Sugar Savvy

Few sweets can match those had in our childhood. As adults there are no barriers to the world of sweets, yet as children we are denied this freedom. Therefore, any treats that we manage to get our little hands on are savoured and worshiped . . . for who knows when the next sweet may come?

A common Australian treat that turns up at school carnivals, birthday parties and fundraisers, is the Chocolate Crackle. Although some would like memories of this sweet to be branded, the Chocolate Crackle transcends marketing. It is a ubiquitous delicacy but the closest thing to advertising the Chocolate Crackle would be a hand-lettered sign affixed with tape to a paper plate containing crackles at the school fair.

So exactly what are these Down Under Delights? Chocolate Crackles are very simple to make, containing Rice Bubbles (Rice Krispies), Copha (solidified coconut oil), desiccated coconut, icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) and cocoa. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and then slowly melt the copha and mix into the main bowl. Spoon the mixture into paper patty pans and place in the fridge where they only take a few hours to set. The warm mixture is muddy and slushy, while the cooled crackles are crunchy with pockets of hardened chocolate hidden around the cereal grains.

Recently a friend commissioned me to make some Chocolate Crackles, a task that I accepted wholeheartedly. I made these in mini paper patty pans, as I always mourned the crispy crumbs that would fly off when biting into a large crackle. These bite-sized morsels removed that danger and made it easier to eat a handful in one sitting.

Sifting, melting, mixing, spooning and refrigerating I was caught in a wave of nostalgia, and it was difficult not to go out the front of the house, set up a card table and let people snap up my crackles for 20 cents a pop.