Kellogg’s Held A Baking Contest And The Winning Recipe Is DOPE
If you’re looking for some inspiration for a new holiday dessert, this Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes® Plum Berry Tart might be the sweet that captures everyone’s eye this season.
Created by classical musician Sara Mellas, this tart just won Kellogg’s first-ever Holiday Baking Challenge, judged by cookbook author Padma Lakshmi. As a result of Mellas’s win, the creation will be featured on the Kellogg’s NYC cafe menu for a limited time.
Mellas was inspired by Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy when making her winning sweet treat. This dessert takes cereal to new levels of culinary ingenuity by adding festive twists to every component of the tart. Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes can be found in the tart base (made with almonds), the mascarpone-cream cheese filling, and the mini snowball cookies that adorn the top of the pastry. Fresh red plums and berries arranged in a snowflake pattern add bright pops of color and vibrant flavors that create a dessert as delicious as it is photogenic.
If you’re interested in trying out this contest-winning dessert for yourself, peep the full recipe below.
Makes one 9” tart and approx. 5 dozen miniature cookies
Ingredients
For the Frosted Flakes Pastry Tart Base:
1 1/2 cups Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes
14 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp almond flour
1/4 tsp. salt
7 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg yolk
3-4 Tbsp. cold milk
1/8 tsp. white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. Frosted Flakes, roughly crushed
For the Frosted Flakes Whipped Mascarpone Cheesecake Cream:
3/4 cup Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 oz. cream cheese
3 oz. mascarpone cheese
3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. orange zest
Dash of salt
For the Frosted Flakes Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs:
84g (6 Tbsp.) unsalted butter
65g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
25g (1/2) egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
90g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
90g (2 1/4 cups) Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, ground into flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
For the toppings:
4-5 red pears
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries
Pomegranate arils
Powdered sugar
For the glaze:
2 Tablespoons apricot glaze
2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
For the crust
1. Place the Frosted Flakes, flour, almond flour, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process on high until the cereal is ground to the consistency of flour. Add the cubed butter to the bowl. Pulse the mixture 3-4 times, just until the butter is cut to the size of peas. Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, 3 Tbsp. of milk, and vinegar. Pour over the flour and butter mixture. Gently mix the liquid into the dry ingredients, until a shaggy dough comes together. Add an additional Tablespoon of milk if needed. Take care to not over mix.
3. Gently shape the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. Scatter the crushed Frosted Flakes evenly into the bottom of a 9” tart pan.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and gently roll into a 10” circle. Turn the dough into the tart pan, over the Frosted Flakes. Trim the edges, and dock the bottom with the tines of a fork. Transfer the pan to the freezer for 15 minutes, or until the crust is solid. While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350 °F/180 °C.
6. Line the frozen tart crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Place in the oven on the lower rack. Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes, until set and lightly browned at the edges. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Continue baking for 15-18 minutes longer, until the crust is deeply golden. Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool completely before filling.
For the filling:
7. Place the Frosted Flakes in a bowl and pour over the heavy cream. Stir to fully submerge the cereal. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
8. Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, orange zest, and salt. Continue beating on medium speed for a minute longer, just until smooth.
9. Remove the heavy cream from the refrigerator. Strain the cereal from the cream, pressing it down into the sieve to fully extract all the cream. Discard the cereal. Beat the cream on medium-high speed until medium peaks form.
10. Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese-mascarpone mixture. Beat on medium speed until it holds stiff peaks. Take care to not over-beat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the cookies:
11. Preheat the oven to 350 °F/180 °C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
12. Cream the the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for a minute longer, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the flour, Frosted Flakes flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until a smooth dough forms.
13. Transfer the dough onto a liberally floured surface and gently roll to a scant 1/4” thickness. Use a 1” cookie cutter to cut the dough into as many cookies as possible, and arrange on them on the baking sheet.
14. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are solid.
15. Place baking sheet to the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes, until very lightly browned on the edges. Remove the baking sheet from the oven.
16. Allow the cookies to cool completely. Once cool, dust with powdered sugar.
To assemble:
17. Spread the filling evenly into the cooled tart crust.
18. Within an 1-2 hours of serving, slice the pears 1/8” thick. Arrange in a circular pattern over the cream filling, alternating with circles of berries, creating a floral design. Space 8 sugar cookies evenly on the perimeter of the tart. Place pomegranate arils.
19. Create the glaze by mixing apricot glaze and water together. Using a brush, lightly glaze fresh fruit. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
20. Before serving, dust the tart lightly with powdered sugar.
Created in partnership with Kellogg’s
