Chocolate Nut Bars

I was a bit worried about these to be honest, but they were delicious! ...  Now writing this some weeks later, I can't remember why I was so worried about them.  They were very delicious!  This recipe is from Liz Harfull's Tried Tested and True, a fabulous book with recipes from community cookbooks - my fave kind!

There are 3 layers to these bars, but they are easy to do, especially if you make the base in the food processor (yes, do it!).  I made these, and mini muffins, and berry muffins for a friend who was having a huge clean-up in her house and yard.  I snuck a couple of pieces for Mr P. and myself to test them out.  Yep, delicious!  

Talking of cleaning up the yard, I was planting out some freesia bulbs one day, when I dug up a tiny, wee baby eastern bearded dragon.  S/he reared up and opened her beautiful, bright yellow throat at me.  It was amazing to me that they actually live right under the soil!  S/he was a sweetheart, so her throaty little display didn't worry me at all.  We are so lucky to have abundant wildlife in our suburbs; well, maybe not so much with the foxes.  

pre-chocolate coating

Makes a 20cm x 20cm square:

Ingredients:

Base:

110g./4 oz wholemeal plain flour

1.5 Tbs cocoa powder

3 Tbs raw caster sugar

90g./3.2 oz butter, chopped

Topping:

2 large eggs

150g./5.3 oz raw caster sugar

3 Tbs plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

60g./2 big oz walnuts, chopped

45g./1.6 oz dessicated coconut (unsweetened)

110g./4 oz glacé ginger, chopped 

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

90g./3.2 oz dark chocolate (70% is good)

Method:

On goes your oven to 180C/350F

Butter and line with baking paper a 20cm/8 inch square and shallow cake pan/baking tray (with sides)

For the base, you sift the flour and cocoa into a large bowl, and then stir in the sugar

Now rub in the butter with your fingers till it's looking like fine breadcrumbs, or do what I did - chuck the flour, cocoa and sugar into your food processor and pulse the butter into it till - yes, you guessed it - it looks like fine breadcrumbs

Pulse it a few more times till it comes together,  then press it into your baking tin

Bake for 15 minutes - and in the meantime - 

You will be making the topping during this 15 minutes :=) so, beat your eggs well in a large mixing bowl; add the sugar and beat till thick and light and fluffy (but the sugar doesn't have to be dissolved, says Liz)

Grab another bowl, sift (or whisk) the flour and baking powder together, then fold this mixture into the fluffy, eggy mixture

And now add the walnuts, coconut, ginger and vanilla - gently my dears, with a firm but tender hand till beautifully combined

Pour this topping mixture over your still-hot base, then whack it back into the oven for 30 minutes - you want it a lovely golden-brown colour and firm to the touch of your delicate fingers :=)

Now let it cool down, melt your chocolate (in the microwave is a good method) and spread it all over the top of the nutty base

When cool (but before the chocolate has completely set), slice it up into squares

Keep in an airtight container for a couple of days

Notes:

Use whatever nut you fancy here

Liz suggests melting 20g./0.7 oz butter with the chocolate if you are worried about it setting too hard on top, so that cutting will be easier

press the chocolate-y base into the lined baking tin

pour on the topping 

golden-brown after baking for 30 mins.

slather on that chocolate 

Sadly, I didn't get to take any photos of this looking pretty on a platter, but you can guess how pretty and delicious it looked!

c. Sherry M.

Eastern bearded dragon (author JJ Harrison)

(Joining in with Min from Write of the Middle blog - #WWWhimsy)