Why serve cake at your graduation party when you can have this impressive Cocoa Krispies Treat Graduation Cap instead? It’s simple to make by adding melted chocolate to a traditional cereal treat recipe and forming it into a mortar board.
Cocoa Krispies Treat Graduation Cap –
This weekend my family gathered to celebrate with my niece who graduated from Kettering College of Medical Arts in Radiologic Sciences. We are so proud of her accomplishments.
On the day of her graduation, family and friends met for dinner at a restaurant then headed over to my sister’s house to relax for a while before the ceremony and to enjoy dessert. I brought this Cocoa Krispies Treat Graduation Cap, well, actually, I brought the one that is pictured below.
I ended up making this twice because although my first dessert looked great for pictures, by the time it was in an out of my car on a warm day the top of the mortarboard was bending. I originally just mixed lots of melted chocolate into the Cocoa Krispies treat to make the square piece, but found that without tempering the chocolate, it didn’t harden as it needed to and didn’t hold up to the slightest bit of heat.
It was really easy to cut into and was bursting with chocolate flavor. Those in my family who enjoy chocolate, really liked this graduation dessert, but I was determined to make it more sturdy, so I reworked it and am sharing that technique, in the tutorial below. My friends are coming over today to do some baking, we’re going to be making macarons, and I’ll share my new cereal treat grad cap with them.
Cocoa Krispies Treat Graduation Cap (mortarboard)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
10.5 ounces Jet Puffed mini marshmallows
6 ounces Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips (1 cup)
6 cups Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies cereal
6 ounces (1 cup) lGhirardelli Dark Melting Wafers (or Candy Melts)
1 Twizzlers Pull and Peel
1 Tootsie Roll Midgee
Supplies Needed:
large mixing bowl
3 cup round bowl
8×8 inch baking pan
non-stick tin foil
Instructions:
Heat butter, marshmallows, and chocolate chips in a large microwave safe bowl on high heat for 30 seconds. Stir then heat for 20 seconds. If the marshmallows are not melted, heat for 15 second increments, stirring after each until melted. Stir in Cocoa Krispies.
Line bowl and baking pan with non-stick tin foil.
Fill tin foil lined bowl with cocoa krispies. Press to compress the cereal in the bowl. Let sit at room temperature.
Press the remaining cocoa krispies treat mixture into an even layer in the square pan.
Heat the Ghirardelli Melting Wafers in the microwave on high power for 25 seconds, then stir, heat again for 20 seconds, and stir. If not completely melted, heat for 10 second increments stirring after each.Pour the melted candy coating over the cereal treat bar, reserving a tablespoon for the next step. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until the candy coating sets.
Removed from freezer and remove from pan and peel off foil.
Un-mold the cocoa krispies treats from the bowl, peel off the foil, set on a serving dish.
Spread some melted candy coating on top and attach the square cereal treat with the candy coated side down.
Peel apart one Twizzlers Pull ‘n Peel and attach the pieces to the center of the square treat using a dab of melted candy coating. Squish a Tootsie Roll into a round and press it in the center of the square treat covering the ends of the Twizzlers.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you have to make this for an outdoor graduation party, I would just use a thin cake board under the square piece to keep it in place, otherwise it will bend.
Products used to create this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)
More Graduation Party Food
from Hungry Happenings
3D Candy Filled Graduation Cap Cookies
Flourless Chocolate Cake Graduation Caps
Chocolate Graduation Cap Boxes
Honey Scented Modeling Chocolate and Fruit Leather Books
Super cute idea Beth…love this!
Krispie Treats are a favorite for everyone I know … chocolate makes everything better! You have very lucky friends 😉
I couldn't agree more, chocolate does make everything better:)
thank you so much for making it again-that's extra work that i so appreciate! you're just awesome Beth! i see this in the near future for some friend's upcoming graduations 🙂
These were so quick and easy to make that I didn't mind doing it over again, plus no one complained that I had lots of the chocolaty cocoa kripises treat to eat.
This is so fun. My son graduates next year and this would make a fun party snack. Pinned.
Thanks so much for the pin Erlene. I hope you do enjoy making this for your son next year:)
Coolest rice Krispie treat cake ever!! How clever.
Wow, that's nice to hear. Thanks, Jennifer:)
The grad cap came out perfect and you know how I love RKT! I've never made them using cocoa Krispies, so with my love of chocolate, this is just what I need!
Being a chocoholic myself, I prefer these over plain rice krispies treats.
so cute. love that it's chocolate rice krispies, haven't had them in forever
Thanks, Melinda. It was hard not to snack on the Cocoa Krispies cereal as I was making these. They really have a great chocolate flavor.
Love this!! Thanks for sharing..I have a son graduating soon 🙂
What a cute idea, love this! I will keep this in mind for the next graduate in my family.
I first saw the photo of these before I read the recipe. I thought they were individual treats made in muffin cups rather than one large treat. I am going to make them in muffin tins for each student in my daughter's grade 8 class. I think I'll use a square graham cracker dipped in chocolate for the flat piece. Thanks for the great idea.
That sounds like a great idea. I'm sure they will turn out great. Have fun and be sure to snap some pictures and send them to me so I can share in my reader's gallery. Thanks!
Hi Beth,
This looks amazing and I would love to make it for my best friend who graduates this summer. As I live in the UK we don't measure things by cup sizes unfortunately, so could you please send me over the measurement of the bowl you used for the round shaped chocolate crispie in centimetres so I am able to buy the right size over here 🙂 thank you!
I am out of town right now and can't measure the bowl, but here is a link to the bowl I used on Amazon.com. http://amzn.to/1QA2ZJE
From what I remember the bowl is about 7 inches (17.78 cm) across the top.
I hope this helps.
Hi Beth,
I would love to make this for my best friend who graduates this summer. Could you please send over a centimetre measurement of the small bowl used to make the round shaped choco crispie as we don't have cup measurements over here in the UK and I want to make sure I buy the right size 🙂 Thank you!