Truth be told, being more of a muesli or overnight oats kinda gal, I used to be completely unenthusiastic about granola for breakfast. Also chalk it down to being a little slow on the uptake, as far as most bandwagons go. Microwave mug cakes for example (a regular baked chocolate cake just seems so much more satisfying). ‘Good’ chia pudding. Rainbow cakes. Or kale paired with chocolate. Although I suspect one day I may just rescind on that last statement. (Hey, I’ve seen mushrooms dipped in chocolate. Anything is possible these days) Most trends have completely bypassed me on the food highway, but now granola has officially made a pit stop.

It all started with a trip to Las Vegas a few months ago, where we sat in a little stripmall cafe having a breakfast sandwich of peanut butter, banana and granola. As well as being delicious and a textural marvel, it was probably quite apt to find a sandwich Elvis Presley would definitely approve of in Las Vegas. When we returned from our holiday, I decided to try my hand at making granola, with some future pb+b sandwiches in mind. The sandwiches never happened. Seems like the appeal had more to do with time and place. And yet now I find myself in what I’ll probably look back and call ‘my granola years’. That time I made a different flavour of granola every week because I’d suddenly become so fascinated with the possibilities, and the great texture they added not just to breakfast, but later-in-the-day ice-cream and cakes.

My version of granola is barely sweet and not very greasy. It keeps crisp in an airtight jar for what I presume is a fairly long time, though no batch I’ve made has ever lasted beyond two weeks, thanks to my new habit of snacking on small handfuls of granola at any time of the day. The fun thing about making your own is the complete freedom you get to play with flavours. A simple base recipe can be transformed into apple pie spiced granola (with the addition of apple juice, cinnamon, fresh and dried apples and walnuts), green tea granola (another favourite), chocolate granola, five spice granola and now, turmeric and blueberry granola.

This turmeric and blueberry granola was inspired by Chika, and tastes -amazing- with coconut yoghurt.

Turmeric and Wild Blueberry Granola :

150g rolled oats
30g coconut chips
60g whole unblanched almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
1 x orange, zest and juice
70g brown rice syrup
10g extra virgin coconut oil
30g dried wild blueberries (or substitute with dried cranberries)

Preheat the oven to 175’C.

Place the rolled oats, coconut chips, almonds, spices, salt, vanilla and zest in a large bowl. In a small pot, heat the orange juice, brown rice syrup and coconut oil until melted. Pour this over the oat mixture in the bowl. Stir well to completely coat the oats. Tip the mixture onto a large lined tray, spreading it out evenly.

Bake for 20 minutes (or until golden brown), stirring the granola occasionally to prevent the clumps at the edge of the tray from browning too quickly. Remove tray from the oven, allow to cool, then stir through the dried blueberries. Store the cooled granola in an airtight jar.

Nobody panic, I haven’t actually turned my baking blog into the polar opposite of everything that has been posted here for the past couple of years. Well, not permanently anyway.

My initial foray into raw sweets occurred some time ago, and involved blitzing a mere handful of ingredients together to form raw brownie bites. First thought? “Holy crap, brownies in 5 minutes or under!” (They were delicious, and I’d link to the recipe here, but unfortunately the blog doesn’t seem to exist anymore).

Then I learned about coconut oil, and sadly discovered that I didn’t really like it all that much (but thankfully not quite in the same way as when coriander tastes like death and soap to some people). That put me off delving further into the wider world of raw desserts. Meanwhile, life went on. I pretty much spent the past year baking 8 hours a day as part of my job. Now that I’m free again, and still feeling excited about trying new things (or maybe hayfever season is muddling my brain), it seems the perfect time to test out a few raw, vegan sweet recipes. Along the way, I managed to pick up a few tips :

-Firstly, you really need a high powered blender to ensure the smoothest, creamiest end result, otherwise the overall texture of your frostings or caramel will be slightly off kilter.
-Many recipes rely on coconut oil, and it often ends up being the dominant flavour in the dessert. Use the best oil you can get, because it will definitely matter.
-As is the case with coconut oil, use the best vanilla extract you can get.
-Lastly, dessert is still dessert, regardless of whether it’s raw/vegan or not. Eat in moderation, but enjoy every bite! 🙂

Raw, Vegan and Gluten-Free Caramel Slice :
(this recipe is for a 3.5″ x 7.5″ frame and yields 8 thin slices; adjust quantities to suit your baking tin)

For the base layer :
25g pitted dates
110g whole unblanched almonds
pinch of sea salt

Blend all three ingredients together until the mixture looks ‘wet’. Press mixture into the base of a lined 3.5″ x 7.5″ frame. Leave in freezer while you make the caramel layer.

For the caramel layer :
65g cashew butter
70g tahini
165g maple syrup
55g melted coconut oil
10g vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Pour on top of the base layer and freeze until firm. 30-60 minutes.

For the chocolate layer :
15g raw cocoa powder
25g maple syrup
35g melted coconut oil
5g vanilla extract

Stir all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Pour over the caramel layer and freeze until firm.

When ready to serve, unmould the caramel slice and cut with a hot knife. Decorate each slice with a few flakes of sea salt and some cocoa nibs. Any leftovers can be stored covered, in the fridge.

We interrupt our regular broadcast to bring you One Bowl! Vegan! Double Chocolate! Fudge Frosted! Cupcakes!

Sounds like a complete mouthful I know, and these actually are, in a delicious way. I made these the other day when in a cupcake kind of mood. Cupcake moods are defined by that instance you look in the baking drawer and discover you have way too many cupcake liners in colours you don’t ever recall wanting or buying. Orange, fire engine red and green polka dot, to name a few.

Not long after baking these, I started to notice vegan chocolate cake recipes popping up all over the internet and realised that not only are there a lot of said recipes out there, but like mine, they are pretty much all the same with minor variations in the type of sugar used or the ratio of vegetable oil to flour and cocoa powder.

Around this time, I also read an article where a chef claimed to have pioneered a technique used in a particular dish. Quite amusing when it’s obviously untrue, but since so many prize originality above all things, it seems almost expected that the wheel should be reinvented on a regular basis.

In an effort to reduce clutter, this is one less vegan chocolate cake recipe. The frosting is made with bittersweet chocolate, water, custard powder, brown sugar, cocoa powder and malt.