‘Twelve Days’ day 2: Christmas in a cube!

On the 1^st of December it was my brother’s birthday and to celebrate I decided to surprise him with a little package in the post- mini ‘smoosh’ bar cubes. A delicious seasonal selection of chocolate-orange cubes taken from this original recipe, along with a new gingerbread version just in time for the Christmas period. 

I wanted to share the gingerbread recipe with you to kick your mid-morning elevenses up a notch! These cubes are pretty spicy and warming so feel free to cut back on the ground ginger if you prefer a slightly more subtle flavour. I have also included cacoa nibs to give a subtle chocolate hint but this is optional and the cubes are just a good without.  Oh... and one other thing, make some choc-orange cubes too and put one of each in your mouth at the same time....

....Mmmm...Christmas in a cube!

These cubes would also be great served in a little snack bowl with some raisins, nuts and dark chocolate buttons… addictive… but remember its ok because they are good for you! Remember they are raw and GF too.

Recipe: Ginger spiced cubes

Makes quite a lot of mini cubes (or about 10 small bars)

Ingredients

120g dates

25g almonds

35g cashews

20g raisins

40g ground oats

30g buckwheat flour

10g chia seeds

1tbs sliced fresh ginger

1tbs ground ginger

½ tsp mixed spice

½ tsp cinnamon

20g cacoa nibs or coarsely ground dark chocolate chunks- optional

Method

Very simply- add everything to your food processor and whirl until you have a fine sticky meal. To form into bars/cubes I pressed the mixture into a small tin lined with baking parchment and use the flat end of a rolling pin to firmly pack the mixture down. Chill the ‘slab’ for a while before lifting out of the tin and cutting into pieces (I cut some cubes for my borther and some bars for me). Store them in the fridge or cupboard. They will easily last for a couple of weeks maybe longer although the intensity of the flavour may deteriorate.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.