By Marcus Coates, @homeinRiyadh, 17th August 2024
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Museli Cake is an oaty snack with an identity crisis: it wants to be an energy bar but has more in common with a coffee cake. Identity issues aside, it’s quick & easy to prepare and tastes delicious. What’s not to love about this complex treat?
Muesli Cake
Here’s a scenario: you need a sweet treat to satisfy a morning craving or to accompany your hot beverage of choice, yet know that buying a cake from the supermarket means filling yourself with additives, plus leaving the house, and once you’re back home and the sweet treat is eaten and your craving satisfied, you’re left with feelings of guilt over indulging or feel you need a trip to the gym to burn off those added calories.
Another scenario might be: you feel like making something sweet to share with friends or family, yet know that baking something requires lots of kitchen preparation, precise measuring, and lots of washing up afterwards, so you end up going out and buying something from the supermarket filled with additives that is not that tasty or something expensive from a local bakery or cafe. It also means you lose out on bragging rights as the creator of tasty things.
There is a solution to these life dilemmas – and it’s called Muesli cake! Muesli Cake is super-easy to make, consists of mostly healthy ingredients, requires one measuring utensil (a cup), marginal precision, and is made in one bowl and one baking tray, so it’s effortless to clean up.
If you’re convinced, read on.
Here’s how to make Muesli Cake.
Ingredient (10 + portions)
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup self-raising flour
½ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup dried fruits
¼ cup honey
125g butter
3-4 eggs
*Note on measuring using a cup – I just use a tea mug from my cupboard instead of an actual measuring cup, which works fine, i.e., no precise measuring is required for this recipe.
Preparation Method
There are essentially four phases to this tasty delight:
Phase 1. Prepare the ingredients
Phase 2. Mix the ingredients
Phase 3. Bake in the oven
Phase 4. Cool down, slice & eat
Phase 1. Prepare the ingredients & oven
1. Turn on the oven to 170 C (338 F).
2. Take out the ingredients from your cupboard and put them on the counter.
3. Find a medium to large bowl.
4. Use your handy cup to measure and add flour, rolled oats, coconut, brown sugar, chocolate and dried fruit to a bowl.
Phase 2. Mix
5. Mix the ingredients in the bowl.
6. Melt the butter and honey in a cup in the microwave or on the stove in a small pan. Let cool a little, and whisk in the eggs. Add the mix to the other ingredients in the bowl and mix.
7. Transfer the mixture to a lined baking tray. Any tray will do.
Phase 3. Bake
8. Bake in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes or until the cake goes golden brown.
9. If you’re unsure it’s fully cooked, poke a knife in the top. If the knife comes out clean, you’re finished. If the knife is still sticky, bake longer and check at intervals until the knife comes out clean. The deeper the baking tray, the longer you’ll need and vice versa.
Phase 4. Cool & Eat
10. Remove from the oven and let cool.
11. Slice into generous portions.
12. Dust with icing sugar if you want to be extra fancy.
13. Serve and enjoy!
Eating is probably the phase that people enjoy the most — unless you like the anticipation phase, where your home fills with the aroma of baking cake. A home filled with the smell of baking cake is a good place to be.
Pro Tip 1:
Let the cake cool before eating – don’t be fooled - those dried fruit pieces inside are like drops of molten lava on the tongue when you eat straight out of the oven. The first time I ate hot muesli cake, I had to drink a quart of milk to cool my stomach.
Pro Tip 2:
Add one or two more eggs to the mix if you like your muesli cake to be more cake-like.
Pro Tip 3:
Although I said this was mainly healthy, it’s unhealthy if you eat all or most of the cake in one sitting (I’ve made this error on a few occasions). I recommend the Japanese technique of hara hachi bu and keep 80% full (or 20% hungry if you prefer). You’ll have more energy, as well as more reserves of muesli cake to keep you going.
Joke:
Q: Why did the cake see a psychologist?
A: Because it felt like it had too many layers!
Puns:
Muesli cake is very romantic, as it’s usually love at first bite!
Warning: I plan to milk an oat pun for all it’s worth!
In business, they say you should always bake it till you make it!
Muesli Facts:
Due to its nutrient-dense profile and ability to provide sustained energy, muesli is often favoured by athletes and fitness enthusiasts as a pre-workout or post-workout meal.
Muesli can be an excellent option for weight loss as it is high in fibre, which helps keep you feeling full for longer. However, portion control is essential as muesli can be calorie-dense due to its ingredients like nuts and dried fruits.
So, there you have it … bring out the oats, bake them in the kitchen, and have an oat-standing day!
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