Nutcellars Macadamia, Fig and Cacao Trail Bars
Hayden Groves – Consultant Chef
View Member ProfileNutcellars Macadamia, Fig and Cacao Trail Bars
Nuts are good for you. Fact. Loaded with antioxidants and heart positive monounsaturated fats, they are key to a sustainable healthy lifestyle and a great source of fibre and protein. Hayden Groves, former National Chef of The Year, cycling fanatic and published author is working with Nutcellars to produce a raw macadamia Trail Mix bar with figs, dates and cacao.
It’s National Nut Day today (22) October. Bedford based macadamia nut suppliers, Nutcellars and multi variety nut importer, Liberation Foods are joining forces to launch the ‘Go Nuts For Nuts’ campaign to encourage more chefs and consumers to incorporate more nuts into their menus and diets.
“I love using nuts in my recipes, not just a fantastic source of Protein, vitamin E, omega 3 and 6, and essential minerals and fibre but they are truly delicious too.
I’ve used 3 different types in my recipe and the star of the show is the Macadamia which features in two forms, a luxurious nut butter and generous whole pieces that really give a lovely texture through the bar. The addition of cocoa and coffee add a touch of bitterness to counteract the natural sweetness of the dried fruit.
You can elevate this bar further for a café offering by rolling the mix a little thinner and topping with a salted peanut brittle for even more texture and variation.”
Hayden Groves, Consultant Chef
Ingredients
- 90g dried Dates
- 90g dried figs
- 45g almonds
- 45g Brazil nuts
- 30g cocoa powder
- Generous pinch of sea salt
- 60g Crunchy macadamia nut butter
- 45g agave syrup or honey
- ½ tsp of espresso or fresh ground coffee
- 1 orange – finely grated zest
- 90g porridge oats
- 1tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- 2tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
- 30g dried cranberries
- 90g lightly toasted macadamia nuts
Method
Cover the dried fruit in boiling water, soak for 10 mins and drain
Lightly toast the almonds, brazils and macadamias, cool and pulse in a small blender until a coarse texture.
Remove the nuts and reserve.
In the blender, puree the dates and figs, with the cocoa powder, salt, nut butter, honey or Agave syrup, espresso and the zest until smooth.
Transfer the puree to a bowl and stir in all the remaining dry ingredients. Once it is combined, I find it easier to give it a final mix by kneading with hands on a clean bench.
Roll out between two sheets of parchment to a square of 16 cm x 16cm, using a palette knife to square and neaten the sides.
Freeze for an hour, this helps create a neat cut.
Cut the square in half and each resulting rectangular half into 8 even bars. (16 in total)
It is a good tip to leave them on the cutting board for an hour uncovered to just dry slightly on the edges, before storing in a sealed container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
