BREAKFAST BARS

My cherished friend invited me over a few days ago for fruit salad and red & white swirled cupcakes (how lucky am I?). Whilst she was preparing our sugary lunch, I perused her baking books and one in particular caught my eye. Marian Keys’ (the fiction writer) ‘Saved by Cake’ stood out, perhaps because it had a hilarious cover picture and we all do sometimes judge a book by its cover, no matter how much we refuse to admit it. Opening it up I was transported to a world of thrilling wit and mouthwatering cakes, tarts, muffins, cookies, flans, pies and much more. My friend steered me to one of the more uncomplicated recipes that she had tried out; breakfast bars. Changing the ingredients slightly to make it more friendly for my kitchen, i.e. using reduced-fat condensed milk, figs, pineapple and almonds instead of full fat, apricots, ginger and hazelnuts, these breakfast bars were super simple to make & bake. Crumble one of these bars with fruit salad and no fat Greek yoghurt drizzled with honey for breakfast and you have your morning meal for 2 weeks.

Tip: You can replace the condensed milk with honey if desired.

INGREDIENTS

• 200ml 99% reduced fat condensed milk
• 160g porridge oats
• 100g dried figs, roughly chopped
• 60g crystalised pineapple pieces 
• 60g silvered almonds
• 60g pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 40g sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• coconut oil

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 130 degrees celsius. Lightly grease a small square baking tin with coconut oil (I used a 20cm square tin). 

2. Gradually heat the condensed milk in a small saucepan, keeping the heat low. Meanwhile, combine the oats, figs, pineapple, almonds and seeds in a large bowl, stirring well. When the milk is heated, pour into the oat bowl and stir well to combine (the mixture should be quite sticky and no longer dry. If it is not at this stage after stirring, add a pinch more condensed milk and stir again). Add the cocoa powder and stir well again. 

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and make sure that the mixture is level and even. Flatten down the mixture with the back of a tablespoon dipped in water. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until bars are set. Cool bars after removing from the oven, remove from the baking tin and cut into your desired shapes. 

Makes / 12 - 14 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes

Total Cooking time / 1 hr 10 minutes (70 minutes)

x E