Behind the trend: Cereal milk
Read about how cereal-infused milk became the only dessert ingredient worth working with thanks to some maverick thinking by New York bakery, Momofuku Milk Bar.
In the beginning...
Cult New York City bakery Momofuku Milk Bar opened in 2008, selling inventive, unconventional offerings, including crack pie, compost cookies and cereal milk, all created by chef and founder Christina Tosi. The bakery was an immediate hit and Tosi trademarked cereal milk – made by steeping cereal, usually cornflakes, in milk, then adding sugar.
Then...
The UK caught on to cereal-based treats. London’s Hawksmoor restaurant began serving cornflake milkshakes alongside its signature steaks in 2009. Five years later, the much-discussed Cereal Killer Café opened in the capital’s Brick Lane, serving £5 bowls of cereal with a splash of controversy. Soon after, Starbucks unveiled its Toasted Graham Latte as a seasonal special.
Now...
Cereal spin-offs have hit supermarket shelves, with Ocado selling Ice Cream Union’s cornflake ice cream, which uses a similar steeped-milk principle to Momofuku. The love for nostalgic breakfasts has been adopted in chic style by Canto Corvino in London, where cornflake French toast is served with whipped crème fraîche & burnt plums.
The inside scoop
Christina Tosi says: ‘I’ve been obsessed with cereal milk since 2007, when I developed it as a panna cotta for Momofuku Ko’s menu. Eating cereal is a comforting part of many people’s diets at some point. Cereal milk is quite quirky and there is no end to what can be done with it. It’s so broad in flavour, texture and possibility, though currently the soft-serve ice cream is our favourite.’
Explore the trend...
Visit the Momofuku Milk Bar website
Follow Christina Tosi's Instagram feed
Discover how the original cereal milk™ is made
From June 2016
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