I took full advantage of this week's sin! Not only was the treat a no bake concoction, I didn't personally prepare the topping, I didn't deliver it, I didn't prepare any review cards AND I'm posting tardily. Providing a twist on the classic rice krispy square, this week's 'cupcake' provides an excellent summer sweet as it lacks the necessity of an over, though the stove was momentarily lit. The base consisted of a rice krispy, oat and chocolate graham cracker mixture held together by a peanut butter marshmallow glue, topped with a dollop of banana cheese cake filling prepared by Mrs. Diana.
Taste: *** | Presentation: ***1/2
Crispy Treat
(modified from Kellogg's rice krispy recipe http://www.ricekrispies.com)
3 cups rice krispies
1 cup quick oats
2 cups roughly chopped chocolate graham crackers
3 tbsp butter
1 10oz bag of marshmallows
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Combine the rice krispies, oats and graham cracker in a large bowl. If you desire for the chocolate to be distributed evenly throughout the mixture, add the chocolate chips now as they will melt down when you pour the peanut butter marshmallow mixture over the dry ingredients. I had originally intended to have chocolate chips distributed throughout the treat but forgot about adding the heat of the marshmallow liquid to it. Next time I would refrain from adding the chocolate chips until the mixture has cooled.In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add in the bag of marshmallows, stirring until completely melted. Stir in the peanut butter while briefly maintaining the heat to ensure it mixed in properly. Pour this over the dry ingredients, stirring to ensure that all fragments are covered. Allow to cool for handling and press into cupcake pans with a slight bowl shape, they should be easily removed once done. The recipe filled about 14 regular size cups and 12 minis.
Banana Cheesecake Filling
1 tub Philly Cheese Cake filling
4 bananas
Mash up the bananas and mix them into the cheese cake filling until well combined. This will provide MORE than enough topping for the crispy bowls so make sure to have a second recipe ready to use it in.
Remove the treats from the pan and serve each with a generous dollop of topping (I even had people do this themselves).
The Panel
Though it didn't dissatisfy the crowd, it definitely wasn't a top scorer. The no bake concept and the whole 'sloth' theme for that matter were well received (Cocoa gave 8 stars for presentation). Fathom's Chef recommended a truffle topper, whereas Diana (who actually very much disliked her own creation) recommended a sort of peanut butter topping which would likely have satisfied those who felt the peanut butter flavour came up short. There was also a general consensus that the banana topping left little to be desired based on it's slimy, baby food-esque texture. The presentation rating was strongly derived from the concept.
Giovanni: "A complete bite starts with the sour banananess, flavor profile progresses to peanut butter/marsmellowness, and it finishes very choc-lately. A dessert with flavor that metamorphoses in your mouth. Alone, the topping's cream cheese sourness comes through with a banana cheesecake flavor that gets lost in the complicated bite. The "cake" itself was what rice crispy bars should taste like. Chocolate and peanutbutter marshmellow add depth and height to a perennial classic that has long been one dimensional and survived only thus far because of its ease of assembly. Formally unadorned rice crispy squares are transformed into something more complete with less schtick and more complexity than any suburban mother of a primary school student could compile. True to form on concept."
Cocoa: "The most fun and memorable cupcake so far."
My comments
The great thing about these, is that there's definitely room for experimentation as far as the topping goes. Peanut commented that it reminded her of a 'whatchamacallit' which makes me think that caramel would also work quite well with this treat. The crisp of the treat was really wonderful, giving a nice break from the weekly cake consistency. Simple and delicious. Definitely looking forward to making modifications to this recipe.
Though it didn't dissatisfy the crowd, it definitely wasn't a top scorer. The no bake concept and the whole 'sloth' theme for that matter were well received (Cocoa gave 8 stars for presentation). Fathom's Chef recommended a truffle topper, whereas Diana (who actually very much disliked her own creation) recommended a sort of peanut butter topping which would likely have satisfied those who felt the peanut butter flavour came up short. There was also a general consensus that the banana topping left little to be desired based on it's slimy, baby food-esque texture. The presentation rating was strongly derived from the concept.
Giovanni: "A complete bite starts with the sour banananess, flavor profile progresses to peanut butter/marsmellowness, and it finishes very choc-lately. A dessert with flavor that metamorphoses in your mouth. Alone, the topping's cream cheese sourness comes through with a banana cheesecake flavor that gets lost in the complicated bite. The "cake" itself was what rice crispy bars should taste like. Chocolate and peanutbutter marshmellow add depth and height to a perennial classic that has long been one dimensional and survived only thus far because of its ease of assembly. Formally unadorned rice crispy squares are transformed into something more complete with less schtick and more complexity than any suburban mother of a primary school student could compile. True to form on concept."
Cocoa: "The most fun and memorable cupcake so far."
My comments
The great thing about these, is that there's definitely room for experimentation as far as the topping goes. Peanut commented that it reminded her of a 'whatchamacallit' which makes me think that caramel would also work quite well with this treat. The crisp of the treat was really wonderful, giving a nice break from the weekly cake consistency. Simple and delicious. Definitely looking forward to making modifications to this recipe.