Recipe – Toasted Muesli base

Just made a batch of toasted muesli and thought I’d share:

As always, apologies for the poor picture quality. My purpose though, was to show the colour of the muesli when it’s done. Getting it to this degree of doneness took approximately 30 minutes in a low oven [Fan bake 150 C/Fahrenheit 302]. You may also notice that there is no fruit in the muesli. All of the extras are added after the muesli base has finished toasting. Or if you’re like me, you can just eat the base on its own with milk.

Okay, enough of the prologue. Here’s the recipe:

1. Place 3 cups of rolled oats in a large baking dish.
2. Add 1 cup of almond meal and mix.
3. In a small pot, place
   1. 1 tablespoon of good apricot jam and 2 tablespoons of raw sugar [or make it all apricot jam].
   2. 1 tablespoon of good oil [I use peanut coz it’s mild but olive would be good too].
   3. 1/2 teaspoon of Cassia cinnamon*
   4. 1/4 cup water
4. Bring the wet ingredients to a gentle simmer – just enough to make the mixture easy to pour.
5. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly by hand. It’s a little sticky but the best way to get the flavour all through the oats.
6. Place the pan of muesli in the middle of a cool oven [Fan bake 150 C/Fahrenheit 302] and bake for about 30 minutes.
7. VERY IMPORTANT: Stir the muesli every 5 minutes or so to ensure it ‘toasts’ evenly instead of burning on the bottom.
8. When the muesli is the right colour, remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool.
9. When the muesli is completely cool, place in an air-tight container. Will last in the pantry for about 2 weeks.

Now, a word about quantities and taste: I do not like my muesli sweet, so if you have a sweet tooth, this recipe will need adjustment. I suggest doubling the quantity of sugar/jam and trying it out. If it’s too sweet, you can reduce the sweetness one tablespoon at a time until you get exactly the degree of sweetness you prefer. And that, my friends, is the only reason anyone should make their own toasted muesli!

cheers

Meeks

p.s. Cassia cinnamon* is not the same as the cinnamon found in most supermarkets. It has a stronger, more aromatic scent and flavour, which is why it’s used by bakers. Cassia cinnamon can be found quite easily on the internet and I would strongly recommend buying some, especially if you have a problem with pre-diabetes. Apparently it helps balance blood sugar:

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1002/cassia-cinnamon

 

#recipe: Purple carrot cake

I owe this recipe to my sister-in-law, Victoria. Thank you!

The cake was delicious as Victoria first baked it, but I think my small changes have made it a fraction healthier. But then, who cares about healthy?

Where I have strayed slightly from the ingredients or quantities, I have given the original ingredients or quantities in brackets afterwards.

Let’s do it!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup raw or caster sugar
• ½ cup oil* – peanut or olive is fine [1 cup]
• 1 cup self raising flour plus 1/3 cup almond meal [1/3 cup wholemeal flour]
• 1/2 teaspoon Bi-carbonate of soda [1 1/3 teaspoons]
• 1 tablespoon plain yoghurt [optional in the original recipe]
• 1 1/3 teaspoons cinnamon – i.e. LOTS!
• 2 cups peeled and grated purple carrots – about 3 big ones [approx. 2 big orange carrots]
• [optional] ½ cup sultanas tossed in flour
• [optional] 1 cup chopped walnuts

* 1/2 a cup of oil will result in a lighter, drier, fluffier carrot cake. If you like yours more traditional, experiment with the amount of oil you add, bearing in mind that 1 cup is probably the maximum, while 1/2 a cup is the minimum.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150 C [Fanbake] or 300 – 325 F
2. Lightly grease and flour a 19 cm ringform cake tin
3. Break whole eggs into the mixing bowl and beat until frothy
4. Continue beating as you add 1 cup of sugar to the eggs, a bit at a time. Beat well between each addition. The egg mixture should become light in colour, thick and fluffy.
5. Continue beating as you add the oil.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift the flour, bi-carb and cinnamon onto the egg mix.
7. Fold in.
8. Peel and grate the carrots just before adding them to the cake to stop them from going ‘greenish’ during cooking.
9. Fold in the grated carrots
10. Fold in the yoghurt
11. Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and sprinkle with almond flakes.
12. Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for approx.. 1 hour.
13. At the end of the hour [and not before!] test the cake with a skewer. The skewer should be a little greasy but not wet or sticky.
14. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to stand in the tin for about 5 minutes.
15. Turn the cake out onto a wire cooling rack.

Serve at room temperature with cream, ice cream or just plain. Or if you’re like us, eat as soon as it comes out of the pan to enjoy the sweet, slightly toffee-like crunch of the outer ‘skin’. Once the cake cools, the skin loses it’s crunch.

The Offspring and I found no difference in taste using purple vs orange carrots, and as you can see from the photo, the purple carrots do not turn the whole cake purple so you can serve it without your guests ever knowing it’s a ‘healthy’ option. 😉

Bon appetit!

Meeks