Homemade
Granola makes a delicious breakfast trifle when layered with fresh fruit
and yogurt. The idea for this trifle came while browsing through Jane Rodmell's
'Best Summer Weekends Cookbook' where she tells us to layer the granola
with French vanilla yogurt and a mixture of sliced bananas, oranges, and
strawberries. This is a great recipe and provides us with a springboard
for making our own creations. So let's begin with the granola. Granola is
simply a mixture of rolled oats, nuts, and coconut that are moistened with
oil (or butter) and maple syrup (or honey) and then baked until golden.
I
used to buy it until I realized how easy it was to make at home. I have
included a recipe here in case you would also like to try making it and like
other dry cereals it will keep for several weeks (in the refrigerator).
Once you have the granola in hand, next comes the yogurt layer. While you
could use Jane Rodmell's suggestion of French Vanilla, a trip to the
grocery store will offer you a wide range of other flavors and fat
contents. The final layer is fresh fruit and what fruit you use will be influenced by
season but some good choices are bananas, mangoes, pineapples, oranges,
berries, apples, pears or melons. It is best to make these trifles shortly
being serving so that the granola stays crisp and crunchy. In fact, you
may want to simply let each person make their own so that they can make
their trifle as large, or as small, as they like.
This trifle's roots seem to be in Scotland. It is there that I found a recipe in
F. Marian McNeill's 'Recipes from Scotland'
for a Scottish Cranachan or
Cream-Crowdie that combines toasted rolled oats (coarse oatmeal) with whipped
cream that is flavored with Scotch whiskey or rum.
There is also the suggestion to add a
handful or two of fresh berries for sweetness. Blueberries, raspberries, or
brambles were offered as suggestions. Another similar trifle recipe was found in
Orlando Murin's 'Dangerous Desserts' for a
Highland Flummery which
again takes Scotch oats browned in butter and sugar and layers it
with a flavored whipped cream topped with fresh berries.
Both of these recipes sound delicious and since whipped cream is used instead of
yogurt it would make for a delicious afternoon snack or even a hearty winter
dessert.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place
rack in center of oven. Either butter or line a baking sheet with
parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine the rolled oats,
coconut, nuts, ground cinnamon, and salt.
In a small bowl, stir together the melted
butter (or oil), and maple syrup (or honey). Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and
toss together, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the butter
mixture. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 25 - 30
minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally so the mixture browns
evenly. (The browner the granola gets (without burning) the crunchier the
granola will be.) Place on a wire rack to cool. You
will notice that the granola may still be sticky when it is removed from the oven
but it will become crisp and dry as it cools. Make sure to break up any
large clumps of granola while the mixture is still warm. Once the
granola has completely cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag in
the refrigerator. It will keep for several weeks.
Makes about 4 cups of Granola.
For the Granola Trifles:
For each individual trifle; place
some granola in the bottom of your glass or bowl, followed by a spoonful of yogurt, then
some fruit, and, if you have room, repeat the layers. Use as much or
little, as you like, of each ingredient.
Sources:
Chase, Sarah Leah. 'Open House Cookbook'.
Workman Publishing. New York: 1987.
Cunningham, Marion. 'The Breakfast Book'.
Wings Books.
New York: 1987.
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