January | 2017 | Is this a keeper?

2017-01-17-10-35-45-hdr

My family says that “Granola Cake” is a misleading name…that they pictured something more like a trail mix cake; in other words more healthy than dessert haha! They said it should be something more like “Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars”. Some of my tasters who don’t love granola were surprised by this cake…and ended up loving it. They really do taste more like a really good chewy oatmeal cookie. It was LOVED by all.

There is a lot of wiggle room in this recipe to customize it to what your group might like. I used a vanilla almond granola from my local produce store. I was able to buy it in the quantity that I needed which was great. There are so many more flavors of granola to try and I sure they would each be great and change up the flavor of the cake. I used mini chocolate chips and white chocolate shavings and also boosted the spices by doubling the cinnamon and nutmeg amounts. It turned out perfect. We loved the chewy inside and the crunchy outside. The granola gave the bars an interesting texture that we really enjoyed.

I also loved that it was easy to make with ingredients that you can have on hand. I am planning on making this again. It is a keeper!

honey-mousse

This one is hard to talk about…such mixed reviews. The recipe itself is fairly easy, just some mixing and chilling. I went ahead and made the cocoa crumbs that were suggested as a suitable topping for the mousse. Those also went together easily.

I made up a double recipe so I would have 8 individual cups for my tasters..and got these results:

2 really liked it…”We both really liked it with the cocoa crumbs…tasted tart and sweet and a little salty all at once.”
2 wanted to like it…”It had our palate curious, however it left us unfulfilled and not wanting another bite or to finish it”
2 didn’t like it…”wasn’t our favorite…tasted bitter to us”
2 didn’t get eaten…and I didn’t try it…not my type of dessert…although I did try the cocoa crumbs and those were good!

ALL of my tasters were glad for the opportunity as usual. It is a fun little game we play twice or more a month with the baking and tasting. We have had some great recipes and some great surprises but I would have to say this one wasn’t a winner in my book.

I do find it so interesting how different taste can be…the same recipe and 3 very different reactions from 6 people in 3 families…and the reaction was consistent in each family.

As always…thankful for the baking experience but onto the next one! 🙂