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Home › Recipes › Recipe

Updated on March 12, 2020 by Liz Marek · This post may contain affiliate links · 34 Comments

Rice Krispy Treats Recipe

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Rice Cereal Treat Recipe For Sculpted Cakes And Toppers

This is my recipe for making rice cereal treats for toppers and for sculpted cakes. The main difference between this recipe and a regular rice cereal treat recipe is that it doesn't have any butter and it has chocolate added to it. Butter makes RKT too soft and not ideal for sculpted cakes. The additional chocolate helps keep the RKT nice and solid so they don't pull away from the structure. 

Make sure that when you are applying RKT to a structure you have a base of melted marshmallows on the structure or your RKT will fall off. Also remember to let your RKT mixture cool for 10 minutes until it can hold it's shape before attaching to the structure. Wrap the RKT well and let cool fully before attempting to carve. 

Recipe

Rice Krispy Treats

Rice Krispy Treats (RKT)

One of the foundational tools of 3D cake sculpting, rice krispy treats are essential to getting shapes and forms that simply can't be achieved with traditional cake sculpting. After trying and testing several recipes over the course of my career, this recipe is my go-to for getting the job done right the first time. 
Print Recipe Rate Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 1 lb
Calories: 1811kcal
Author: Liz Marek

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 8 oz Marshmallows
  • 8 oz Rice cereal
  • 2.5 oz Melted chocolate melties work best
  • Small amount Vegetable shortening
  • Plastic wrap
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Instructions

  • Put marshmallows into microwave-safe bowl and melt in microwave for 1 minute on high. Check marhsmallows and mix with a spoon and then put back into the microwave for 30 seconds, checking every time and mixing until completely melted.
  • Melt chocolate over a double-boiler on the stove or in the microwave. Microwave chocolate for 30 seconds and stir 2 times, then microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring every time and checking until completely melted. Don't over-heat, if chocolate gets heated for too long it will burn.
  • Add rice cereal and melted chocolate to marshmallows. Mix until evenly coated. 
  • Let set 5-10 minutes before handling.

Nutrition

Calories: 1811kcal | Carbohydrates: 409g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 389mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 153g | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 8.2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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About Liz Marek

Liz Marek is a professional cake artist and recipe developer who has been teaching baking and cake decorating since 2008. She founded Artisan Cake Company in Portland, Oregon in 2009 and now runs Sugar Geek Show, where she publishes kitchen-tested recipes, food science explanations, and step-by-step tutorials.

Liz is best known for sculpted and hyperrealistic cakes. She won Netflix's Is It Cake? Holiday 2 in 2025 with a hyperrealistic Santa cake, and has competed on and won Food Network cake competitions. Cake Masters Magazine named her one of the top 10 cake artists in 2017. She is the author of Artisan Cake Company's Visual Guide to Cake Decorating and a graduate of the Oregon Culinary Institute.

Her focus is on explaining not just how a recipe works but why it works, so bakers can troubleshoot instead of guess. Every recipe on this site is tested before it's published.

Liz teaches full-length cake tutorials, including sculpted and hyperrealistic cakes, at Sugar Geek University.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Francine- The Garden Baker says

    January 30, 2020 at 1:16 am

    Thanks for replying. I just tried. It must be the marshmallows that I used. Either that or me 🙂 They never really completely melted in the micro and instead looked like they were about to explode inside. So I heated them for 30 seconds at a time several times and still never really completely melted. When I mixed with the cereal I couldn't get them to mix well. I wonder if this has happened to anyone else. For the meantime I'm sticking to MC and fondant sculptures, but I do thank you Liz for sharing and for responding.

    Reply
  2. Francine- The Garden Baker says

    January 17, 2020 at 11:32 am

    1- If I make a cube shape while the "dough" is malleable, will I be able to carve the cube with a knife after it has become firm and solid?
    2- Can bits that have become solid and been carved off be reheated to use again on a different project?
    3- Also, would you recommend putting the rice krispies thru a food processor to make them finer prior to mixing with the marshmallows?
    Thanks so much for your help 🙂

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      January 18, 2020 at 5:35 pm

      Yes you can carve RKT after it's firmed up. I dont think you can heat up cut off pieces. I don't do the crushed rice cereal because it makes it very hard to cut later

      Reply
  3. Cynara says

    November 03, 2019 at 2:19 pm

    Hi, how long after you shape the Rice Krispie sculpture it holds its shape? Is it possible to do sculpture to use in a month time?

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      November 03, 2019 at 5:46 pm

      It will hold its shape for years

      Reply
      • Cynara says

        November 04, 2019 at 1:23 am

        Thank you ?

  4. Steph says

    July 26, 2019 at 8:46 am

    Can I use semi-sweet chocolate rather than melties?

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      July 26, 2019 at 9:03 am

      Yes you can

      Reply
  5. Sue says

    July 13, 2019 at 12:54 am

    Can I leave out the chocolate and if so do I change the amounts?

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      July 13, 2019 at 8:55 am

      The chocolate is part of what gives the RKT it's structure so if you're using it to sculpt a 3D cake or structure, I would not leave it out.

      Reply
  6. julie lewis says

    June 09, 2019 at 3:28 am

    what do I use the shortening for please

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      June 09, 2019 at 9:16 am

      You put it on your hands so that it doesn't stick when you are molding the treats

      Reply
  7. Elizabeth Higgins says

    June 04, 2019 at 4:40 am

    Can you freeze them after you have modelled what you need ??

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      June 04, 2019 at 8:34 am

      No need to freeze them, they are shelf stable.

      Reply
  8. Jennifer G says

    April 06, 2019 at 4:14 pm

    How long will a batch keep? Can it be made ahead of time for a project?

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      April 07, 2019 at 10:56 am

      RKT are typically used right after you make them because you use them to sculpt into a shape. Once they harden you will not be able to re-shape them. They don't go stale so that isn't an issue

      Reply
      • amanda kuder says

        August 21, 2019 at 8:39 pm

        since it wont go stale could I sculpt with it in Sept or early October for around December 9th?

        I dont want to eat the RKT but will add cake to eat in December.

        I dont want the rkt to mold etc and I'm not sure if it does that or not..

      • The Sugar Geek Show says

        August 22, 2019 at 10:53 am

        No it doesn't mold. I have RKT sculptures that are years old 🙂

  9. Gina E says

    February 27, 2019 at 9:50 am

    What is the purpose of the melted chocolates?

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      March 04, 2019 at 10:01 am

      Stability for carving.

      Reply
  10. Jane E says

    February 18, 2019 at 1:41 pm

    I used the chocolate rice krispies. My goodness it smells good.. this recipe works fabulous. Thanks Liz

    Reply
  11. Naomi B says

    January 16, 2019 at 2:00 am

    Hi... So I just made my first batch.
    Can't wait to use it.
    Liz it taste so good
    Thank You

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      January 20, 2019 at 12:21 am

      yay so happy to hear it!

      Reply
  12. Ann says

    January 14, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Hi...for the melts...is it a 1/4 cup of melted melts?
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      January 14, 2019 at 1:16 pm

      Yes it is

      Reply
  13. Eman says

    December 17, 2018 at 9:20 am

    Melted chocolate melties. Are you talking about Wilton chocolate melts

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      December 17, 2018 at 10:21 am

      Yes those would work, there are many kinds of melties. I use guittard vanilla a'peels

      Reply
  14. Effy Fred says

    October 08, 2018 at 5:38 am

    Thanks for coming to India Mumbai.
    For the cakeolog exhibition.
    You are nice to talk. Sharing caring loving person.
    Thank you,
    God bless.

    Reply
    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      October 11, 2018 at 11:46 am

      I had a wonderful time! Thank you for your hospitality

      Reply
  15. Lauren says

    June 28, 2018 at 6:50 pm

    5 stars
    I used this for my USS Enterprise cake. I made it a couple weeks in advance and it stayed malleable the whole time highly recommend!

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Liz! I'm a cake artist and recipe developer, and I won Netflix's Is It Cake? Holiday 2 with a hyperrealistic Santa. I write foolproof recipes that explain why things work, not just how.

I also teach full-length cake tutorials, including sculpted cakes, at Sugar Geek University.

More about me →

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