Malty Fruit Bars
A tasty recipe for those long bike sessions...
Issue ID: March 270
Soft, chewy and supercharged with carbohydrate, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron, these energy bars make for superb fuel during bike sessions.
Malt extract is a fantastic, natural high-carb sugar, which really adds flavour and texture. Use molasses (or honey if you can’t get hold of any). You can play around with the dried fruit content to suit your taste and energy requirements. Use more dates for post-exercise bars as they have a high GI to help muscles recover more quickly, or dried apricots and more raisins (both with a lower GI) for more sustained level of energy.
Makes 12-16 bars Prep time 10mins Cooking time 50mins Equipment needed 34cm x 24cm baking tray or shallow cake tin, greased and line; an electric whisk
INGREDIENTS
- 4 eggs
- 175g margerine
- 150g soft dark brown sugar
- 2 heaped tbsp malt extract
- 175g raisins
- 200g sultanas
- 50 chopped dates
- 50 glace cherries, haved
- Juice of one orange
- 50g walnut pieces
- 20g caster sugar to sprinkle on top when cool
- 200g self-raising wholemeal flour
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 1tsp mixed spice
1 – Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark three. Put the flour into a bowl with the spices. In another bowl, cream together the margerine, the sugar and the malt extract with an electric whisk, until pale and fluffy.
2 – Beat in the eggs with a whisk, one at a time, adding a spoon of flour with each of the other three eggs.
3 – Fold in the remaining flour and then fold in the fruit and orange juice.
4 – Pour the mixture into the tin, smooth the surface and arrange the nuts on top. Bake for about 50mins, until a skewer pierced through the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, sprinkle with sugar and cut into bars when cool. Store in an airtight container or can be frozen.
NUTRITION PER SERVING
Energy 328kcal Protein 5g Carbohydrate 51g (of which sugars 43g) Fat 13g (of which saturates 2.5g) Salt 0.3g Fibre 1.5g
Mike Anderson
