Puffed Wheat & Rice Krispie Cake

 It's a two for one blog post!  For me puffed wheat cake and Rice Krispie cake go together like peanut butter & jam (or peanut butter and eggs as Selby just texted me), I can't imagine one without the other.  When I was little Mom always made these two delicious treats at the same time and always around Christmas time.  Granted there isn't anything particularly Christmasy about puffed wheat or Rice Krispies (unless you get the Christmas box), but sometimes it's all about the tradition!

Puffed Wheat Cake
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1t vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
3T cocoa powder
10 cups puffed wheat

Measure the puffed wheat into a large bowl and butter a 9x13" pan.  Combine all ingredients except puffed wheat in a pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly.  You don't want to boil it too long or your cake will be extremely hard once it sets.  Once the surface of the liquid starts to look bubbly like an Aero bar, remove it from the heat and pour it over the puffed wheat.  Stir the puffed wheat until it is completely covered with the chocolate mixture.  Pour the puffed wheat into the buttered 9x13" pan, pressing it down with a spatula.  Allow to cool, slice, and enjoy!

Rice Krispie Cake
1/2 cup butter
6 cups mini marshmallows
1t vanilla
10-11 cups Rice Krispies

Butter a 9x13" pan.  Melt butter in a large pot.  Add marshmallows and cook, stirring constantly, until marshmallows are almost completely melted.  If you over cook the mixture it will set up hard as a rock, so remove it from the heat when there are a few lumps left and stir in vanilla.  Pour in Rice Krispies and stir until they are completely covered with the marshmallow mixture.  Press Rice Krispies into the buttered 9x13" pan and allow to cool (if you can wait that long).  Slice once cooled.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, my cakes didn't last very long.  Most of the Rice Krispie cake was done before I even had it sliced.  Although the puffed wheat cake managed to get cut into squares, I didn't get it into the freezer fast enough and I ended up eating most of it in the first few days.  I realize this stuff is meant to be eaten but maybe not all in a week.....by a single person.....