There’s only enough batter there to keep things together, letting all the nutty goodness really shine. We munched on these from the fridge for more than a week and the flavors just kept on getting better. I used a cayenne-flavored dark chocolate for the topping, but regular would be fine – maybe sprinkled with a bit of extra cayenne for more spicy kick. I also used whole cane sugar and agave as sweeteners, but to simplify things I’m sure using just one or the other would work as well.

Here’s what I used:

• 2 and 1/2 dl assorted nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and almonds)
• 1 dl raw coconut flakes
• 1/2 dl chick pea flour (gram or besan)
• 1/2 dl whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 dl coconut oil in room temperature
• 1/2 dl whole cane sugar
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons agave syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy yoghurt
• 60 grams (cayenne-flavored) dark chocolate, chopped

First, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, covered my baking dish with parchment paper, and sprayed it with a bit of olive oil. I also chopped the nuts and the chocolate – the nuts quite coarsely, dividing them only in 2-3 pieces each.

To make the batter, I mixed the dry ingredients except nuts and coconut flakes (chickpea flour through cayenne) in one bowl, and the wet ingredients (coconut oil through soy yogurt) in another. Now I poured the dry into wet and stirred with a fork just enough to mix. Then I poured nuts and coconut flakes in the batter bowl and stirred until they were evenly coated with the batter. There should be just enough batter to coat.

Now I spread the mixture in the baking dish and baked the squares for 15 minutes, until nicely browned. I turned down the heat in the oven, sprinkled the chocolate evenly over the nutty layer, and then placed the baking dish back in the oven for 1 minute to melt the chocolate. I removed the dish from the oven and spread the chocolate evenly with a butter knife, then let the whole thing come to room temperature, and refrigerated for a few hours before cutting into small squares with a sharp, unserrated knife.