix and stir well until everything is coated.

    3 min
  5. Step 5: Spoon into the cases and chill for at least 1 hour until firm. Keep in the fridge on hot days.

    60 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
120 kcal
Protein
1 g
Carbs
12 g
Fat
8 g
Fibre
1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does chocolate crackles take?
About 20 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
24 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?
Yes. It has no meat or fish.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
What can I use instead of icing sugar?
Caster sugar, same amount.
What can I use instead of cocoa powder?
Drinking chocolate, same amount (sweeter, so cut the sugar).

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.

Rate this recipe

Sign in to rate and review this recipe.

Kartoshka cake

Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Undu walalu

Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Marquesitas

Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.

by KrazyBadal 1 views