Berry Nut Chocolate Intense Granola

Granola Berry Nut Chocolate Intens (0013) by MeetaK  

I love my morning granola or muesli! My jars at home are usually almost always filled with either a muesli or granola blend I make at home. I know I am not alone when I say that homemade muesli or granola always hits home with me.  

I usually get asked the question about the difference between granola and muesli, especially from my European friends. The concept of granola is still new to most of them and when I send them little jars (or in some cases very large jars) filled with my latest granola mix they are extremely amazed at how the same breakfast concept and be so different.

The difference lies basically in how each is prepared. While both granola and muesli share many similarities the two are not interchangeable. Besides having different origins, they also have different ingredients and preparing methods.

Granola Berry Nut Chocolate Intens (0002) by MeetaK

Muesli is the European counterpart to the American granola and was developed by Dr. Bircher-Benner, a Swiss nutritionist towards the end of the nineteenth century. Granola, on the other hand, was developed in the United States also in the nineteenth century by Dr. James Caleb Jackson at the Jackson Sanitarium in New York.

When it comes to the ingredients, while both contain a mixture of grains, like oats or spelt flakes, nuts, and dried fruit, granola usually has honey and oil, which is then toasted in the oven, giving it that typical crisp texture and sweeter flavor. Muesli relies mostly on the fresh fruit you add for the sweetness.

While I love muesli, I tend to lean slightly more towards my beloved granola. I love the delicious crispy clumps of oats, seeds and berries all toasted to a wonderful golden color and coated with the sweet glaze of honey or maple syrup. Muesli has no chance against that!

I tend to go through my muesli days too though, when the flakes soak up the milk and the fresh fruit add their subtle and sweet fruity flavors – it does give me the perfect balanced start to my day.

What are you a muesli or a granola person?

Granola Berry Nut Chocolate Intens (0016) by MeetaK

Soeren has definitely inherited my taste buds for granola. I dare not even come near him with the muesli creations – even the ones with chocolate! So we make lots of granola together and come up with some very great creations. 

This one is a recent favorite we made. I love the nuttiness of spelt and usually use these in muesli and granola. There are cashews, dried cherries and cranberries, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds and the honey gives it the perfect sweetness. The best however is the pinch of fleur de sel and the big chunks of dark chocolate flavored with a hint of orange. Granola Intense!

Berry Nut Chocolate Intense Granola

Printable version of recipe here

Ingredients

300g rolled spelt flakes
100g cashew nuts 
200g clear honey
3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
140g mixed dried berries
50g sunflower seeds
50g poppy seeds
100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped. I used Lindt Dark Chocolate Orange Intense 
pinch of fleur de sel

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

  2. Heat honey and oil together in a large pan until the mixture begins to boil. Tip in the spelt flakes, cashew nuts, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, fleur de sel and cinnamon and stir well until the oats are well coated. Spread out on the baking tray, spreading the mixture out evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring with a spatula, about halfway through.

  3. Remove from the oven and immediately add the berries and chocolate and stir into the mixture. Spread the mixture out on the baking tray again and press down with a spatula and allow to cool. This helps the granola to clump together.

  4. Allow to cool completely, then place in airtight containers. It will last for 3 weeks if stored in a cool dry place. Serve with yogurt and fresh fruit or use in desserts.

 

 


Verdict

Granola Berry Nut Chocolate Intens (0006) by MeetaK 

A big jar made it’s way to Zürich recently, unfortunately something happened and it did not reach my sweet recipient in the same quality I sent it off in. I blame the Swiss post for sabotaging my granola. I’ll try with muesli next time, maybe it’ll work better ;o)

It’s the little things that make the granola great. In this case I love the addition of the poppy seeds and the sunflower seeds. It rounds up the entire granola perfectly. The perfect part is of course the orangey flavored chocolate, which adds a beautiful note to the nuttiness of this granola.

Enjoy it with your favorite fruit and berries for a sensational start to your day. Soon I’ll also be posting an awesome dessert for breakfast I made using this granola so heads up to you all. And sure you can have dessert for breakfast! You don’t? Well then stay tuned and I'll show you how!

Granola galore on WFLH:

Granola Bars - Four Grain Very Berry Pistachio Nut Granola Goji Muffins Nutty Amaranth Granola with Fresh Berries

 


All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2010 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

Continue »

45 comments:

  1. oh! i was searching for a good granola recipe like ten mins back! im gonna try this one,,thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love my granola too and yes, homemade granola is the only way to go!! :))

    Hmm.. not a muesli person at all.. find it cardboard-y {no offense!}

    ReplyDelete
  3. It looks delicious. I've had granola on my "to try making" list for ages now, need to do it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. the blue background is so refreshing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. OMG, that granola is perfect! So naughty...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh gosh where to start?! how about dessert for breakfast, works for me, yummm. so does granola for dinner. yum again. even with dark chocolate, my favorite. and all this coming from me, swiss german resident, where birchermüesli is adored by every single person and eaten all day long. but for me, granola, hands down. maple syrup and thick cut oats, almonds and all sorts of seeds and grains.

    and yes, boo to the swiss post who took that jar for a ride through some seriously wacky extreme temperature chamber! ;) guess it's time for me to make a batch...

    ps - love that muesli and granola were invented in switzerland and new york. this post really is all for me!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. yum. oh i miss granola so much. my mom and i used to make it all the time, but i cant find any gluten free oats in Brazil. not even gonna try to look for spelt :( ive been granola and cereal free for 7 months! tear.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm definitely a granola person!
    It's fun, I still remember the first time I discovered your blog, with the best granola bar ever tried! so now, this will be another recipe to bookmark!
    I've recently prepared my granola with Dutch cocoa and coconut shaves.. again, I'm a granola person!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I prefer muesli because granola is just too sweet for my taste. I eat muesli almost every morning because I want to have a healthy breakfast but what I am really craving is bread!! But I have absolutely no restraint at all when bread is in the house (I can eat the whole loaf in one day!) so I rarely buy any :(

    ReplyDelete
  10. This looks so wicked Meeta...the jaffa flavoured one sounds divine as well!

    ReplyDelete
  11. These look and sound delicious. And seriously, these are the most beautiful photos of food I've seen in a long time!!

    Sues

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm definitly a granola women even more when there's chocolate in it! Your recipe, I will surely try it soon!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Me and hubby loves granola too but I haven't thought of adding chocolate morsels..I'll try it next time!Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Every spoonful will be a delight to eat, trying to figure out all the different tastes and textures in my mouth!!! Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  15. oh yes im a total granola person and I loads of texture from raisins,apricots,pistachios,goji berries,coconut and have tried choc versions too..but will surely try choc orange..I cant be bothered with milk and fruits sometimes...I just love snacking on them while reading a book or watching TV..

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm a 'Meeta makes it the best' person, and am now patiently, or impatiently, waiting for a HUGE jar! Crunch crunch, yum, yum my lovely! FAB!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This looks absolutely fantastic and as I have never ever been on the receiving end of a jar of your granola may I please request a very large jar of this Berry Nut Chocolate Intense Granola as a gift when I see you in London? Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Granola for sure! With a breakfast like that waiting for me everyday, I would never have a problem getting out of bed. Looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm an American living in Europe (France), and I totally feel you on the granola vs. muesli thing! I too prefer granola. Yours looks delish, think I will have to try it out!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for explaining the difference between granola and muesli. Good to know. This recipe looks delicious. I'm bookmarking it now!

    ReplyDelete
  21. It looks amazing! We make granola all the time--will try this out!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Granola for sure!
    I love the different flavors and textures in granola. Muesli is a little too blah for my taste.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I still haven't made the granola at home. Cannot believe how beautiful it looks with all those berries in there!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love the sweetness and crunchiness of granola, but my waistline prefers the Muesli. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Whats granola if it isn't intense?

    Great recipe darling

    ReplyDelete
  26. Muesli, absolutely. I grew up on it in New Zealand and it just tastes like home.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Woah, that looks gorgeous! I make a "granola" that's probably more muesli with lindt dark 85% chocolate & cranberries (w/ whatever nuts I feel like at the time - last batch was brazil nuts), but I don't mix in the cranberries & chocolate until cooled (hence muesli), but I'm totally trying this next time!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love homemade granola & yours looks the best!!!I love that you added cashew nuts, my favorite!! Thanks for the recipe! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. O that looks like a perfect granola to me. I am all for granola and not so much for muesli. My favorite breakfast is always granola, yogurt and whatever fruit I have lying around the house. I have never made it myself though, so I might have to give it a go now that I've seen your gorgeous granola!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love making granola - and it's so addictive, like breakfast candy! This sounds great - I love your addition of poppy seeds.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I'm a muesli girl - purely for convenience as I prefer not to turn the oven on for granola!
    I make my own: Old fashioned oats, sunflower seeds, raisins, ground flax, almonds and chopped apricots. Served with kefir and 1/2 a plum (or some fruit) on top.

    ReplyDelete
  32. What a lovely mix. There really is no excuse for me not trying to make my own. Besides who can say no to chocolate for breakfast

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thank you everyone for all your wonderful comments. Looks like granola is the hands down winner here ;o) Glad you are liking this mix and hope you'll come back and tell me what you thought!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I must must must make more granola, I so enjoyed the batch I made earlier in the year. I'm not sure I could restrain myself from picking out the chocolate too early though!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Ahh, thanks for the explanation, I often wondered what granola was. Turns out I make it often, except I just call is toasted cereal :) Never thought to add chocolate before, sounds seriously good.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Chocolate chunks for breakfast sounds pretty good to me! Must say I didn't know that there was a difference between granola & muesli and clearly the South African muesli producers also don't know the difference, as most of the muesli we have here are sweetened. Go figure.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I alwayss wondered what the difference was. Thanks M!

    ReplyDelete
  38. I love granola :) berries and chocolate together sound great!

    ReplyDelete
  39. I've never tried to make my own granola, and never new the difference between granola and muesli. I'm thinking I will give this a try, you can't really go wrong with chocolate!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I'm back after a long break and actually came here looking for Soeren's Birthday Cake.

    Your granola looks fabulous but I might want to use maple syrup instead of honey since I never heat honey in cooking and prefer using it raw.

    Have a great day Meeta and take care.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I love both muesli and granola, but I can see those lovely little chunks of chocolate in yours. Yum!
    I'm going to add some to mine the next time I make either.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Oooh! That's a hard question, because I do also love my muesli. But I think granola wins by a hair! I love making my own too since you have so much flexibility in terms of flavor and ingredients :) This will definitely go into my granola file...chocolate MMM!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hugs
Meeta