Strawberry fields

This delightful dish is not just full of flavours but also healthy. An old favourite of mine, I still find this to be the most effective way to make people(I care about) get their quota of fruits, nuts and fiber without compromising on taste. To make this dessert, you need -

Ingredients

1 cup plain muesli (sugar-free)
1/3 cup Brown Sugar + 1 tablespoon extra to coat the berries
8 raisins/sultanas
5 grated pistachios
3 walnuts roughly chopped into smaller pieces
1 seedless date chopped into tiny pieces
1 small green cardamon opened, seeds extracted and ground (this is important so please don't omit it)
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup wholewheat Chapati/Roti aatta  (wholewheat flour available at Asian/organic stores)
1 tablespoon cornflour for sprinkling
8 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
5 mid-sized strawberry cut into thin slices. You can also mix in chopped blueberries.
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bourbon powder

For topping -

Organic honey (I use orange blossom. Use whatever you have at home.)
or
1/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened) +  2 teaspoons icing sugar, mixed well



Method
In a small bowl, add one tablespoon of sugar and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix lightly ( the sugar doesn't have to be dissolved).
Add the cut strawberries (and blueberries if using). Mix well so that the berries are coated with this mix and keep aside for 10 minutes.

Take a big glass bowl.

Add the muesli, brown sugar, almond flour, roti aatta, walnuts, date, pistachios, sultanas and cardamon.

Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Add the Vanilla Bourbon powder and mix.

Gently add the butter a tablespoon at a time and mix it in before you add more.
The mix should be  moist without the muesli getting too soggy.
If it's slightly dry, add an extra half tablespoon butter.

In a small but deep baking dish, add parchment paper (used for baking).

Add some of the muesli and nut mix to form a thin layer at the bottom.

Press it in with the back of the spoon so that it forms a tight layer.

Add some of the cut strawberries (and blueberries if using) along with the juices over this as a layer.

Sprinkle some cornflour on top.

Add another layer of strawberry (and blueberry) along with the juices.

Now carefully add the remaining muesli-nut mix on top.

Flatten it out so gently without pressing too hard. Some unevenness is fine.

In a pre-heated oven (160 degrees C), place this tray on the middle rack. We bake at low temperatures to avoid the top from burning or turning too dark. It's always nice to bake at a lower temperature for a longer time.

Allow it to bake for 50 minutes. Check at 40 minutes to ensure the top isn't turning too dark.

The top should be slightly brown  (as shown in the picture below) and the strawberries (and blueberries if using) should start oozing juices.

Take it out of the oven and let it cool down.

Once it has cooled down, you can either drizzle the top with honey (I use orange blossom) or drizzle the sweetened almond milk. Try and put the honey or almond milk over the gashes on top so it can drip into the layers below.

Cut into slices and serve with fresh fruit or a dollop of ice cream or some clotted cream.

Enjoy!