Ginger and Apricot Super Bars.

 

Hello...today I'm going to tell you about my spinning snacks. Now yes, I know that these rather average looking bars look all sweet and pretty on the lovely white tablecloth (an actual real, handmade heirloom tablecloth no less), but prettyness and lovelyness is not what these chaps are about...nono. These are 'pack as much power into as small a space as you can so you can eat them before an evening's spinning and not feel full and have enough energy to climb the imaginary hills and sprint the imaginary finish and not die' bars. Got it.

 

Have you ever spun before? You should. See I pretty much hate cycling, give me a hill and I'll run up it on two legs all day long (when my broken body will let me), but 2 wheels...no thanks. So it's kinda odd that I LOVE spinning...maybe it's just that I reallyreally love anything that makes sweat drip off the end of my nose. Mmmm, whenever I mention that to anyone else though, I doooooo always get the feeling that I'm alone in my enjoyment of sweating, so apologies if that is just too much info.

 

But anyways, if you've ever spun before, you'll know that it is HARD...if you're trying to make it hard, there are always lightweights that cheat of course, but we just feel sorry for them for not being allowed in our 'hardcore club' yeah?....and that doing it at 6pm having not eaten since lunchtime is most probably a recipe for disaster/migrane (yup...beeeeeeen there).

 

So here we have the solution....and any problem that is solved by condensed is worth some attention in my book...special spinning snacks, or snacks for any occasion that requires drippy sweat, or steely nerves or bulgy muscles. I hope they help get you through...see you on the (pretend) road. With Love and Cake.

Ginger and Apricot Breakfast Bars.

Adapted from a Nigella Express recipe

A few notes:

• Of course you can get creative with what you add to the bars...up the seeds a bit maybe, or include 125g chopped nuts, change the dried fruit...the choices are fairly endless.
• These bars stiffen up as they cool, so it's important that you remove them from the baking parchment you've lined your tin with, before they cool too much, otherwise you'll never be able to pull them off the paper...and that's not exactly a complementary flavour.

Makes 16

You will nedd

a Swiss roll tine or shallow baking tray, approx 33 x 23 x 2cm, lined

1 x 397g tin of condensed milk

250g rolled oats

75g dessicated coconut

50g dried apricots, roughly chopped

50g crystallised ginger, roughly chopped

30g golden linseeds 

• Preheat the oven to 130°c.
• Gently heat the condensed milk in a pan until warm.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients.
• Pour the warm condensed milk into the bowl and give everything a good mix until everything is really well combined.
• Spread the mixture out evenly in your lined tray and bake for 1 hour.
• When firm and a little bit golden, remove the tin from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Pull the mixture out of the tin, still attached to the greaseproof paper that you used to line the tin, and set on a chopping board.
• Cut into squares and peel away the greaseproof paper.
• Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.