We don’t serve coffee at the retreat; mornings run on cacao instead, which means chocolate here is less an indulgence than a working ingredient. These squares are what the kitchen does with it: a date and nut base, a dark chocolate layer, and a scatter of edible flowers that gave the recipe its name. They are simple to make and dangerously more-ish, and this way of cooking, plant-led and unfussy, is what the Cooking Retreat spends four days on.
Makes 10 to 12 squares.
INGREDIENTS
Cookie layer
2 cups soaked dates
1/2 cup raw mixed nuts (pistachios, macadamias, hazelnuts, almonds, whatever the pantry holds)
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Chocolate layer
200g raw cacao paste or dark chocolate (70 to 80%)
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp tahini
Pinch of sea salt
Edible flowers for garnishing, optional: citrus blossom, nasturtium, clover, hibiscus, daisies, honeysuckle, roses. Use only flowers you can positively identify as edible, and unsprayed.
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and toast the nuts for 5 minutes.
- Blend all the cookie layer ingredients in a food processor until they form a dough.
- Press the dough evenly into a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
- Add the chocolate layer ingredients to the bowl and stir until fully melted.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the chilled base and spread it evenly.
- Garnish with the flowers.
- Return to the fridge until the chocolate sets hard, then slice into squares.
Storage: airtight container in the fridge, up to 2 weeks.
