Wholefood bars, I tried one, here you go…
See, I bought this magazine at the airport a few weeks ago. Nothing exceptional in that for now, you may think.
I was attracted by the beautiful display of simple ingredients cooked in a range of easy, tasty and good looking dishes. When I actually reached the sweet section, I was surprised to see a range of “wholefood bars”. You may recognise the magazine by now, it was Donna Hay’s 100th issue.
Baking being my natural inclination, I set to do one of the recipe in the issue. I settled on the raspberry coconut pannacotta bar. I can tell you there was no regret there!
The recipe can be found HERE with a number of tips.
Wholefood bars – the feedback on the making
- It was quite easy. For someone who is not often in the kitchen, I would say, it is achievable as the steps are simple enough and there is one action at the time.
- You may not have all the ingredients at home. No panic, sometimes you can allow to be creative. For example :
- I did not have fresh dates but package dates. It worked very well all the same, it was not overpowerly sweet nor did it taste too much like dates (which I am not the biggest fan).
- Similarly . I did not have coconut oil (I do now, it may take me years to use it, time will tell) , coconut oil doesn’t really have more health benefit than other oils but it has a textural benefit by solidifying a low temperature. So, for the biscuit, I used a peanut oil and for the raspberry mix, I used cocoa butter.
- It is a stage process, like all layering sweet creation.
- Invite friends over or bring to a picnic! Even though we really liked this slice, the slice is quite filling.
- The dry-freeze decoration (as in the magasine) is hard to find and is purely decorative. Being on Scotland Island, getting in a boat, crossing to the mainland and then driving “to town” and dropping to the local fine food store or health food store was not an option for me.
- To cut the slice, make sure you have a narrow (can be tall) blade and wipe it between rows.
Verdict:
Will I try again? Yes, with enough people around to eat it. I have not tried to freeze the slice I made to see if it is an option.
Is it a bit fancy all these ingredients? The ingredients in the recipe I did are all top market ingredients, so not low-cost. I did not do the slice to test its health benefits. It is worth noting that while dates are quite nutritious and that coconut oil health benefit are not demonstrated. As the quantities remain small, there is nothing unreasonable.
Does it keep? We kept ours for 2-3 days. As you can see on the photos taken two days after making (could not find the camera), the white top will soon be influenced by the underlying raspberry . The colour will start to come through. Nothing
This raw recipe of raspberry and coconut slice is out of a magazine I bought at the airport before a short flight. There were a number of interesting recipes including this one. I am not particularly an advocate for raw food, although I have nothing against it overall. This recipe is straight out of Donna Hay, I am adding to it some comments and tips which mat come in handy during the realisation of these bars.
The recipe has tw main steps and requires a few hours to set after each of the main step,
Makes about 20 slices.
Ingredients:
The base:
- 120 g (1 cup) rolled oats
- 80 g of dry desiccated coconut (1 cup)
- 120 g of almond meal (1 cup)
- 65 g coconut oil (1/3 cup) melted- alternatively use a vegetable oil such as sunflower (olive oil may have a flavour too strong for this recipe)
- 200 g of pitted dates
- 25 g (1/4 cup) of raw cocoa
Note:I prefer using the weight rather than volumes as depending how pack the ingredient may be in the cup, you will achieve different outcomes. Here, it would be of little consequence though.
The raspberry layer:
- 750 g of frozen raspberries (you can also use mixed berries if you run out of raspberry like me in this version)
- 1/2 cup of maple syrup (125 ml)
- 50 g white chia seeds (1/4 cup) – I only had black ones, it did not change anything really
- 25 g of coconut oil (1/4 cup)
For decorating (optional) : 7 g (1/4 cup) freeze dried raspberries, crushed
Note on the use of coconut oil here: I wandered about the use of coconut oil in this part of the slice, I can only think that it is used to support the structure of the slice as coconut oil solidifies quite easily. I did not have any when I made my slice, I used some cocoa butter buttons instead. They also solidify at lower temperature. If you are going to use those, be mindful to wait that the jam temperature is no more than 50 °C as coconut butter burns at higher temperature
The coconut pannacotta layer:
- 60 mL of water (1/4 cup)
- 1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatine (you can use the gelatine in sheets as well, use the amount suitable to 400 mL of liquid)
- 310 mL of coconut milk (1 1/4 cup)
- 2 tbsp honey
Method
The order below is first for the slice base. Then, while the base is cooking, you can work on the jam filling. The pannacotta is done a few hours later to allow the first two layers to cool down and settle.
- Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). To make the coconut cacao base, place the oats, coconut, almond meal, coconut oil, dates and cacao in a food processor and process for 1 or 2 minutes or until the mixture comes together.
- Press the mixture into a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper, smoothing the top with a spoon. Cook for 20 minutes or until firm. Set aside to cool slightly.Tip – no more than 20 min cooking.
- Place the raspberries and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15–18 minutes or until softened and liquid has reduced. Remove from the heat and add the chia seeds and coconut oil. Stir to combine and set aside for 20 minutes to cool.
- Pour the raspberry chia jam over the cacao base, smoothing with a palette knife. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until completely cooled and firm.
Tip – use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula if you don’t have a palette knife.
- To make the coconut pannaccotta, place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatine. Stir to combine and set aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine has been absorbed.
- Place the coconut milk and honey in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to just below the boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatine mixture until dissolved. Strain and set aside to cool completely.
- Pour the pannacotta mixture over the slice and refrigerate for 2 hours or until completely set. Cut into bars. Top with freeze-dried raspberries to serve.
Tip for cutting: you will need to clean you knife after each slice to retain crispy white and avoid crumbs sticking to the next line of slices.
Tip: Keep well in the fridge for 4 days. The pannacotta will start turning pink . Don’t throw it away. This does not affect the taste so much.
These last couple weeks, there has been intense activity in the kitchen, I mean more than usual. There has been renovation works, still are actually. Now, I have, after 18 month of cooking on an outdoor stove, a good oven and cooktop and, ceiling lights and power plugs there and there! You can imagine I was pretty excited to get this new oven to the test! In addition to that, I will be managing the food stall at my daughter’s school Halloween Fete and I am trialing a few recipes! A great adventure. Hence, cooking aplenty at the moment!
Last pears of the year
Pears are nearing the end of their season in Australia and I came across a bunch of them just begging to be used on the seconds trolley of my grocery store. Of course I could not resist! I have been willing to do an almond pear tarte for a while.
I ended by using a Donna Hay recipe . The recipe is easy. There is no tart shell. The tart consists simply in a cake dough placed in a tarte tin with pears pushed in it. Cool it down it its tin and serve on a long platter. I would advise to place some baking paper at the bottom, this would make the removal of the bottom part of the tin easy. Click HERE for the recipe.
Look how we recycled an old laundry wash board!
Bread renewal!
With my new oven which keeps the steam (and the heat), I have made a try at semi-sourdough baguettes. Mines were quite short, just to make sure they could fit in the oven. Success!!!
These below is the preshape stage.
And another beauty, this one baked Friday night. A semi-rhye sourdough
Halloween pre-taste
For the school fete food menu, I have decided to expand a bit into some creative pieces that the children will beg their parents to get them. I will speak more about it in a coming post, here is a little pre-taste!
These creatures are madeleines covered in coloured white chocolate. The antennas are pretzels.
Pear and almond are so good together. This tarte is not only very easy to make, it presents well. The recipe is from Donna Hay, with a few twicks in the method. This tarte has no shell, it is a cake with the fruits placed on top. The shape of the tin makes it (plus it is good!)!
Ingredients:
- 90 g of soft butter (I use salted butter)
- 90 g of brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- 2 eggs
- 120 g of almond meal (1 cup)
- 40 g of plain flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
- 2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon rind (decrease to 1 if you prefer the lemon flavour to be softer)
- 2 pears (I used Corella, you can use Packham, Williams would work well, but not too ripe)
- 90 g brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- raw sugar for sprinkling
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until just combined. Add the eggs, almond meal, flour, baking powder and lemon rind and mix until just combined.
- Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 9.5cm x 33cm loose-bottom fluted tarte tin. Here, you may want to use baking paper to cover only the bottom of the tarte tin, this will make the transition to the serving dish easier.
- Place the pears and extra brown sugar in a bowl and toss to coat. Press the pears into the tart mixture and bake for 35–40 minutes or until golden brown. You may not be able to place all your pieces of pear.
- Sprinkle with raw sugar and allow to cool in the tin.
