Who said you cannot have chocolate for breakfast? These millet, chocolate, hazelnut and seed bars are proof that chocolate is a good idea at any time of the day.
Recipe and styling by Claire Ferrandi
Photograph by Dylan Swart
Millet, chocolate, hazelnut and seed bars
Ingredients
- 250g pitted prunes
- 80g dehulled millet
- 5ml (1 tsp) olive oil
- 160g almond butter
- 5ml (1 tsp) salt
- 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
- 30ml (2 tbsp) coconut oil
- 100g hazelnuts, roughly chopped and toasted
- 200g pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
Grease a freezer-proof dish of roughly 25cm x 19cm (it doesn’t have to be exact in size) and line with baking paper.
Place the pitted prunes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to soften, 15 minutes.
Put the millet into a small frying pan with the olive oil and place over medium heat. Toast the millet until golden brown, about 3 – 4 minutes and set aside until needed.
Place the almond butter, salt, vanilla essence and coconut oil in a blender, then drain the water from the softened prunes and add them to the blender. Blitz until almost smooth, then remove and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds and toasted millet, then tip the mixture into the prepared dish and press it into the base and sides (the bars should be about 3cm thick). Put the dish into the freezer while you melt the chocolate.
Place the chopped dark chocolate in a microwave-proof plastic bowl and melt in the microwave on high, in 30 second bursts, until just melted, then stir until smooth. Spread the melted chocolate over the top of the slightly chilled bards, then place the bars in the fridge to chill, at least 2 hours.
Slice the bars into desired size using a sharp knife that has been dipped in boiling water (a hot knife will glide through the chocolate layer easily).