Cocoa & nut butter cereal bites (dairy free & gluten free)

I’m continuing on my quest to find some good dairy, soy, egg and gluten free party food options that my kids can enjoy. These cereal cakes are a healthier (well, slightly!) adaptation on my absolute favourites growing up – chocolate corn flake cakes! These can be made in bulk, they’re easy to throw together and, best of all, no baking required.

These can be adapted based on your child’s preferences and what you have in; you can use your favourite dairy and gluten free cereal (generally puffed rice and corn flake style cereals work well), whatever type of nut butter you prefer and adjust the proportions of raisins/DF choc chips based on what your child likes. They are pretty sweet but hopefully the use of maple syrup and cocoa powder instead of refined sugar and chocolate should go some way to controlling the sugar rush?!

This makes 10 larger cakes or around 15 smaller ‘bites’. I think the smaller bites are better for parties.

Ingredients and method:

• 4 tablespoons pure almond butter (you could also use cashew or peanut)
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons almond milk, unsweetened (or plant based milk of your choice)
• 3 tablespoons good quality pure cacao powder (check there is no sneaky soy or milk powder included)
• 80g gluten and diary free cereal – puffed rice or corn flake style cereals work well
• 4 tablespoons raisins
• 4 tablespoons dairy & soy free choc chips (I use Moo Free chocolate chips)

Add the nut butter, maple syrup and almond milk to a pan and stir on a medium heat until they are melted. Then sift in the cocoa powder and stir until everything is well combined. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in your cereal of choice and the raisins. Leave the mixture to cool slightly before stirring in the dairy free chocolate chips. Lay out some cupcake cakes and fill them, lightly pushing the mixture together to help them maintain their shape. Transfer into the fridge for a few hours until well chilled. Be warned that these can start to taste a bit stale if kept for too long, but should be OK for a day or two in an airtight container in the fridge.

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