Last week I picked up a cookbook from the library: The Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook by Christina Tosi. I read it cover to cover, in one sitting, like an irresistible novel.
Tosi, the chef at Milk Bar – the bakery and sweets outpost of David Chang’s Momofuku brand of restaurants – is a lot of fun. Her background at WD-50 – mad scientist Wylie Dufresne’s famous home of “molecular gastronomy” – shows in her playful, innovative approach, as does the influence of impish Chang. Her most famous confections include Crack Pie (a decadent variation on Chess Pie that I am dying to try), Compost Cookies (crammed with coffee grounds, chocolate, pretzels, and potato chips), and Cereal Milk.
Cereal Milk is… well, pretty much what it sounds like: milk flavored like the sweet dregs of your cereal bowl. Even though I’m not a lover of cold cereal, I was taken by the whimsy and simplicity of the idea. Especially since it was easy to make and described as Milk Bar’s most popular item.
Several recipes in the book use Cereal Milk as a base. I honed right in on the panna cotta. I love the quivering, melting texture of panna cotta, and I knew from Tosi’s description that hers would be just right: “…the second the panna cotta hits your mouth, it transforms into a silky river of flavored cream…. you wonder how the dessert held its shape in the first place.” Besides, panna cotta is a snap to make. All you need to do is mix together some gelatin with a flavorful dairy mixture… like, say, Cereal Milk.
I opted for the cornflake Cereal Milk (there are also Fruity Pebbles and Cap’n Crunch versions), because simplicity is what drew me to the recipe in the first place.
It was as easy to put together as it sounded, though toasting the cornflakes slowed the process down a little. (Pebbles and Cap’n Crunch don’t require toasting – just substitute 100 grams of either for the cornflakes and crush to a sandy texture before soaking). The resulting milk was an overcast-sky grey, not the loveliest of colors, but the flavor was great: subtle yet toasty, with a surprising and luscious butteriness.
Once transformed to panna cotta, the milk’s butteriness played beautifully off the buttery Cornflake Crunch and the rich blandness of lightly sweetened whipped cream. (I bought myself a real cream whipper, so expect to see a lot of whipped cream around here for a while.) This is a delightful little dessert, attractive to look at with the golden crunch on top and fun to eat.
Tosi uses weights as well as traditional measures in her book, and I have left the weights in two of the following recipes. I used them and found it very convenient just to have the bowl on the scale and shake in what I needed until the correct weight was reached. These are not fussy recipes by any means, though, and do not require perfect measurements.
Cereal Milk
100 grams (2.75 cups) cornflakes
825 grams (3.75 cups) whole milk, cold
30 grams (2 packed tablespoons) brown sugar
1 g (1/4 teaspoon) kosher salt
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Spread the cornflakes on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes to toast. Cool completely.
Pour cornflakes in a large pitcher, then pour in milk and stir thoroughly. Let steep 20 minutes at room temperature.
Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Press on the cornflakes with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much milk as possible, but not so hard that cornflake mush presses out into the milk. Whisk in the sugar and salt and transfer to a clean pitcher. Chill.
Cereal Milk Panna Cotta
Serves 4
3/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin
1.25 cups Cereal Milk
1.5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Put 2 tablespoons of water in a small ramekin or cup and sprinkle the gelatin evenly on top. Set aside for 3 to 5 minutes to “bloom” the gelatin.
Warm a half cup of the Cereal Milk and whisk in the gelatin (which will now be a jell-o like mass). Make sure it’s thoroughly dissolved, then stir into the cold Cereal Milk. Stir in the brown sugar and salt until everything is dissolved.
Fill 4 small ramekins equally with the milk mixture and refrigerate at least 3 hours, until set (but still very jiggly). Serve in the cups, as this panna cotta is too lightly set to turn out of the ramekins.
Cornflake Crunch
85 grams (2.5 cups) cornflakes
20 grams (1/4 cup) powdered milk
20 grams (3 tablespoons) sugar
2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
65 grams (4.5 tablespoons) butter, melted
Heat oven to 275.
In a medium bowl, crush the cornflakes lightly with your hands (this is fun!) until the pieces are about 1/4 their original size.
Add all other ingredients and toss until incorporated (some clumps will form; this is good). Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment or sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes, until they’re toasty-smelling.
Cool thoroughly and store any unused portion in an airtight container.
Cereal Milk Panna Cotta with Cornflake Crunch
Serves 4
1 recipe Cereal Milk Panna Cotta (4 ramekins)
Whipped cream
1 cup Cornflake Crunch
Place a ramekin of Cereal Milk Panna Cotta on a small plate. Top with whipped cream, then sprinkle each with about a quarter cup of Cornflake Crunch, allowing the crunch to fall attractively onto the plate.
Talk to me!