Join me on Substack! I’ll be deleting this website shortly but you can continue to access my recipe drops over on Substack. Hope to see you there!

Breakfast, Treats & Snacks, Vegan &/or Raw

Cacao Nib & Birch Sugar Granola

Xylitol sounds like a nuclear bunion buster. It is, in fact, a sweetener derived from the birch tree and often referred to as birch sugar.

The world’s best restaurant, Noma, serves fresh birch sap every spring in place of table water. Yep. It’s quite trippy – cold, honeyed and unfamiliar. Noma has managed to make birch trees hip, not hippie.

Birch sugar is now widely available in health food stores and savvy delicatessens. It’s neon white and powdery. I’m not convinced the processing is ‘natural’, but this hasn’t stopped its roaring rise. The sugar is mainly made by boiling birch sap until viscous and adding several chemicals to help the process along. Judging by the brands available in our stores, my eyebrows note that some are industrially synthesised in labs using corn instead of birch, and shaky about their origin. Watch out for piracy too. Newfangled fads attract trouble like a pedigree Chihuahua in heat.  

 

xylitol recipe image

 

      

Children’s confectionery brands are also turning towards xylitol. There is some noise about the reduction of bacterial growth in the mouth after consumption of xylitol, relative to cane sugar. The idea, then, is that xylitol may help reduce cavities (but so too would reducing our fizzy cola supply or remembering to scrub our nashers more often). I’m keeping an open mind, given its popularity among diabetics and health bloggers. But it aint sharing a shelf with my maple syrup.

In theory, white sugar and xylitol can be interchanged without mathematical gymnastics. Good news for diabetics. In practice, it’s a total diva. Xylitol can make a cake surprisingly crumbly like the bottom of a box of Rice Krispies. If you fancy yourself as a culinary MacGyver, you’ll love the challenge of whipping it into submission. If not, here’s a stonking good recipe to get you started.

 

 

xylitol cacao nib granola 

 

 

 

 

Trouser trumpets (that’s D4 for flatulence) are often associated with excessive consumption of xylitol, so watch out. Many love xylitol, and sales figures demonstrate this. It’s important to make up your own mind about it.

 

Cacao Nib & Birch Sugar Granola

This is a stunning recipe. but especially for the candida warriors and diabetics among us. Will make 25 portions.

 (I use British cups, 1 cup=250ml)

100g / under ½ cup birch xylitol
1 tablespoon cinnamon
250ml / 1 cup melted coconut oil
180g / 2 cups (gluten free) oat flakes
110g / 1 cup quinoa flakes (or more oat flakes)
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
70g / ½ cup sunflower & pumpkin seeds
220g / 2 cups nuts
3 egg whites, whipped (optional, to make clusters)
6 tablespoons raw cacao nibs
6 tablespoons goji berries
6 tablespoons desiccated coconut

 

Fire up your oven to 170 degrees Celsius, 150 fan-assisted. Line 2 roasting trays with good parchment paper such as If You Care Parchment, available online or from savvy delicatessens. Relative to other parchments, this one is The Snazz.

If your xylitol is rather grainy, you’ll need to whizz it in a coffee grinder or high-speed blender until it looks more like fairy dust. Then scoop into a large saucepan with the cinnamon and coconut oil. Let them relax together on a low heat for 3-5 minutes.

Once melted, add the oats and quinoa flakes. Parachute some sea salt flakes from a height, a scattering of seeds, and 2 cups of your favourite nuts freshly chopped. We love hazelnuts and pecans for this recipe.  

Whisk the egg whites, if using, until soft and droopy. They don’t need to stand in stiff peaks. Fold into granola mix. I don’t always do this – depends on my mood. Egg whites help to make soft clusters in the granola, but if you prefer it dead crunchy, leave this step out.

Spread the granola over your pre-lined trays. Roast for 18-22 minutes, paying attention not to let the oats turn brown and bitter.

Leave to cool entirely before add the goji berries, cacao nibs and coconut. They tend to burn in the oven, and best left until last.

Store in a massive Ikea glass jar, and your sleepy taste buds will back flip every morning when you catch sight of the jar.

 

 

xylitol post 

 

Featured in The Sunday Independent, September 21 2014

 

 

Previous Post Next Post

You Might Also Like

3 Comments

  • Reply Eoin October 15, 2014 at 2:43 pm

    Hi,

    I’m a big fan of your previous granola recipe and love tweaking it (replacing some of the sweetener with black treacle is a personal favourite), looking forward to trying this too. But have you any tips for how to make nice firm clusters out of the granola without it crumbling up too easily? Also any tips as to how to get the dried fruit into the clusters if they aren’t being cooked? I am fully aware the second question might be hoping for a bit too much!

    Regards
    Eoin

    • Reply Susan Jane October 16, 2014 at 9:25 pm

      HI Eoin!

      You could try soaking the dried fruit first, and adding at the beginning. Then add 2 extra tablesoons of coconut oil to the recipe. Don’t mix the granola during the cooking process, and when you take it out of the oven, push down firmly on the granola and leave to cool for 2 hours. You will get massive granola clusters! Egg white works too, but doesn’t give a crunch 😉 Last point, don’t overdo the sweetener. Best to underplay it as it will only turn to sticky mush. Good luck!

      • Reply Eoin October 16, 2014 at 9:27 pm

        Thanks!

    Leave a Reply to Eoin Cancel Reply

    A special announcement

    Join me on Substack

    Howdy! I’ll be deleting this website shortly. Gah! But please stay in touch – I so appreciate your loyalty and lovebombs.

    You can continue to access my recipe drops over on Substack.  Hope to see you there, and to continue frolicking on this veggie-fueled dance floor.