Top chef Hayden Groves created this heavenly but healthy Trail Bar, packed with delicious, sustainably sourced ingredients including macadamia sourced from smallholders farmers in Malawi through our friends Nutcellars and Brazil nuts bought from our friends in Bolivia Associacion AIRE Muije.
Wrap them up and pop them in your pocket for a perfect energy boost whenever you need it!
Makes: 16 bars
Ingredients:
Method:
Cover the dried fruit in boiling water, soak for 10 mins and drain
Lightly toast the almonds and brazils, cool and pulse in a small bender 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
It is a good tip to leave them on the cutting board for an hour un covered 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.
"I love using nuts in my recipes, they are not just a fantastic source of protein, vitamin E, omega 3 and 6, and essential minerals and fibre but they are truly delicious too. You can elevate this bar by rolling the mix a little thinner and topping with a salted peanut brittle for even more texture and variation."
Hayden Groves (Twitter: @Hayden1974 / Insta: haydenkgroves)
