Triple Chocolate Dyno-Bites Treat Cake

A Birthday Tradition
I started a birthday tradition when my oldest daughter was three.On your birthday, you get to "order" your birthday cake, ice cream, and birthday meal. Five years ago, I married Bill. Two weeks before celebrating his first birthday with me, I explained the birthday tradition to Bill. He LOVED the idea. 
Hubby's Birthday Wish 
This year he told me he wanted a Cocoa Dyno-Bites treat cake, stacked up and a steak. Just steak. No side dishes. Just a rare steak and a stacked, Cocoa Dyno-Bites treat cake. Steak and chocolate. Does this sound like someone you know?
I created a Triple Chocolate Dyno-Bites Treat Cake just for my handsome hubby! The trio of chocolate is: the Cocoa Dyno-Bites cereal, milk chocolate chips, and semi-sweet chocolate ganache as a filling and frosting. An additional ingredient, was caramel flavoring in the melted marshmallows. How does this sound? Just one more flavor treat. Oh, I forgot to tell you the ice cream flavor that is going to sit beside each slice of treat cake - Rocky Road! Does life get any better for a foodie? 
Now, let me share how I created this cake.
Ingredients

• 12 cups of Cocoa Dyno-Bites Cereal
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup of milk chocolate chips
• 2- 10 oz. bags miniature marshmallow
• 1 tsp. caramel flavoring
• 1-12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Cereal Treat Directions

NOTE: I have a 900 watt microwave. For larger microwaves, you will need to adjust your microwave increments to a shorter period of time.  

• Grease two - 9 inch by 2 inch square cake pans; set aside

1. Place 1/4 cup butter into a large, microwaveable bowl
2. Microwave for 15 - 30 seconds, or until melted
3. Add 1- 10 oz. bag of marshmallows and stir until coated with butter
4. Microwave the buttered marshmallows for 1 minute. Stir until marshmallows are melted and smooth. If necessary microwave for an additional 15-10 second.
5. Add 1/2 teaspoon of caramel flavoring  and stir until blended
6. Add 6 cups of cereal to the melted marshmallow mixture and stir with a heavy spoon until the marshmallow mixture is evenly blended with the cereal.
7. Cereal mixture should be warm, but not hot. You do not want to melt the chocolate chips. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips into the cereal/marshmallow mixture
8. Stir until chips are blended into the mixture. 
9. Spoon the entire bowl of treat mix into one of the cake pans.
10. Butter your hands well and press the cereal treat mixture firmly into the pan until you have an even layer of firmly packed cereal mixture.

• Repeat the above 10 steps to make a second batch of cereal treat mix

Chocolate Ganache Directions

• Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour it into a quart size, microwaveable bowl.
• Microwave the milk for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir with a spoon.
• Repeat the above step until the sweetened condensed milk is warm, but not hot.
• Pour the 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the warm sweetened condensed milk. Let the chips sit in the warm milk for about 10-15 seconds
• Stir with a spoon until the chips are melted and the mixture is thick and glossy. If necessary, microwave an additional 15 seconds to completely melt the chocolate chips.

Assembling the Treat Cake

• Remove the cereal treats from one of the pans. I turned mine upside down over a platter, tapped on the cake pan bottom, and the layer of treats released from the pan. 
• Spoon about half of the chocolate ganache onto the cereal treat layer and spread with wide strokes across the treat layer.
• Put the second layer of cereal treats on top of the ganache. Repeat the above step with the second layer

The ganache will be dry to a light touch very quickly.I put my treat cake  in the refrigerator overnight. 

Two layers of cereal treats filled and topped with chocolate ganache made from semi-sweet chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. 

Enjoy some homemade happiness on a plate AND have a cup of hot coffee ready to sip with this "cake."