Winding back to the Rhubarb Muffins, I made this Coconut Granola with Cherry on that same productive muffin morning. Describing cereal as life changing sounds lunacy to me but home made granola was an unexpected revelation.
Gathering the ingredients, the scale of how much I was making made me think, “I’m going to have this sitting around for months.”
Quite the opposite. Home made granola turned out to be crunch-tastic. I vowed to make it again although I still assumed we had 2 months’ supply. Yet the granola disappeared at frightening speed. I skipped into the kitchen to tip it into bowls of Greek yogurt each morning. Ted tucked in too. Even my father who mostly exists on a diet of porridge, sardines and raw carrot ate it.
After ten days I had to stop. It was nearly gone and I hadn’t photographed it yet! A long shelf life meant torture as the pictures were repeatedly shunted down my to-do list.
Until now. There is a new regime at Maison Cupcake HQ. Ted, who frequently napped for 2 hours in the afternoon (how else do you think I manage to write this blog) now has an all day routine with early bedtime.
So it was evening when I finally took photographs in the garden – which means we are free to eat the rest.
I used a Rachel Allen granola recipe as the base for oats and sugar etc but she’d used wider range of fruit and nuts. I felt the need for something more focused. I also wanted to run down my stock of dried sour cherries from Montenegro before the in-laws go back there. I upped the ratio of desiccated coconut too – because I like it and didn’t have linseed.
Now I need to make another bucketful. Which would last me, ooh, a fortnight.
Coconut Granola with Cherry
Makes around 1.5kg
Ingredients
- 125 g butter
- 150 ml honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 500 g oats
- 200 g pecans roughly chopped
- 75 g pumpkin seeds
- 50 g sunflower seeds
- 150 g dessicated coconut
- 200 g dried sour cherries
- 100 g dried figs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170c (325f), Gas mark 3.
- Place the butter, honey and vanilla extract in a small saucepan on a low heat and gently melt together.
- Mix the oats, nuts, seeds and coconut together in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter and honey mixture and stir ensuring all the dry ingredients are coated.
- Divide the mixture between two large baking trays and spread in an even layer.
- Bake in the oven for 20+ minutes, tossing every 5 minutes until golden brown. Check frequently - it may take 30 minutes or more, depending on your oven.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays. Do not transfer to jars or deep bowls yet as the condensation on the cooling granola might make it go soggy.
- When cool, transfer to a large bowl and stir in your dried fruit.
- Pour into an airtight container. Keeps at room temperature for up to two months.
Notes
Adapted from Rachel Allen Home Baking.
I love making my own granola as it is a great way of making sure your breakfast includes exactly what you want to eat – I adapt ottolenghi's version slightly (I use half the oil and maple syrup they suggest) which is worth a try!
sour cherries AND figs! This is such an inspired recipe. breakfast is the best meal of the day- obviously! And wow to your previous post on that amazing sounding chocolate cake. gossh, could it look any more heavenly!
Lovely photos, I do love how there's still a hint of natural light when I get back from work. 🙂 Much better for photos. I've never tried making my own granola, I must try.